Upon my arrival at the institute, the first task explained to me was the daily maintenance of the organisms being researched here. In the basement of the building, there are multiple separated wetlabs situated, in which Penaeid shrimps and Macrobrachium (freshwater shrimps) are grown in recirculating systems. Each tank requires a different amount of feed, depending on the amount of shrimps and the life stage. Next I would flush all the outlet taps, to remove any debris in the system. I continue with checking if the oxygenation and recirculating systems work in each tank. The water levels are monitored and adjusted if necessary. Water of the Macrobrachium tanks has to be siphoned out, whilst removing any debris. Also the biofilter needs to be flushed, in order to maintain its healthy condition. To feed the larvae and postlarvae of the Macrobrachium shrimps, Artemia is cultivated, which requires some daily handling as well.

During my stay at the ARC, a pilot project to cultivate Caulerpa lentillifera was set up. This algae species is known as 'green caviar'. The idea is to create a polyculture system in which both shrimps and Caulerpa are cultivated in a recirculating system, but in seperated tanks. The Caulerpa would use the waste products of the shrimps (faeces and uneaten feed) and act as a biofilter, but can also be harvested as 'green caviar'. In this pilot set up, we tried to figure out if it was even possible to grow this algae species in a RAS (Recicruclating Aquaculture System). We used tanks with different substrates, light intensities and different nutrients. Every day I took watersamples of each tank and monitored the temperature and level of nitrate, nitrite, ammonium and phosphate. With the aid of a binocular microscope, the morphology of the algae and the growth of new rhizoids and stolons was monitored regularly.