**1. Introduction**

284 Aquaculture

Uthaiwan, K., Pakkong, P., Noparatnaraporn, N., Vilarinho, L. & Machado, J. (2002) Study

Uthaiwan, K., Pakkong, P., Noparatnaraporn, N., Vilarinho, L. & Machado, J. (2003)

1856). *Aquaculture* 209, pp. 197-208, ISSN0044-8486

0272

of a suitable fish plasma for *in vitro* culture of glochidia *Hyriopsis myersiana* (Lea,

Studies on the plasma composition of fish hosts of the freshwater mussel, *Hyriopsis myersiana*, with implications for improvement of the medium for culture of glochidia. *Invertebrate Reproduction and Development* 44, pp. 53-61, ISSN 2157-

> The withebait *Galaxias maculatus* is an endemic species from Argentina and Chile (Cussac et al., 2004), and it is important in ecological webs in Argentinean and Chilean inland waters (Soto & Zúñiga, 1991; Soto et al., 1994; Modenutti et al., 1998). This species has a maximum size of 17 cm and its migratory juvenile stage is transparent or "crystalline" (Mardones et al., 2008). In Chile the juvenile stage is known as "puye" and the pigmented adult stage as "ao". In Argentina in the larval stage is known as "puyen", whereas in New Zealand is known as "withebait", whereas the adults are known as "inanga" (McDowall, 1971).

> This species inhabits rivers and littoral zones of lakes in Chile between Huasco river to Tierra del Fuego Island (28-53º S), *G. maculatus* predates mainly microinvertebrates, its reproductive period is in southern spring and summer, and it is endangered due predation by exotic species (salmonids) and pollution of their habitats (Vila et al., 2006). Also this species has exposed to fisheries activities that in consequence generated a capture decreasing during the last decades, that would generate a collapse of fisheries, one tone of crystalline puye juveniles corresponds to approximately 3 million fish of 0.3 g individual body weight (Mardones et al., 2008). In this scenario there is legal management from Fisheries Subsecretary (SubPesca-Chile) and there are studies with the aim of *G. maculatus* farming that is developed by the Universidad Católica de Temuco.
