Evaluation of Fatty Acid Enrichment of Live Food for Yellowtail Snapper Ocyurus chrysurus Larvae

Abstract— The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of varying dietary levels of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) in Live prey on the standard length, specific growth rate, survival, and fatty acid composition of yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus larvae. Two experiments were conducted utilizing rotifers and Artemiu enriched with live algae ( Isochrysis galbana or Nannochloris oculata ) or commercial preparations (Aquagrow Advantage, Aquagrow Advantage plus Aquagrow arachidonic acid, and Algarnac 2000). Larval growth and fatty acid composition were evaluated during the rotifer, B rachionus plicatilis , and Artemia feeding periods and survival rates were calculated at the termination of each trial (18 or 20 d after hatching). In general, prey enriched with the commercial products contained higher levels of docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, n-3 HUFA, and × HUFA than those enriched with live algae. The addition of arachidonic acid to the Aquagrow Advantage enrichment medium significantly increased the amount of this fatty acid in rotifers but not in Artemia . At the end of the growth trials, larval standard length was highest when larvae were fed prey enriched with I. galbanu (6.4 mm) or commercial preparations (6.7–7.1 mm) versus N. oculatu (5.2 mm). Furthermore, larvae fed prey enriched with commercial preparations had significantly ( P < 0.05) higher survival rates (2.2-5.9%) than those fed prey enriched with live algae (1.1-1.4%). These results suggest that yellowtail snapper larvae require dietary levels of HUFA beyond those achieved by enriching prey with live N. oculata or I. galbana