The Effects of Different Feed Enrichments on Survivorship and Growth of Early Juvenile Longsnout Seahorse, Hippocampus reidi. Issue 3 (9th June 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pham, Nancy Kim; Lin, Junda
• Is Part Of: Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. Volume 44:Issue 3(2013)
• Page Start: 435
• Page End: 446
• Publication Date: 2013-06-09
• Subjects: Aquaculture -- Periodicals; 639.8
• DOI: 10.1111/jwas.12037
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0893-8849

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <p> <bold>Culturing the longsnout seahorse, <italic>Hippocampus reidi</italic>, remains challenging because unlike most cultured seahorse species, <italic>Artemia</italic> is not an optimal first feed. Ideally, more nutritious live feeds such as wild plankton or copepods should be used, but are not always readily available. Therefore, facilities commonly utilize enriched rotifers. Numerous feed enrichment products exist, including Dan's Feed <italic>Artemia</italic> Enrichment<sup>®</sup>, (Dan's Feed) which is a blend of commercially available enrichment products. The aim of this study was to assess the survivorship, growth, and condition factor (CF) of 0–28 DPR (days post release) <italic>H. reidi</italic> fed with rotifers and <italic>Artemia</italic> enriched with Dan's Feed. This enrichment was evaluated against (1) rotifers and <italic>Artemia</italic> enriched with live alga (<italic>Isochrysis galbana</italic>), and (2) wild plankton and <italic>Artemia</italic> enriched with Dan's Feed. At 28 DPR, in terms of survivorship and growth, seahorses fed with rotifers and <italic>Artemia</italic> enriched with Dan's Feed had a lower CF and outperformed those fed rotifers and <italic>Artemia</italic> enriched with <italic>I. galbana</italic>. Seahorses fed with rotifers and <italic>Artemia</italic> enriched with Dan's Feed performed on par with those fed with wild plankton and <italic>Artemia</italic> with no significant difference in CF. These findings demonstrated that the culture of <italic>H. reidi</italic> may be feasible with rotifers and <italic>Artemia</italic> enriched with Dan's Feed</bold>.</p> </abstract>