The objective of the present experimental study was to gain a better understanding of the foraging activity of Asellus aquaticus during fish egg incubation. A. aquaticus were introduced into experimental setups of dead eggs, viable eggs and hatched larvae of zebrafish (Danio rerio), a commonly used model organism. The amount of A. aquaticus and the duration of their exposure to the eggs significantly affected the proportion of consumed dead eggs in each experimental cycle. A. aquaticus belongs to the group of aquatic detritivores, and no predatory behavior was observed during the experiments. These crustaceans could distinguish between the dead eggs and those containing living embryos. Furthermore, zebrafish larvae remained unharmed by A. aquaticus, even in the absence of alternative food source. These findings underscore the potential sanitary role of these crustaceans in natural waters and offer new perspectives on their possible use as biological control organisms in aquaculture hatcheries. Additionally, our results suggest a potential application of A. aquaticus in combating pathogens by reducing the growth substrates for bacteria and fungi.

本实验研究的目的是更好地了解水生鱼在鱼卵孵化过程中的觅食活动。A. Aquaticus被引入死卵、活卵和斑马鱼（斑马鱼）孵化幼虫（一种常用的模式生物）的实验装置中。水曲霉的数量及其与卵接触的持续时间显着影响每个实验周期中消耗的死卵的比例。A. Aquaticus属于水生碎屑动物，在实验过程中没有观察到捕食行为。这些甲壳类动物可以区分死卵和含有活胚胎的卵。此外，即使在没有替代食物来源的情况下，斑马鱼幼虫也不会受到水生曲霉的伤害。这些发现强调了这些甲壳类动物在天然水域中的潜在卫生作用，并为它们在水产养殖孵化场中作为生物防治生物的可能性提供了新的视角。此外，我们的结果表明水生曲霉在通过减少细菌和真菌的生长底物来对抗病原体方面具有潜在的应用。