Optimization of Live Prey Enrichment Media for Rearing Juvenile Short-Snouted Seahorse, Hippocampus hippocampus
2023
Jorge Palma | Ricardo Lima | José Pedro Andrade | Maria João Lança
This study aimed to determine a nutritionally adequate feeding protocol for Hippocampus hippocampus juveniles. In the experimental trial, seahorses were fed copepods from 0&ndash:7 days post-parturition (DPP) and, from 8&ndash:28 DPP, four different dietary treatments: (copepods (control diet) (Cop): microalgae-enriched Artemia with a docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)/eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ratio of 2:1 (ArtDHA/EPA): microalgae-enriched Artemia with a DHA/EPA ratio of 2:1 along with 5% copepods (ArtDHA/EPA5%): and with 10% copepods (ArtDHA/EPA10%)). At the end of the trial, juvenile seahorses fed Cop grew significantly more (p <: 0.05) (5.1 mg d&minus:1) than those on fish-fed diets ArtDHA/EPA5% or ArtDHA/EPA10% (3.09 and 3.07 mg d&minus:1, respectively), or those on the fish-fed ArtDHA/EPA (1.83 mg d&minus:1) diet, all of which performed poorly. Data suggest that feeding copepods during the first 7 DPP promotes maturation of the digestive tract of juvenile seahorses, and the addition of a limited amount of copepods to the diet improves H. hippocampus juvenile growth performance when compared with the use of Artemia as a single diet due to the improvement of the essential fatty acid profile in the diets.
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