Nutritional quality of live food organisms and their enrichment

Abstract

Nutritional research on cultivable species of aquatic animals has been receiving greater attention all over the world. Live food organisms such as phytoplankton and zooplankton are successfully used for rearing the larvae of fish and shellfish in hatcheries. Using the knowledge of nutritional requirements of candidate species of cultured organisms, compounded feeds are being developed with locally available raw materials. Techniques have been sucessfully evolved to prepare microencapsulated diets for rearing larvae of fish and shellfish. Continued efforts are on to produce nutritionally well balanced feeds through deeper understanding of amino acid and fatty acid requirements of animals. As a major cost-factor in the production, feed is a very important component in the overall development of mariculture.