Incorporation patterns of fatty acids and carotenoids in adult Artemia franciscana fed with 3 enriching

Abstract

Different types of live prey have been used throughout the history of aquaculture (copepods , rotifers, nematodes, amphipodos , Artemia... ). Most of these organisms have been used to feed larvae and juveniles of different fish species and crustaceans. But some organisms do not accept dry food, or feed is preferable with live or frozen prey at certain stages of development. Artemia is an organism with nutritional deficiencies so it has been investigated to improve the techniques and products wich can enhance their biochemical composition. In this experiment three different enrichments will be tested to observe the accumulation of different nutrients in Artemia. In this experiment adult Artemia (8.81±0.95 mm) was enriched with 3 different products: DHA Easy Selco® (INVE, Belgium) (0,6g/l); a mix of 0,6g/l of Selco® with 0,6 g/l of Superba™ (Aker BioMarine AS, Norway) and, a mix of 0,6g/l of Selco with 0,6g/l of mussel oil. Artemia initial samples were taken, and then every hour, until 8 hours from each treatment and finally one last sample at 24 hours. Total carotenoids and fatty acid methyl esters were extracted from samples. In all three treatments both fatty acids and pigments increased in the first hour, and may be related to a rapid filling of the digestive tract of Artemia. In addition EPA / DHA ratios are higher in the SK06 and SM06 treatments, and correlation is higher in the first one (r2 = 0.977) because it is more stable over time. After 8 hours the concentration of all elements decreases to approximately baseline values, which may be due to depletion in rich culture medium.