Possible applications of modern fish larviculture technology to ornamental fish production

There has been rapid development in the marine foodfishlarviculture technology in Europe since the early eighties,especially in the flat fish, turbot and halibut, and the bass andbream species. The most significant improvements in the eightieswere the introduction of light control, artificial reproductiontechniques, appropriate water treatment and the use of rotifersand Artemia nauplii of specific sizes and in the late eightiesand early nineties the quality enhancement of live food organismsusing specific enrichment techniques. Present research is focusedon the implementation of several microbial techniques to improvethe hygiene of live prey and fish.Many of the modern larviculture techniques being used in marine foodfish could be adapted for application in the ornamental fish industry. For examples, research in the Onamental Fish Section, Primary Production Department, Singapore has demonstrated that the use of freshwater rotifers and Artemia nauplii would enable artificial rearing of Discus in the absence of the parent fish and improve the larval performance of Gouramis and Tetra larvae. The use of such small live food organisms is likely to facilitate breeding of new fish species with small larvae. Research has also indicated that the use of diets containing vitamin C and certain immuno-stimulants improved the stress resistance of guppy. Such techniques would have important application in the fish transport, an important aspect in the ornamental fish industry     

Comparison of Docosahexaenoic Acid (22:6n-3) Levels in Various Artemis Strains during Enrichment and Subsequent Starvation

Abstract.— The aim of this study was to compare the levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) in three different bisexual and one parthenogenetic strains of Artemia after enrichment. Freshly-hatched nauplii from A. franciscana (Great Salt Lake, USA), A. sinica (Yimeng, P. R. China), A. persimilis (Argentina), and A. parthenogenetica (Tanggu, P. R. China) were enriched with a purified lipid emulsion containing 95% DHA ethyl esters (% total fatty acids) and subsequently starved. All strains had very low initial DHA levels (< 0.3 mg/g dry weight). Initial eicosapentaenoic acid, 20:5n-3 (EPA) levels were high in A. parthenogenetica (18.2 mg/g dry weight) as compared to those in the other strains (4.6-8.5 mg/g dry weight). After 24-h enrichment, A. sinica contained the highest DHA level (37.0 mg/g dry weight) as well as the highest DHA/ EPA ratio (3.7). The lowest DHA enrichment levels were found in A. franciscana and A. parthenogenetica (26.3 and 22.7 mg/g dry weight, respectively). During the subsequent 24-h starvation period, the contents of DHA decreased rapidly in all strains, whereas EPA levels remained relatively stable. This indicates the high catabolism of DHA for energy production, the relative conservation of EPA, and possibly a partial bioconversion of DHA to EPA during the starvation period in each species.     

Relationship between dietary phospholipid classes and neutral lipid absorption in newly-weaned turbot, shape Scophthalmus maximus

A 28-day feeding trial was conducted for comparing the effect of different dietary phospholipid (PL) classes on the growth of post-larval turbot and on the incorporation of dietary neutral lipid fatty acids into their body lipids. Prior to the experiment the turbot were weaned for one week on a PL-free diet. The nine experimental diets were isolipidic and contained an equal amount of highly unsaturated fatty acids in the form of ethyl esters. They differed by their PL content (0, 1 or 2%) and by the PL class composition of the added soybean PL fractions.Compared to the PL-free diet, diets enriched with phosphatidylcholine (PC) resulted in a better growth, a higher triglyceride content (% body dry matter) and increased levels of docosahexaenoic acid (% total fatty acids) in each of the examined body lipid classes (neutral lipid, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylinositol). The effects of the other soybean PL fractions were less explicit than those noted for soybean PC.The results support the idea that dietary PC plays a role in the intestinal absorption of neutral lipid fatty acids. This might, at least partially, explain the superiority of PC for enhancing growth. Abbreviations: DHA – docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3); EPA – eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3); HUFA – highly unsaturated fatty acid; PA – phosphatidic acid; PC – phosphatidylcholine; PE – phosphatidylethanolamine; PI – phosphatidylinositol; PL – phospholipid; PS – phosphatidylserine; PUFA – polyunsaturated fatty acid.     

Effect of cultivation methods on nutritional enrichment of euryhaline rotifer <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brachionus plicatilis</Emphasis>

This study aimed at comparing fatty acid contents of rotifers cultured with different methods after nutritional enrichment in order to evaluate the rotifer quality produced by these methods. Rotifers were cultured using either a batch or a continuous culture. From the batch culture, three experimental subpopulations were used, sampled from the culture at 1, 24, and 48 h after rotifer inoculation. The continuous culture was performed with two tanks; one was for cultivation with continuous feeding and water supply (cultivation tank), and another was for harvesting from the cultivation tank by overflow (harvest tank). From the continuous culture, two subpopulations were used: one from the cultivation and one from the harvest tank. Nutritional enrichment was performed after each culture. Each population was enriched with Nannochloropsis oculata or a commercial enrichment diet. When the enrichment was performed with N. oculata on populations at 24 h after inoculation originating from either of the two tanks of continuous culture or the batch culture tank, a higher quantity of arachidonic acid (ARA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was obtained from the two tanks of continuous culture. The same results were obtained when enrichment diet was used, this time including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).     

Effects of feeding regime and probionts on the diverting microbial communities in rotifer Brachionus culture

Rotifer growth performance and microbial community changes associated with rotifer cultures were monitored while different feed types (Nannochloropsis oculata paste and the commercial yeast based feed CS-3000), different regimes (daily changes, changes per batch and no changes) and mixtures of three probionts (Phenylobacterium sp.; Gluconobacter sp. and Paracoccus denitrificans) were provided. It was shown that the dominant bacterial species in the cultures receiving either N. oculata or CS-3000 were different. However, in cultures receiving both feeds (either switching between feeds on a daily basis or on a batch basis), a high similarity in microbial community fingerprint was found. The presence of probionts was detected by the end of four batch culture cycles in spite of strong shifts of the bacterial community. By group discriminant analysis, it was found that Phenylobacterium sp. and Paracoccus sp. contributed positively to the CS-3000-fed group, while Gluconobacter sp. contributed positively to the N. oculata-fed group, although they did not appear as very dominant species.     

Evaluation of frozen Umbrella‐stage Artemia as first animal live food for Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone) larvae

An alternative larval shrimp feeding regime, in which umbrella‐stage Artemia were constituting the first zooplankton source was evaluated in the culture of Litopenaeus vannamei. In a preliminary experiment, umbrella‐stage Artemia were fed to larvae from zoea 2 (Z2) to mysis 2 (M2) stages to identify the larval stage at which raptorial feeding starts and to determine daily feeding rates. The following experiment evaluated the performance of two feeding regimen that differed during the late zoea/early mysis stages: a control treatment with frozen Artemia nauplii (FAN), and a treatment with frozen umbrella‐stage Artemia (FUA). The ingestion rate of umbrella‐stage Artemia increased from nine umbrella per larvae day^?1 at Z2 stage to 21 umbrella per larvae day^?1 at M2. A steep increase in ingestion and dry weight from Z3 to M2 suggests a shift to a raptorial feeding mode at the M1 stage. Treatment FUA exhibited a significantly higher larval stage index (P < 0.05) during the period that zoea larvae metamorphosed to the mysis stage, and a higher final biomass, compared with treatment FAN. Based on these results and on practical considerations, a feeding regime starting with umbrella‐stage Artemia from Z2 sub‐stage can be recommended for L. vannamei larvae rearing.     

Mass selection for small‐sized cysts in Artemia franciscana produced in Vinh Chau salt ponds,Vietnam

Unidirectional mass truncation selection for small‐sized cysts was carried out on brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana Kellogg 1906), Vinh Chau strain, Vietnam, through cyst sieving and then culturing the selected individuals (<5% of the population) under field and laboratory conditions over two successive generations (F₁ and F₂). The results showed that at both culture scales, the cyst size of the selected line was smaller (P < 0.05) compared with the control (non‐selected) line, illustrating that there was a response to selection. The cyst size decreased about 3% per generation and the accumulated gain on the target trait was in the range 5.82–6.07% at the end of the selection process compared with the base population. The realized heritability estimation (h²) for cyst size was 0.23 ± 0.06 and 0.74 ± 0.19 in the field trials and 0.34 and 0.51 in the laboratory test for the F₁ and F₂ generation respectively. The variations found between the respective trials may be explained as the result of environmental interaction with the selection process, but the results show that a selection program for small‐sized cysts in Artemia by mass selection is possible.     

Effect of carbon/nitrogen ratio manipulation in feed supplements on Artemia production and water quality in solar salt ponds in the Mekong Delta,Vietnam

The effect of carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio manipulation in feed supplements on Artemia production and water quality was investigated in solar salt ponds in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. It was assumed that development of bacterial bioflocs through C/N manipulation would improve Artemia production and water quality as demonstrated in freshwater and marine aquaculture. Twelve ponds were used for three treatments and the control, in triplicates. Green water (GW) was supplied to all ponds, with the standard Vietnamese procedure of supplying GW and chicken manure (CM) as the control (C/N 1.8). Treatment ponds were supplemented with tapioca (TAP) as carbon source, combined with either CM, pig manure (PM) or rice bran (RB), with C/N ratios of 7.4, 10.5 or 20.1 respectively. After 6 weeks of culture, no single treatment supported both improved water quality and enhanced Artemia production. Overall, improved water quality was observed at C/N 20.1 and higher Artemia production at C/N 7.4. Although external field factors could have interfered with the set‐up, this is the first study on the effect of C/N manipulation in feed supplements in Artemia pond production systems and provides the basis for development of bacterial bioflocs as a technology to improve water quality and Artemia production.