Use of Cyclopoid Copepod Apocyclops dengizicus as Live Feed for Penaeus monodon Postlarvae

In this study, the suitability of cyclopoid copepod Apocyclops dengizicus as a live food for black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, postlarvae was investigated. After 14 d, P. monodon postlarvae (PL1) had survival rates of 41.7 +/- 2.9% (mean +/- SE), 28.7 +/- 1.2%, 56.3 +/- 3.7%, 4.4 +/- 1.9%, and 2.8 +/- 1.0% when fed A. dengizicus (CC), Artemia nauplii (AN), mixture of A. dengizicus and Artemia nauplii (CC + AN), artificial shrimp feed (SF), and microalga Tetraselmis tetrathele (TT), respectively. Specific growth rates (SGRs) of P. monodon were maximum (14.2 +/- 0.6%/d) in CC + AN, followed by CC (11.0 +/- 0.4%/d), AN (9.3 +/- 0.7%/d), SF (6.1 +/- 0.2%/d), and TT (6.0 +/- 0.5%/d). The total n-3 fatty acids of postlarvae increased from 20.6 to 25.8% when fed with CC, 28.8% with AN, and 29.0% with CC + AN. Better survival and SGRs of P. monodon postlarvae could be attributed to docosahexaenoic acid : eicosapentaenoic acid : arachidonic acid ratio of CC (10.2:3.2:1) diet. The results of this study showed that A. dengizicus has a potential to be used as a substitute live feed for P. monodon postlarvae because of better survival, growth, and high polyunsaturated fatty acids.