Arachidonic acid enrichment of rotifers and effects of dietary arachidonic acid on broodstock performance of rabbitfish Siganus guttatus

Abstract

Rotifers (Brachionus sp.) were cultured with various combinations of baker’s yeast, Nannochloropsis sp., Culture selco, and DHAPS with or without supplementation of arachidonic acid (triacylglycerol form). Rotifers were able to be enriched with emulsified- arachidonic acid supplemented to culture media. Considered the reciprocal ratios of arachidonic acid, EPA and DHA in rotifers, rotifers pre-cultured in Culture selco and then cultured in DHAPS had the best balance of essential fatty acids, and the optimum level of arachidonic acid supplementation to DHAPS appeared between 0% and 5%.

A feeding test was conducted to investigate the effects of arachidonic acid on the broodstock performance of rabbitfish (Siganus guttatus), one of the commercially valuable species in mangrove areas. A diet with 1.5% of arachidonic acid supplementation appeared to affect negatively the reproductive performance of S. guttatus broodstock, perhaps due to the excessive supplementation. Considered together with results of mangrove red snapper in 2003, the optimum supplementation of arachidonic acid in broodstock diets might be around 0.5%.