Uso del aceite de langostilla como enriquecedor de rotíferos. Efectos sobre el crecimiento y la sobrevivencia de larvas de cabrilla (Paralabrax maculatofasciatus)

Abstract

The use of oils of marine engin for the lipid enrichment of live preys such as rotifers and Artemia is a common practice in marine larviculture. Fish and squid oils are widely used for this purpose, because of their content in highly-unsaturated fatty acids. In Mexico there is a very abundant crustacean known as pelagic red crab (Pleuroncodes planipes) whose pilot fishery is being developed to obtain two main products: meal and oil. The oil is rich in highly-unsaturated fatty acids and pigments. In order to determine the nutritional value of the red crab oil as a source of lipids, we compared the growth and survival rates of spotted sea bass (Paralabrax maculatofasciatus) larvae under 2 feeding treatments using rotifers Brachionus plicatilis: 1) rotifers enriched with squid oil, 2) rotifers enriched with red crab oil and a control consisting on rotifers without enrichment. The feeding treatments were evaluated with three replicates for 21 days. The larvae were fed ad libitum once a day after hatching with a prey density of 5 rotifer/ml. Larvae fed on crab-oil enriched rotifers showed the highest length increase and survival, nevertheless, no significant differences between treatments were detected (p>0.05). Our results indicate that red crab oil can be used as a source of lipids, via rotifers, for spotted sea bass larvae, since it allows to obtain similar performances to those obtained with the squid oil, in terms of growth in lenght and survival.