Beneficial effects of n-3HUFA enriched Artemia as food for larval palmetto bass (Morone saxatilis × M. chrysops)

The beneficial effects of feeding n?3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA ≥ 20 carbon fatty acids with three or more double bonds) to palmetto bass (striped bass × white bass) larvae, 4–30 days of age, were studied using Artemia diets enriched with six n-3HUFA levels. Dietary n-3HUFA concentrations were < 0.03% (control diet), 0.33%, 0.63%, 0.87%, 1.26%, and 2.27% of dry-wt Artemia. Larval n-3HUFA contents were reduced at a faster rate with decreasing dietary n-3HUFA intake, and were significantly different by 30 days posthatch (4–20 mg g^?1 dry-wt fish). Starved larvae selectively conserved endogenous n-3HUFA reserves, indicating an essential role of n-3HUFA in larval development. Mass mortality in the control and 0.33% n-3HUFA diets occurred at metamorphosis (26–28 days posthatch). At harvest, all fish, except those fed the two highest n-3HUFA diets, suffered from handling stress (shock syndrome) with increasing severity (25 to 100%) at decreasing dietary n-3HUFA intake. Recovery from shock syndrome was 100% at the 0.63% and 0.87% n-3HUFA diets, 63% at the 0.33% n-3HUFA diet and 0% at the control diet. Post-harvest survival was similar among the four highest dietary n-3HUFA groups (64–73%), whereas the two lowest n-3HUFA groups differed significantly (0 and 37%). Growth promotion was evident with increased dietary n-3HUFA intake as fish fed the highest n-3HUFA diet were twice the size of those fed the control diet (99 vs 52 mg wet-wt). Final fish sizes at the three highest n-3HUFA diets were similar. Given similar culture conditions, a minimum dietary n-3HUFA intake of 1.26% of dry-wt Artermia is recommended to avoid handling stress and promote growth in larval palmetto bass.