Rearing the spotted seahorse Hippocampus kuda by feeding live and frozen copepods collected from shrimp ponds |
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Authors: | Tam D Thuong Tung Hoang |
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Affiliation: | 1. Nha Trang University, Nha Trang City, Vietnam;2. School of Biotechnology, International University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
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Abstract: | This study evaluated the use of live and frozen copepods collected from shrimp ponds for rearing juveniles of the spotted seahorse Hippocampus kuda. Protein and HUFA contents in frozen copepods were all higher than in Artemia nauplii, the conventional live food for seahorse juveniles. The results of this study showed that copepods can be used as feed for rearing seahorse fry and juvenile. The spotted seahorse showed obvious preference for live copepods and rarely fed on dead copepods on the tank bottom. Furthermore, the combination of frozen copepods and live Artemia nauplii resulted in highest growth and highest survival of the experimental seahorses. Further research on possible effects of DHA:EPA ratio on survival and growth of young H. kuda is recommended. |
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Keywords: | spotted seahorse
Hippocampus kuda
rearing frozen copepods |
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