Premium
Enriched Artemia and Probiotic Diets Improve Survival of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout Larvae and Fry
Author(s) -
Arndt Ronney E.,
Wagner Eric J.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
north american journal of aquaculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.432
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1548-8454
pISSN - 1522-2055
DOI - 10.1577/a06-005.1
Subject(s) - biology , probiotic , trout , zoology , lactobacillus , fishery , aquaculture , food science , oncorhynchus , feed conversion ratio , rotifer , fish <actinopterygii> , bacteria , ecology , body weight , endocrinology , genetics , fermentation
Abstract In a sequence of two tests, probiotics were tested for their ability to enhance the survival of larvae and fry of the Colorado River cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus . For the first test (12 d), first‐feeding fish were fed Artemia franciscana that had been enriched with Lactobacillus bacteria, a commercial probiotic formula, or Selco (an emulsion containing omega‐3 fatty acids and essential fatty acids combined with phytoplankton). Two control treatments—an Artemia control group fed nauplii that had not been enriched and a commercial feed control group that was fed a commercial swim‐up feed formulation—were also included. There were no significant differences between treatments with respect to survival, although the swim‐up feed controls had 82% survival over 12 d, compared with an average of 93% for the other treatments. Swim‐up control fish grew significantly better than fish in the Lactobacillus‐ fed treatment. As a continuation of the study (second test), growth and survival between the swim‐up control fish and the Lactobacillus‐ fed treatment were compared over 71 d. The swim‐up control fish were fed a commercial diet for the duration, the particle size increasing with fish growth. The Lactobacillus‐ fed fish were offered the same‐sized diet as the control except that it was top‐dressed with lactobacilli. Survival was improved for fry fed the Lactobacillus diet compared with fish fed the unmodified commercial formulation. Feed conversion ratios were also significantly better for fry fed the Lactobacillus diet. Artemia and probiotics appear to be useful methods for improving the survival of Colorado River cutthroat trout larvae and fry.