Nutritional Value of Preserved Microalgae for Subadult Mytilus galloprovincialis

Abstract.— Subadult (4–5 cm) Mytilus galloprovincialis were fed for 31 d with equal daily rations, equivalent to 6% of their body weight on a dry weight basis, of Chaetoceros sp. and Phaeodactylum tricornutum fresh, or preserved by air-drying, freeze-drying, and by freezing. At the end, increases in size, in dry weight, and in condition index with preserved diets were significantly lower than those of the mussels fed with live algae. In general, the frozen diets were better than the air- and freeze-dried ones. Increases with live Chaetoceros sp. were greater than with live P. tricornutum ; however, with preserved diets the latter was better than Chaetoceros sp .