Paper – Principles of Aquaculture, Cluster I, III BSc BZC

Topic

LIVE FEED TYPES AND ADVANTAGES

IN AQUACULTURE

Prepared by

B. Ahmad Ali Baba

Lecturer in Zoology
P.R. Govt. College (A)
Kakinada
Introduction
Live food organisms include all plants (phytoplankton) and animal (zooplankton) lives eaten upon by
economically important fishes or shrimps. They are mostly used in Shrimp or fish hatcheries. The
success in the hatchery production depends on the live feeds.
Live food organisms contain all the nutrients such as essential proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins,
minerals, amino acids and fatty acids

Selection of live feed

When selecting food to be fed to the larvae, the following points should be considered:
1. The food must be perceived by the larvae
2. The size of food must be such that it can be accommodated by the mouth of the larvae.
3. The feed can be digested by the larvae.
5. Food organisms must be hardy.
6. They must be able to reproduce rapidly and can mass produced under controlled condition

IMPORTANT LIVE FEEDS

Among the different types of live feed available for use in aquaculture, some important ones are
discussed below.

Micro algae

Algae are chlorophyll bearing unicellular or multi-cellular plants. The important

components of microalgae are the diatoms, dinoflagellates, green algae, blue-
green algae. When multi-cellular, they may be colonial or filamentous. Most of
them are aquatic. Algae contains rich proteins. . Today, micro algae is used as
an essential food source for rearing all stages of shrimp or fish

Rotifers
Rotifers are popularly called as wheel animalcules. They are an important group
of live food organisms for use in aqua hatcheries. High nutritional value of
rotifers is of major importance for survival and growth of the fish larvae

Artemia
Artemia commonly known as brine shrimp are zooplankton, like copepods and
Daphnia, which are used as live food in the aquarium trade and for marine
finfish and crustacean larval culture.

Copepods
Copepods are common zooplankton of freshwater and brackishwater. They are
natural feeds for larvae and juveniles of many finfish and crustaceans and it is
generally believed that copepods can meet the nutritional requirements of fish
larvae. In contrast to rotifers, copepods are more difficult to culture on a
commercial basis.

Cladocerans
Cladocerans are generally called ‘water fleas’. Cladocera is an order of sub-
class - Branchiopoda and class - Crustacea. Two cladocerans, namely Daphnia
and Moina are important as live food. Cladocerans have the advantage of high
reproduction rates, wide temperature tolerance and the ability to thrive on
phytoplankton and organic wastes. They are mainly freshwater zooplankters;
Tubifex
Tubifex is a type of worm of class - Oligochaeta under the phylum - Annelida.
Tubifex is not suitable for larval rearing. It is best suited for brooders either fish
or shrimp. Tubifex is one of the best candidates owing its short generation time,
occurrence in a vast range of habitats and tolerance to a wide spectrum of
environmental variables

Chironomid Larvae
Chironomids are one of the most famous, diverse, and ecologically important
groups of aquatic macro invertebrates It belongs to class insecta of
athropoda. These are commonly called as blood worms due to the
presence of haemoglobin in their body fluid . Larvae initially live in soft
tubes made from organic matter. Fully grown larvae are dark red in
colour.
The chironoinid larvae are recognized as an important food for many
fishes and cultured invertebrate. These live foods are very popular in
aquarium fish trade. Chironomid larvae are excellent source of protein,
lipid, vitamins and minerals.

Advantages of Live feed

 Bulk availability through mass production
 Species and age specific diet can be planned
 Water stability
 Easy storage
 Easy to use in automatic feeders
 Highly palitable

Disadvantages of Live feed

 The diet may not be complete / perfect
 Long term or inappropriate storage can result in feed quality spoilage
 Too large as a first feed for the fry and nauplii of most species
 Not eaten by sick fish

Uses of life feed

 Suitable first feed for many species of larvae and nauplii
 Bringing broodstock into spawning condition
 Administering minerals, vitamins and medication
 Providing a balanced diet

Conclusion
At a younger stage the fish or shrimp may feed on plankton. Natural feeds have high protein and fat
contents, which promote the growth of the fish. Hence, it is necessary to increase the live food in the
aquatic ecosystem to improve the growth of the fish.
Various protein-rich live fish food such as Cyclops, Daphnia, Rotifers, Tubifex, earthworms, mosquito
larvae, chironomid larvae, artemia nauplii, etc. are considered as excellent live feed for the growth of
various stages of shrimps or fishes.