Live feeds

&
its role in health management in
the larviculture of brackishwater
finfish and shell fishes
Sandeep K P., K P Kumaraguru vasagam and Syama Dayal, J.
Nutrition Genetics & Biotechnology Division, CIBA, Chennai

Introduction
Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food producing

sectors in the world, accounting for almost half of the

total food fish supply (FAO, 2014)
Importance of hatchery production
What are live feeds?
Importance of live feeds in larviculture

Living capsules of nutrition.

Green water techniques in hatcheries

Health management of finfish and shellfish larvae

through live feeds

Live feeds?
Aquatic animals at the time of first feeding are fragile and
delicate.
(Most critical phase)
In nature they feed on phytoplankton and zooplankton
Live feeds consist of phytoplankton and zooplankton grazed
upon by economically important fishes.
Such diet provide
Broad spectrum composition of food
Better intake (swimming/movement)
Rich in essential nutrients
Auto-digestion characteristics
Facilitate better nutrient assimilation in larvae
Stimulate feeding behaviour with its soft texture and
attractability
So live food organisms are known as living capsules of
nutrition

Important live feeds in aquaculture

1. Microalgae

5. Copepod

2. Infusoria

6. Cladocerans

3. Rotifers

7. Tubifex

4. Artemia

8. Chironomid larvae

A simple food web representing

larval feeding (Source: FAO
Technical paper: 361)

Microalgae
Essential food source in rearing of
larvae of marine and brackishwater finfish, shrimps,
food for zooplankton (Rotifers, Copepods and
Artemia)
Size : few micrometers to 100 m
Commonly used species are
diatoms (Skeletonema costatum, Chaetoceros
gracilis, Thalassiosira pseudonana)
flagellates (Isochrysis galbana, Tetraselmis,
Chlorella, Nannochloropsis, Dunaliella)
Microalgae varied in their proportions of protein (6.652%), carbohydrate (5.5-23%) and lipid (7-23%).

The presence of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA), in

particular eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3, EPA), arachidonic acid
(20:4n-6, ARA), and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3, DHA), is of
major importance in the evaluation of the nutritional composition
of an algal species to be used as food for marine and
brackishwater larval nutrition.
35

Lipid content in different microalgae

30

25

20

15
% of DW
10

Algal species

Skeletonema costatum Chaetoceros calcitrans

Chlorella vulgaris

Dunaliella salina

Thalassiosira pseudonana

Tetraselmis

Rotifers

 Rotifers are popularly called as wheel animalcules.

Brachionus plicatilis and B. rotundiformes are the most
important species used in aqua-hatcheries for
larviculture.
Depending on the mouth size of cultured organisms,
small (50-100 m) or large (100-200 m) rotifers are
used.
The nutritional value of rotifers mainly depends on their
food.
Scope for enrichment.

Artemia
Most widely used live food in aquaculture
It is an organism closely related to shrimp belonging to
order Anostraca of the class Crustacea.
There are more than 50 geographical strains of Artemia
has been identified.
Annually, over 8000 metric tons of dry Artemia cysts
are marketed worldwide for on-site hatching into 0.4
mm nauplii
The biggest plus point of using artemia is that Artemia
nauplii can be produced on demand from dormant
cyst -upon immersion in seawater they regain their
metabolic activity and within 24 hours free swimming
nauplii will come out.

Copepods
Copepods are diverse group of animals belonging to the
class Crustacea with more than 10,000 species in
different ecological niches.
Three major groups of free living copepods are
Cyclopoids, Calanoids and Herpecticoids.
Copepods are better live feeds for aquaculture compared
to artemia or rotifers because of the adequate nutritional
value, size variation, and swimming behaviour
Using rotifers and Artemia during this early period in life
history does not always promote optimal larval growth
since these live preys may contain an inadequate fatty
acid profile and, in some cases, be of an inappropriate
size.

Calanoid

Cyclipoid

Herpacticoid

Creating a healthy environment for the

larvae
Environment

Pathogen

Larval
health

Feed

Biosecurity

The factors which determine the larval health and survival are
proper environment, suitable feed at right time, absence of
pathogens and overall biosecurity.
A green water system or the presence of certain microalgae can
make all the essential requirements for better larval health.

Green water system

The presence of microalgae in the larval rearing tank
will improve and stabilize the water quality in static
systems: green water system
The effect of microalgae in fish larval rearing system is
not completely understood.
The hypotheses listed in scientific studies include
improvement of water quality (removal of ammonia
and CO2),
direct nutrition through active ingestion,
indirect nutrition by enriching the live prey in the
rearing tank,
micronutrient stimulus for feeding behaviour or
physiological processes,
regulation of opportunistic bacteria by antibacterial
or probiotic action

Green water system in larval rearing tanks

Commercial algal culture and its

applications
Species
Nannochlor
opsis
Pavlova

Use in aquaculture
Growing rotifers and in fin fish hatcheries;very high EPA
level
Used to increase the DHA/EPA levels in oysters, clams,
mussels and scallops
Isochrysis
Enrichment of zooplankton such as artemia, used in
shellfish hatcheries and used in some shrimp hatcheries,
good size for feeding brine shrimp and copepods, oysters,
clams, mussels, and scallops
Tetraselmis Excellent feed for shrimp larvae and contains natural
amino acids that stimulate feeding in marine animals,
used in conjunction with
Nannochloropsis for producing rotifers, excellent feed for
increasing growth rates and fighting zoea syndrome
Thalassiosir Used in the shrimp and shellfish larviculture, considered
a
by several
weissflogii
hatcheries to be the single best alga for larval shrimps,
also good for
feeding copepods and brine shrimps

Antimicrobial property of microalgae

Widespread antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria
and the low specificity of these drugs made an urgent need for
the development of novel antibacterial agents.
Addition of microalgae (green water system) often has a
positive effect on the survival rates of finfish and shellfish
larvae.
Microalgae have been explored for their bioactive compounds
with promising applications consisting antibacterial, antiviral
and antifungal activities.

Application of transgenic microalgae

A stable transgenic line of Nannochloropsis oculata which has

bactericidal activity was developed.
By feeding this transgenic N. oculatato a small model fish
medaka, significant increase in the survival rate was observed
24 hours after bacterial pathogenic infection with Vibrio
parahaemolyticus in the fishs digestive tract.

Application of other live feeds in

larviculture
Other live feeds like rotifers, artemia and copepods are also
widely used in larviculture in different larval stages of different
species.
The rotifers and artemia can be enriched with suitable
microalgae or commercial enrichment product to get better
larval survival and health.
The copepods are nutritionally superior to artemia and
rotifers.
The broad range of size (30 to 1 mm) of copepods is also
suitable for marine larviculture.
Unfortunately the usage of copepods in hatchery operations
are limited as the single species mass culture of copepods are
not yet standardized in many countries and it is very difficult.

Conclusion
Live microalgae with high nutritive value and
appropriate physical properties can provide a
healthy rearing environment to the aquaculture
system.
A better understanding of the mechanism of green
water systems both in intensive and extensive
culture will aid in optimizing the usage of
microalgae in larval culture.
Further research has to be done on the exact
mechanisms on the improvement of growth,
survival and health of finfish and shellfish larvae by
different microalgae.

Thank
you