Live foods in the feeding of aquarium fish larvae

At reproduction centers, using live food is important, especially when it comes to the first feeding of aquarium fish larvae. Live foods commonly used in the aquarium aquaculture industry include rotifers in two sizes, small types with a size of 50-110 microns, and larger types with a size of 100-200 microns, Artemia, and copepods. Fish larvae in marine aquariums primarily consume copepods. However, there is still need to develop protocols to produce this tiny live food in propagation facilities. This is because the food consumption and digestive system of copepods are different from other live foods such as rotifer and Artemia. Copepods are nutritionally valuable due to the fact they contain long-chain unsaturated fatty acids including docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid. There is an insufficient amount of long-chain unsaturated fatty acids in both Rotifers and Artemia nauplii, a deficiency that can be rectified through dietary enrichment. In this study, live foods are discussed as an important component of feeding aquarium fish larvae.