REPRODUCTION RATE AND NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION (PROTEINS, LIPIDS) OF MESOCYCLOPS LEUCKARTI (COPEPODA, CYCLOPOIDA) ENRICHED WITH ORGANIC DIETS FOR AQUACULTURAL PURPOSES

Mesocyclops leuckarti is a zooplankton that is potentially suitable as a live food for freshwater fish larvae. Aquaculture farmers often struggled to create nutritious live feed to maximize the production of larval fish. This study aimed to determine the effects of different enrichments on lifetable parameters, protein, lipid and fatty acid content of M. leuckarti when enriched with different dietary enrichments. In this study, five treatments for raising the copepod were compared: rice bran, soybean meal, Chlorella sp., Spirulina sp., and unenriched (control). The results showed that M. leuckarti after 16 days of cultivation enriched with rice bran produced a higher population density (53.3 ind/ml) and survival rate (97.4%) than when cultivated with any of the other diets. In terms of nutritional value, protein content was higher in M. leuckarti enriched with rice bran (52% DW) and soybean meal (53% DW). However, lipid content was highest in M. leuckarti enriched with rice bran (14% DW). Fatty acids, such as alpha-linolenic acid ALA (7.21%) and docosahexaenoic acid DHA (6.26%) were higher in M. leuckarti enriched with rice bran. Eicosapentaenoic acid EPA (7.16%) and arachidonic acid ARA (7.74%) were higher in M. leuckarti enriched with Chlorella sp. This study suggests that organic by-products are better sources for strengthening and improving the growth performance and life history of this copepod, and possibly also of zooplankton organisms in general.