The minute monogonont rotifer Proales similis de Beauchamp: Culture and feeding to small mouth marine fish larvae

Abstract

The body length and width of Proales similis (mean±SD; 83±11 μm and 40±6 μm, respectively) is 38.1% smaller and 60.3% narrower than that of Brachionus rotundiformis.Due to its small size, P. similis has potential for rearing marine fish larvae which require first food smaller than B. rotundiformis. We examined the feasibility of using P. similis as live food by analyzing its life history, population growth and feeding incidence by fish larvae. P. similis produced first offspring on 2.5-2.8 days after hatch. Females produced 4.3-7.8 offspring during their 2.9-3.4 day reproductive period. P. similis grew well at temperatures 25 to 35 0 C (density = 250 to 1030 ind./ml; r = 0.68 to 0.81 day -1 ) and at salinities 2 to 15 ppt (density = 360 to 500 ind./ml; r = 0.73 to 0.78 day -1 ). Population density of P. similis was higher than B. rotundiformis after 8 days of culture period with either N. oculata and C. vulgaris as food. In mass culture, population density of P. similis increased from 25 to 2,400 ind./ml (r = 0.42 day -1 ) after 11 days. Results from feeding experiments confirm that P. similis is consumed by seven-band grouper (Epinephelus septemfasciatus) larvae. The larvae demonstrated the highest feeding rate at 20 ind./ml of P.similis.

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“…However, in mass cultures of rotifers acclimated to 25°C and 25 psu, there were maximum densities of up to 2400 rot ml -1 and an average r of 0.42 day -1 . Coinciding with the study of Wullur et al, (2009), the results of this investigation indicated that salinities in the range of 5-35 psu significantly influenced the maximum density (Dmax) after 8 days of culture. The lowest value was recorded with a salinity of 35 psu (1703 rot ml ) and the highest values with salinities below 35 psu (2488 to 2560 rot ml -1 , r=0.50 to 0.51 days -1 ).…”

“…In this work, we studied the rotifer P. similis, a highly relevant rotifer because it is a native species of northwestern Mexico that has great potential for use as live feed in the larviculture of marine fish with extremely small mouths, as has been documented by Wullur et al, (2009) and Hagiwara et al, (2014) for P. similis from the estuarine waters of Okinawa, Japan. However, strains of the same species with different geographic origins can have different biological characteristics and environmental requirements as a result of different genetic backgrounds (Yin & Zhao, 2008;Malekzadeh-Viayeh et al, 2010); thus, it is important to evaluate the potential for growth of the different native strains recently identified.…”

“…For example, it has been found that salinity affects the lifetime, the reproduction mode and the growth rate of rotifers of the genus Brachionus (Bosque, Hernández, Pérez, Todolí, & Oltra, 2001;Hagiwara, Gallardo, Assavaaree, & Koyani., 2001;Kostopoulou, Miliou, Krontira, & Verriopoulus, 2007;Yin & Zhao, 2008). For P. similis, Wullur et al (2009) reported that in the salinity range of 2-30 psu and in serial cultures, the highest densities were recorded at salinities of 2 and 15 psu (500 and 360 rot mL -1 , respectively), while the lowest densities were recorded at salinities of 20-30 psu (<120 rot ml -1 ), suggesting that salinities of 2-15 psu are the best for the growth of P. similis (which coincides with the salinities of its original natural environment) under laboratory conditions, and that the lower growth recorded at salinities >25 psu was due to the increase in energy demand for osmoregulation and a decrease in the filtration rate. However, in mass cultures of rotifers acclimated to 25°C and 25 psu, there were maximum densities of up to 2400 rot ml -1 and an average r of 0.42 day -1 .…”

“…This rotifer is euryhaline, consumes live microalgae and commercial products and is also cosmopolitan. This rotifer can be cultured under different salinities, with good population growth (Wullur et al, 2009), which is highly relevant when considering the different salt conditions where some aquaculturally important fish larvae are reported to grow and survive (Wang, Li, Cui, & Lu, 2013).…”

“…There have been recent studies on the management and production of rotifers belonging to other taxonomic genera, notably a series of papers presented by Wullur, Sakakura, and Hagiwara (2009);Wullur, Sakakura, and Hagiwara (2011);Hirai, Koiso, Teruya, Kobayashi, Takebe, Sato, Nakamura, Goto, and Hagiwara (2012) ;Wullur, Yoshimatsu, Tanaka, Ohtani, Sakakura, Kim, and Hagiwara (2013); Hagiwara, Wullur, Marcial, Hirai, and Sakakura (2014) and Tomoda, Furuita, Kamoshida, Kurogi, Shibuno, Tanaka, and Tezuka (2014), in which they describe some biological and nutritional characteristics of the rotifer Proales similis, which was isolated from an estuary in the Ishigaki island, Okinawa, Japan, and was used successful in the first feeding of larval fish with extremely small mouths. They described this species as a small size (80±3.4 µm), soft-bodied (aloricated) rotifer that reaches high densities in laboratory cultures.…”