Effects of enriched Artemia with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Chaetoceros gracilis on growth performance, stress resistance and fatty acid profile of Litopenaeus vannamei postlarvae

Abstract

The present study was aimed to evaluate the effects of Artemia enrichment with baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Y) and Chaetoceros gracilis (C) on growth performance, stress resistance as well as fatty acid profile of Litopenaeus vannamei post larvae (PL) for 15 days. Newly hatched Artemia franciscana nauplii (N) served as a control group. Survival did not change among different experimental groups. PL in C and N groups had the highest (767.0± 117.0µg) and the lowest (367.0± 44.0 µg) dry weight, respectively, and PL in Y group showed intermediate value (567.0± 117.0µg). PL in Y and N groups had the highest (52.3 ± 2.9%) and the lowest (31.3 ± 2.8%) survival rate, when exposed to the fresh water stress test, respectively. The concentrations of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid were higher in Artemia enriched with C. gracilis than other groups. Moreover, the n-3 to n-6 PUFA ratio was significantly higher in PL fed C group than other treatments. In conclusion, feeding enriched Artemia with C. gracilis or S. cerevisiae can improve growth performance and stress resistance in L. vannamei PL.