Culture of rotifer and their nutritional enrichment- Winter School on Recent Advances in Breeding and Larviculture of Marine Finfish and Shellfish (original) (raw)

Nutritional suitability of the rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus Pallas for rearing freshwater fish larvae

Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 1992

Brachionus calyciflorus Pallas f e l o n Dicryospbaerzum chlorelloides were investigated in batch and semicontinuous culture systems. The mean daily roduction was 57.4 and 34.2 mg of rotifers I-'&' (wet weight) respectively and were highly depen&nt o n initial algal cell density. The rotifer fed on algae contained high amounts of linoleic acid (18 : 2n-6) and amino acids such as arginine. The suitability of rotifers for gud eon Gobio gobzo L. and perch Percafluviatilis L. larvae during their early feeding stage was investigatei. After a 10-day experiment, larvae fed with rotifers grew significantly faster than those fed on micro-encapsulated dry food. The best food conversion and protein efficiency ratio were observed with the larvae fed with rotifers. Combining rotifers with micro-encapsulated dry food better improved growth rate and food utilization in perch than did the dry food alone.

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2006 Academic Journals Review Culture of the freshwater rotifer, Brachionus

2006

The bottle neck of most inland freshwater aquaculturists is in obtaining adequate number of fingerlings, due to their high mortality at early life stages. Their successful production is hindered by many factors including adequate supply of food at early larval stages which require live food in good quality and quantity. This paper attempts to review the principles and procedures involved in the culture of the freshwater rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus as starter food for most freshwater fish fry. There are several strains of different sizes of this rotifer, thus making them suitable for fry of a variety of sizes. This rotifer can be isolated, continuously produced by batch culture and ‘feed back ’ culture systems. It can be fortified with diets containing highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) for high survival and overall high growth and performance in several fish species including endangered and some problematic species. In spite of attempts to replace rotifer with more accessibl...

The use of non-Brachionus plicatilis species complex rotifer in larviculture

Hydrobiologia

Due to the expanding world aquaculture production, the demand for high quality and quantity of fish larvae has also increased. Up to date, the bottleneck in larviculture is the stable and ample production of appropriate live food such as rotifers and copepods. Among rotifers, Brachionus plicatilis species complex, which encompasses 15 species with varied sizes ranging from 100-400 µm, is commonly used in most hatcheries. The use of B. plicatilis species complex (B. plicatilis, B. koreanus and B. rotundiformis) in larviculture is reported in several review papers. In this review, we first described rotifer species not classified under B. plicatilis species complex, some of which are already used in larviculture, while some have high potential for use based on their characteristics, life history, and distribution. Rotifers, Brachionus angularis, Brachionus calyciflorus and Proales similis are described in details in comparison with B. plicatilis species complex. Furthermore, we discussed some characteristics of rotifers which can affect their predation.

Morfología y ultraestructura del rotífero de agua dulce Brachionus bidentatus (Monogononta: Brachionidae), utilizando microscopía electrónica de barrido y transmisión

Revista de Biología Tropical, 2013

Morfología y ultraestructura del rotífero de agua dulce Brachionus bidentatus (Monogononta: Brachionidae), utilizando microscopía electrónica de barrido y transmisión. The study of sexual reproductive behavior supported by ultrastructural evidence is important in rotifers to describe differences among potential cryptic species. In this research, the morphology of the rotifer Brachionus bidentatus is described atthe ultrastructural level, using electronic microscopy, together with a brief description and discussion of its sexual reproductive behavior. The characteristics of the (a) male,(b) the female, (c) the sexual egg or cyst, (d) the partenogenic egg, (e) the no-fecundated sexual egg (male egg), and (f) the trophi, were described. Another part of this research is dedicated to the ultrastructure of the sex cells of the male rotifer B. bidentatus. Samples were obtained from La Punta pond in Cosio, Aguascalientes, Mexico (22°08' N -102°24' W), and a culture was maintained in the laboratory. Fiftyorganisms, from different stages of the rotifer Brachionus bidentatus, were fixed in Formol at 4% and then prepared; besides, for the trophi, 25 female rotifer Brachionus bidentatus were prepared for observation in a JEOL 5900 LV scanning electronic microscope. In addition, for the observation of male sex cells, 500 males of Brachionus bidentatus were isolated, fixed and observed in a JEOL 1010 transmission microscope. Females of B. bidentatus in laboratory cultures had a lifespan of five days (mean±one SD=4.69±0.48; N=13), and produced 4.5+3.67 (N=6) parthenogenetic eggs during such lifespan. In the case of non-fertilized sexual eggs, they produced up to 18 eggs (mean±one SD=13±4.93; N=7). Sexual females produced a single cyst on average (mean±one SD=1±0; N=20). For the sexual cycle, the time of copulation between male and female ranged from 10 to 40 seconds (mean±one SD=17.33±10.55, N=7). The spermatozoa are composed of a celular body and a flagellum, the size of the body is of 300nm while the flagellum measures 1 700nm. The rods have a double membrane. Their mean length is almost 2.45µm±0.74, N=6; and their mean wide is 0.773µm±0.241, N=11. The evidence on the specific ultrastructural characteristics of the rotifer B. bidentatus is notorious, even more in the male and in the cyst cell. Regarding the ultrastructure of the spermatozoa and the rods, compared to other species they only differ in size, despite their structural resemblance. Our study of the ultraestructure of this species adds useful information that along with molecular data will help clarify the taxonomy of brachionid rotifers. Rev. Biol. Trop. 61 (4): 000-000. Epub 2013 December 01.

A Laotian strain of the rotifer Brachionus angularis holds promise as a food source for small-mouthed larvae of freshwater fish in aquaculture

Aquaculture, 2011

A very small strain of the freshwater rotifer Brachionus angularis (Laos strain) was isolated in Vientiane, Laos. We investigated the morphology as well as grazing and growth characteristics of this strain. The lorica of the Laos strain was round, 86.0± 4.9 μm (mean ± SD) in length, with a few small spines. These morphological characteristics make the strain an appropriate live food for small-mouthed larvae of freshwater fish. The rotifer's grazing rate on Chlorella vulgaris increased in a density-dependent manner up to approximately 10× 10 6 algalcells ml − 1. The rotifer filtering rate was stable (ca. 100 μl per individual per hour [ind. − 1 h − 1 ]) at 0.5-10× 10 6 algal cells ml − 1 and declined to 30-50 μl ind. − 1 h − 1 at a higher C. vulgaris density (20 × 10 6 cells ml − 1). In batch cultures, the rotifer strain grew well at 24°C and 27°C when fed with algal densities of 7 × 10 6 and 10× 10 6 cells ml − 1 ; under these conditions, the rotifer density reached N 2000 ind.ml − 1 within 10 days. Life history parameters were obtained using the individual culture method. The generation time became shorter at higher temperatures and higher algal densities.

Rotifers as food in aquaculture

Hydrobiologia, 1989

The rotifer Brachionusplicatilis (O.F. Muller) can be mass cultivated in large quantities and is an important live feed in aquaculture. This rotifer is commonly offered to larvae during the first 7-30 days of exogenous feeding. Variation in prey density affects larval fish feeding rates, rations, activity, evacuation time, growth rates and growth efficiencies. B. plicatilis can be supplied at the food concentrations required for meeting larval metabolic demands and yielding high survival rates. Live food may enhance the digestive processes of larval predators. A large range of genetically distinct B. plicatilis strains with a wide range of body size permit larval rearing of many fish species. Larvae are first fed on a small strain of rotifers, and as larvae increase in size, a larger strain of rotifers is introduced. Rotifers are regarded as living food capsules for transferring nutrients to fish larvae. These nutrients include highly unsaturated fatty acids (mainly 20: 5 n-3 and 22: 6 n-3) essential for survival of marine fish larvae. In addition, rotifers treated with antibiotics may promote higher survival rates. The possibility of preserving live rotifers at low temperatures or through their resting eggs has been investigated.

Morphology and ultrastructure of the freshwater rotifer Brachionus bidentatus (Monogononta: Brachionidae) using scanning and transmission electron microscopy

Revista de biología tropical, 2013

The study of sexual reproductive behavior supported by ultrastructural evidence is important in rotifers to describe differences among potential cryptic species. In this research, the morphology of the rotifer Brachionus bidentatus is described at the ultrastructural level, using electronic microscopy, together with a brief description and discussion of its sexual reproductive behavior. The characteristics of the (a) male, (b) the female, (c) the sexual egg or cyst, (d) the partenogenic egg, (e) the no-fecundated sexual egg (male egg), and (f) the trophi, were described. Another part of this research is dedicated to the ultrastructure of the sex cells of the male rotifer B. bidentatus. Samples were obtained from La Punta pond in Cosio, Aguascalientes, Mexico (22 degrees 08' N - 102 degrees 24' W), and a culture was maintained in the laboratory. Fifty organisms, from different stages of the rotifer Brachionus bidentatus, were fixed in Formol at 4% and then prepared; besides, ...