Effects of enriched Artemia urmiana with HUFA on growth, survival, and fatty acids composition of the Persian sturgeon larvae (Acipenser persicus)

 Recently, the nutritional requirements of marine finfish larvae have received considerable attention, and studies have shown that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) affects the growth and survival of marine finfish larvae. This study investigated the effects of different Artemia enrichments containing variable amounts of DHA and EPA on the growth and survival of larval Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus). Four different Artemia enrichments ICES۳۰/۴ (with ۲۰.۹۰mg/g DW DHA and ۶.۲۹mg/g DW EPA), Sturgeon Ovary Oil (SOO) (with ۲.۷۶mg/g DW DHA and ۷.۵۵mg/g DW EPA), Cod Liver Oil (CLO) (with ۷.۶۴mg/g DW DHA and ۱۱.۳۹mg/g DW EPA) and Linseed Oil (LO) (with ۰.۰۰mg/g DW DHA and ۰.۰۳mg/g DW EPA) in seventy five aquaria (each ۴۵ liter, with three replicates per treatment) were used. The resultant Artemia contained a different concentration of DHA (۰.۰۰-۵.۹۹mg/g DW) and EPA (۰.۶۹-۴.۹۷mg/g DW). Larvae were fed with Artemia from ۳ to ۲۰ days after active feeding at ۲۵۰ prey l-۱. Results showed that there were significant differences between treatments regarding to the total length and wet weight but no significant differences were found in dry weight between the larvae reared on different treatments. However, larvae reared on LO were significantly higher (in weight) than larvae reared on ICES۳۰/۴ and SOO. Larval survival on the SOO enriched Artemia (۹۳.۳±۱.۶) at ۲۰th day was significantly higher than other treatments. Our results showed a positive effect of Artemia DHA proportions on growth and survival of the Persian sturgeon, and demonstrated that larvae of this species require a high ratio of dietary DHA to EPA.

Keywords:

sturgeon larvae , Fatty acid composition , Enrichments , Artemia urmiana