Influence of different diets on the growth,survival, fecundity and proximate composition of brine shrimp Artemia franciscana (Kellog, 1906)

Artemia franciscana was studied under in vitro conditions, and fed with five different microalgae species, two organic diets and one mixed diet to evaluate the nutritional profile and growth performance. The A. franciscana instar‐I nauplii were stocked at a density of 100 per litre of ground borewell water with a salinity of 70 ppt in a plastic container and the culture continued for 12 days. The A. franciscana was fed with five microalgal species, such as Tetraselmis sp., Chaetoceros sp., Isochrysis sp., Thalassiosira sp. and Nannochloropsis sp., and organic diets of rice bran, soybean meal, and a mixture of Tetraselmis sp. and Chaetoceros sp. with rice bran, giving a total of eight experiments. The growth of A. franciscana was measured by length, and was observed to be the greatest (10,850 μm) in the group that was fed the mixed algae combination, and the lowest (7,290 μm) in the group that was fed Nannochloropsis sp. Among the different treatments, the highest survival value of 76% was seen in the group that was fed Chaetoceros sp. The fecundity was higher in A. franciscana that were fed with algae Chaetoceros sp., while the lower rate was observed with the group that was fed Nannochloropsis sp. Analysis of proximate composition showed increased levels in the animals fed with Chaetoceros sp. (lipid, 19.40%; eicosapentaenoic acid, 6.70 mg; docosahexaenoic acid, 10.20 mg; amino acids: proline, 2.06 μg; histidine, 0.77 μg, arginine, 0.65 μg, glycine, 0.80 μg, glutamic acid, 1.75 μg; threonine, 1.42 μg) and the mixed diet (protein, 58.59%; carbohydrate, 21.30%; amino acids: asparagine, 0.90 μg; serine, 1.65 μg; tryptophan, 1.66 μg; leucine, 1.50 μg; phenylalanine, 1.14 μg; valine, 0.66 μg). All components showed the lowest level in the diet fed with Tetraselmis species. These A. franciscana populations showed better survival, higher fecundity and biochemical profiles when cultured with microalgae Chaetoceros sp. These data are useful to improve A. franciscana culture in aquaculture to produce quality cysts and biomass, especially in feeding larvae of marine species.