F. Zheng, T. Takeuchi, K. Yoseda, M. Kobayashi, J. Hirokawa, T. Watanabe-1996
Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi, 62(4) : 669-676
Abstract:
Two feeding experiments were conducted to determine the requirement of larval cod Gadus macrocephalus for arachidonic acid (AA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) by feeding Artemia nauplii enriched with different levels of AA, EPA, and DHA.
The 20-22-day old larvae were fed Artemia enriched with different fatty acids for 11, 15 or 19 days. The larvae fed Artemia containing 7.46-8.94% EPA (dry matter basis) showed good growth and survival, but the survival at the 30 second vitality test was low. Feeding Artemia having EPA lower than 6.46% resulted in no improvement of growth, survival, and vitality. On the other hand, the larvae fed Artemia containing 1.56-2.10% DHA showed the best growth performances including vitality. The Artemia enriched with AA provided no improvement in survival and vitality for cod larvae.
It has been shown that adequate level of DHA in Artemia nauplii for cod larvae was estimated to be 1.6-2.1% on dry matter basis. Thus, DHA was found to be far superior to EPA as an essential fatty acid for larval cod.
(Department of Aquatic Biosciences, Tokyo University of Fisheries, Minato, Tokyo 108, Japan)