Abstract

• Diadema setosum is one of the common marine forms of echinoids widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean, where it occurs from the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and the east coast of Africa to Japan, Australia and Malaysia. The sea urchin aquaculture is mainly based on the production of marketable gonads, which are valuable seafood product in Asian and European markets. The investigation on the developmental basis of morphological changes in larvae of D. setosum was conducted in a controlled Wet laboratory at the College of Aquaculture and Fishery (CAF) of Can Tho University, Vietnam, during July to August, 2017. The fertilized eggs of sea urchin were obtained by the induced spawning. Induced spawning was done using 1.5 to 2 ml of 0.5 M Potassium Chloride (KCl,) on their oral (mouth) surface. The daily larval developmental stages were studied in the wet laboratory from 10 days after fertilization to 49 days after fertilization. During investigation, the larvae reached metamorphic competence within 43 days after fertilization. This study represented the successful investigation on larval and early juvenile development of D. setosum. The findings would be helpful towards the development of breeding and seed production techniques for aquaculture of sea urchins.