Preliminary findings on supplementation of snapper fry, Lutjanus sp. with DHA-rich thraustochytrid strain, Schizochytrium sp. LEY7 showed increased growth, survival and robustness

Abstract

In this study, a preliminary experiment was conducted to investigate the beneficial effects of an indigenous DHA-rich thraustochytrid strain, Schizochytrium sp. LEY7 as supplement for snapper fry Lutjanus sp. using a long-term enrichment method (24 h) via Artemia. Results on the average total length (ATL) indicated that Schizohchytrium sp. LEY7 can be used as a growth enhancer (3.07 ± 0.03 mm) over the hatchery-produced emulsion (2.87 ± 0.04 mm) and the commercial enrichment SELCO (2.91 ± 0.04 mm). Starved treatment has an ATL of 2.89 ± 0.03 at the end of the feeding trial. Highest survival was obtained in the treatment fed Schizochytrium-enriched Artemia, with a mean survival of 65.52 ± 4.83, as compared to treatments fed Artemia enriched either with hatchery-produced emulsion (30.69 ± 25.17) or SELCO (54.14 ± 4.48). Survival of the starved treatment was 27.93 ± 10.69. There was a trend of lowest mortality seen for the treatment fed Schizochytrium-enriched Artemia when immersed at different salinity levels. Treatment fed SELCO-enriched Artemia was infested with the parasitic dinoflagellate Amyloodinium sp. Overall, the preliminary data obtained from this study indicate that the supplementation of Schizochytrium sp. LEY7 increases the quality of snapper fry and its chance of survival under adverse environmental conditions. Confirmatory experiments are therefore suggested to verify the results obtained.