Feeding Acipenser persicus and Huso huso larvae with Artemia urmiana nauplii enriched with highly unsaturated fatty acids and vitamin C: effect on growth, survival and fatty acid profile

This study aimed at evaluating the effects of enriching Artemia nauplii with the essential fatty acids docosahaexanoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and vitamin C (ascorbyl-6 palmitate) on growth and survival of early life history stages of Acipenser persicus and Huso huso. The fish larvae were fed with A. urmiana either in the form of decapsulated cysts, newly-hatched nauplii, or nauplii enriched with saturated lipid or highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) emulsions supplemented with vitamin C, (0, 10 and 20% w/w) during a 15-days culture period. The zootechnical parameters were measured every alternate day in order to determine larval survival and growth. Larvae fed on decapsulated cysts of A. urmiana had significantly lower growth and survival compared to other treatments. Survival of larvae fed on HUFA + 20% vitamin C was significantly better than the larvae fed only with vitamin C. Maximum increase in growth parameters was observed in larvae fed Artemia nauplii enriched with HUFA + 20% vitamin C.