Effects of n3-HUFA enriched Daphnia magna on growth, survival, stress resistance, and fatty acid composition of larvae of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus)

Abstract

Effects of Daphnia magna enriched with cod liver oil (CLO) as a source of highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) on growth, survival, stress resistance, and fatty acid composition of the Persian sturgeon larvae were evaluated. Daphnia enriched for three different time periods (3, 6, and 9 hours) and non-enriched Daphnia were fed to the Persian sturgeon larvae (average weight 61.6±0.4mg) during 14 days. The highest n3-HUFA content was found in Daphnia enriched for 9 hours (0.69mg g-1 DW) and the highest n3-HUFA content of the larvae was also found in those larvae fed with Daphnia enriched for 9 hours (2.39mg/g-1DW). A significant growth difference between larvae fed with enriched and non-enriched Daphnia was observed (p<0.05), while survival rate did not significantly differ among the treatments (p>0.05). Furthermore, the highest pH stress resistance was found in those larvae fed with Daphnia enriched for 9 and 6 hours (p<0.05). A salinity stress test did not show significant differences among the treatments.