Collection and culture of live foods for aquaculture in Taiwan

Abstract

Collection and culture of live foods to be used instudies of feeds for rearing finfish and shellfishlarvae in Taiwan began in 1982. Today, 31 species (49strains) of microalgae, three species (nine strains)of rotifers, one cladoceran and one copepod are holdas start culture. Microalgae are collected from localwaters and obtained from foreign collection centers.The most common genera are Chlorella,Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis, Chaetoceros, Skeletonema, Isochrysis, and Pavlova. Someinteresting genera such as Ellipsoidion,Nannochloris, Synechococcus, and Alexandriumare also included. Three types of rotifers, i.e. L, S,and SS-type, which are classified as Brachionusplicatilis, B. rotundiformis, and Brachionus sp. are found in Taiwan waters. Among therotifers, six strains have been isolated and cultured.Another L-type strain and two SS-type strains wereobtained from foreign sources. The cladoceran Diaphanosoma aspinosum and copepod Apocyclopsroyi are the most common species used in aquaculture.Studies of live foods including their morphology,culture techniques, fatty acid composition andnutritional value as feeds have been undertaken.