Skeletal Anomalies in Senegalese Sole (Solea senegalensis, Kaup) Fed with Different Commercial Enriched Artemia: A Study in Postlarvae and Juveniles

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Enrichment products for Artemia spp. metanauplii are commonly used to enhance the nutritional quality of this live prey offered to fish during conventional larval feeding. However, there are few reports on the influence of such enrichments on the development of skeletal anomalies in Senegalese sole, a major problem for this flatfish aquaculture. This study evaluated the frequency of vertebral anomalies in postlarvae and juvenile Senegalese sole fed with Artemia spp. metanauplii enriched with four commercial products (EA, EB, EC, and ED) in a fish farm. The results show a high percentage of individuals with skeletal anomalies in every dietary group. Some types of anomalies were very frequent in all diet-age groups, indicating the presence of a common trend or mainstay of vertebral deformities. Despite some variations in the frequency of anomalies among diets, it was not possible to establish a clear effect of the enrichment products on the development of vertebral deformities at both rearing stages, probably for the “masking effect” of other rearing conditions. The multivariate statistical technique, as the correspondence analysis, indicated a different anomaly pattern among ages, where bone adaptative responses may be implied. ABSTRACT: The high incidence of skeletal anomalies in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) still constitutes a bottleneck constraining its production. There are diverse commercially available products for the enrichment of live preys, but few reports of their influence on skeletogenesis in Senegalese sole. This study evaluated the presence of vertebral anomalies in postlarvae and juvenile Senegalese sole fed with Artemia spp. metanauplii enriched with four commercial products (EA, EB, EC, and ED) in a fish farm. The most frequent alterations consisted of deformations of the neural/haemal arches and spines and fusions and deformations of hypurals, epural, or parhypural. The correspondence analysis ordered fish from each age in separated semiaxis, indicating the presence of different anomaly patterns for the two sampled stages. The results showed only very light changes in the frequency of vertebral abnormalities among tested enrichment products, i.e., individuals from EC and EA lots displayed less vertebral body anomalies and/or vertebral column deviations at 31 and 105 days after hatching, respectively. The existence of a large shared malformation pattern in all the experimental groups leads to impute to the rearing conditions as the main driving factor of the onset of such group of anomalies, probably masking some dietary effect.