A Preliminary Study on the Effects of Taurine-Enriched Rotifers on the Growth and Survival of the Small Yellow Croaker Larimichthys polyactis Larvae

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Rotifers may not meet the nutritional requirements of cultured marine fish species during seed production. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of feeding rotifers enriched with taurine on the growth performance and survival of the small yellow croaker Larimichtys polyactis larvae. The taurine content in the fish increased with the increase in the rotifer taurine levels. The growth and survival rates of the larvae fed taurine-enriched rotifers were higher than those fed control rotifers. ABSTRACT: The effect of feeding with taurine-enriched rotifers on larval growth and survival in the small yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis was investigated. Rotifers, control (without taurine enrichment) or enriched with a commercial taurine supplement at two concentrations (400, and 800 mg/L), were used. The larvae (initial notochord length = 3.83 mm) were fed taurine-enriched rotifers in triplicate, from 3 days after hatching for 12 days. The average taurine contents of the rotifers were 0.31, 5.34, and 8.55 mg/g dry matter, respectively. The rotifers from all treatments had similar fatty acid composition. The growth and survival rates of the larvae fed rotifers enriched with 800 mg/L taurine supplementation were significantly higher than those of larvae fed rotifers without taurine enrichment (p = 0.005 and 0.002, respectively). The whole-body taurine content in the fish increased significantly with the increase in taurine level in the rotifers: 1.02, 3.48, and 4.11 mg/g in larvae fed control rotifers, and rotifers enriched with 400, and 800 mg/L taurine supplementation, respectively. The results of this study indicate that small yellow croaker larvae benefit from taurine concentrations above those typically reported in non-taurine-enriched rotifers.