Comparing Live Food PUFA Enrichment with and without Tocopherol supplementation for the intensive culture of yellow perch Perca flavescens larvae  

John D. Grayson*, Jacques Rinchard, and Konrad Dabrowski
School of Environment and Natural Resources
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH 43210
grayson.37@osu.edu

Limited experience with live food regimes and fragmentary knowledge of nutritional requirements have been inhibitors for the indoor-intensive production of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) larvae. Live food enrichment with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) is a proven means of increasing the growth and survival of larval fish, but increased dietary PUFA is often associated with increased lipid peroxidation. We carried out a larvae culture experiment that evaluated the influence of PUFA enrichment of live feeds with and without α-tocopherol supplementation on the performance of yellow perch.  

This experiment was carried out during the first 10 days of feeding by larvae on PUFA enriched rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) and Artemia nauplii. Larvae were cultured in a specialized recirculating system with 50 L conical tanks equipped with surface spray and aeration via either a central air stone (Control 1) or a diffuser ring around the perimeter of the tanks (Control 2). The third treatment group had tanks with central air stones and α-tocopherol supplementation within the PUFA enrichment (Tocopherol). Temperature was maintained at 24.5±1.5˚C and marine microalgae and evaporated salt were added to the system to maintain a turbidity of 5.5±0.6 NTU and a salinity of 2.7±0.4 ppt. The fatty acid and tocopherol composition of live feeds and fish were analyzed using gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively.

After 10 days of feeding, no significant differences (p≤0.05) in swim bladder inflation were found among treatments. The Tocopherol group had a higher rate of survival than the Control 2 group and a higher final weight and growth rate than the Control 1 and 2 groups. Two-way ANOVA also showed a significant difference in weight between fish with and without inflated swim bladders, but the interaction of swim bladder status and treatment group was not significant. These data suggest that PUFA enrichment with α-tocopherol supplementation provides the most advantageous larval diet for yellow perch.