A Preliminary Experiment on the Effect of Artemia Enriched with Arachidonic Acid on Survival and Growth of Yellowtail

Abstract

The effect of arachidonic acid (AA) on survival and growth of yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata during Artemia feeding period was investigated through two feeding experiments. Artemia nauplii enriched with oleic acid (OA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and AA were given to 20-day (TL=8.1mm; Expt. I) and 23-day (TL=9.0mm; Expt. II) old larvae for 13 days.
The fish fed with DHA-enriched Artemia showed the highest growth and best survival rate, whereas those fed AA-enriched Artemia showed the lowest survival rate and poorest growth. In both experiments, the mortality rate of fish fed with AA-enriched Artemia was remarkably high, especially from the 3^rd to the 8^th day of the rearing. Lipids analysis showed that the neutral lipid content in whole body of the fish fed AA-enriched Artemia was much lower than those in the other three groups.
This preliminary experiment clearly showed that 4% AA content in Artemia (dry matter basis) has a negative effect on growth performance for the rearing of yellowtail larvae and juveniles.