by
Emil Rue, MSc Agro. and Plant Sciences, Aliga Microalgae, Denmark
Today it is common to use rotifers B. plicatilis and B. rotondiformis as live prey for marine fish larvae as they are an important source of nutrition during the larvae’s first few weeks.
Even though these zooplankton are rich in protein, as well as linolenic and linoleic acid n-6 PUFA’s, they naturally lack sufficient amounts of essential n-3 HUFA’s. With the larvae’s inability to synthesize the linoleic acid into essential fatty acids, it is required that the live prey is correctly and sufficiently enriched with eicosapentaenoic (EPA), docosahexaenoic (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA).
It is therefore pivotal that the microalgae fed to rotifers, either directly in its tanks or through Green Water, has the required nutritional and fatty acid values to provide the best enrichment and maximum growth of them. This regardless if you cultivate your own microalgae or purchase concentrated paste from a third party.
The most frequent microalgae genera used by hatcheries as feed and enrichment for rotifers are Nannochloropsis, Isochrysis, Pavlova, Tetraselmis and Chlorella. All these contain proteins and vitamins at different levels and some are rich in DHA, others in EPA and ARA. Due to the different nutritional profiles of these genera, a mixture is normally fed to give the best balance between rotifer growth, egg production and fatty acid enrichment.
A rule of thumb for live prey to be used as marine larvae enrichment is that the DHA: EPA ratio shall be above one, with a tad of ARA on top of it. It must, however, be remembered that live prey’s ability to absorb essential fatty acids from different microalgae genera varies widely between prey types.
Therefore, the feeding rates of microalgae for different zooplankton must be analysed and adjusted accordingly (Sargent et al. 1999).
Read the full article in the International Aquafeed magazine online, HERE.
Today it is common to use rotifers B. plicatilis and B. rotondiformis as live prey for marine fish larvae as they are an important source of nutrition during the larvae’s first few weeks.
Even though these zooplankton are rich in protein, as well as linolenic and linoleic acid n-6 PUFA’s, they naturally lack sufficient amounts of essential n-3 HUFA’s. With the larvae’s inability to synthesize the linoleic acid into essential fatty acids, it is required that the live prey is correctly and sufficiently enriched with eicosapentaenoic (EPA), docosahexaenoic (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA).
It is therefore pivotal that the microalgae fed to rotifers, either directly in its tanks or through Green Water, has the required nutritional and fatty acid values to provide the best enrichment and maximum growth of them. This regardless if you cultivate your own microalgae or purchase concentrated paste from a third party.
The most frequent microalgae genera used by hatcheries as feed and enrichment for rotifers are Nannochloropsis, Isochrysis, Pavlova, Tetraselmis and Chlorella. All these contain proteins and vitamins at different levels and some are rich in DHA, others in EPA and ARA. Due to the different nutritional profiles of these genera, a mixture is normally fed to give the best balance between rotifer growth, egg production and fatty acid enrichment.
A rule of thumb for live prey to be used as marine larvae enrichment is that the DHA: EPA ratio shall be above one, with a tad of ARA on top of it. It must, however, be remembered that live prey’s ability to absorb essential fatty acids from different microalgae genera varies widely between prey types.
Therefore, the feeding rates of microalgae for different zooplankton must be analysed and adjusted accordingly (Sargent et al. 1999).
Read the full article in the International Aquafeed magazine online, HERE.
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