Growth enhancement and survival of Macrobrachium rosenbergii larvae fed Artemia nauplii enriched with cod liver oil and/or Lactobacillus

Abstract

A 60-day experiment was conducted to study the single and combined effects of feeding Artemia nauplii enriched with an emulsion containing cod liver oil and/or a probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus sporogenes) on the growth and survival of Macrobrachium rosenbergii larvae. Artemia enriched with the emulsion (with and without probiotic enrichment) and tissue of M. rosenbergii fed such Artemia had significantly higher (p<0.05) HUFA (20:5 n-3, 22:6 n-3) con- tents than unenriched Artemia or Artemia enriched with the probiotic only. The first postlarvae appeared 7-8 days earlier and 95% of the postlarvae 11-12 days earlier in the emulsion-enriched groups than in the control or probiotic-only groups. Growth in the probiotic-only group did not sig- nificantly differ (p>0.05) from the control. Feeding probiotic-treated Artemia reduced pathogenic bacteria (Vibrio sp. and Pseudomonas sp.) in the gut microflora. The highest survival was recorded in the group fed Artemia nauplii enriched with both the probiotic bacteria and the cod liver oil emulsion.