Estimation of live food consumption for Hippocampus barbouri and Hippocampus kuda
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Abstract
Seahorse is found worldwide in marine habitats such as seagrass beds, coral reefs, mangroves, and estuaries. Hippocampus barbouri and Hippocampus kuda are among the most traded seahorse species. In recent years, worldwide attention has strongly supported the establishment of seahorse aquaculture to provide an alternative source of seahorses. However, the main bottleneck in succeeding in seahorse aquaculture is the problems faced in the culture of early-stage juveniles, specifically the diet. The selection of suitable diet will contribute to the breeding success and larval rearing of seahorses. In this study, the consumption of live food by newborn, juvenile, and adult seahorses was investigated. H. barbouri and H. kuda commenced feeding at birth. The use of live food, namely newly hatched Artemia nauplii, was able to support the growth and survival of newborn and juvenile seahorses in specific tank systems. The results show an increasing trend in which the increase of seahorse age and size (height) increases the average numbers of Artemia nauplii consumed. The minimum numbers of nauplii consumed by H. barbouri and H. kuda at 3 DAB with heights of 14.24 ± 0.14 mm and 10.71 ± 0.13 mm were only 7 and 5 nauplii per feeding, respectively. This study showed that Artemia nauplii can be used as live food for H. barbouri from the newborn stage to 28 DAB, while for H. kuda from newborn to 42 DAB. As for the late juvenile stage of H. barbouri, at 90 DAB onwards, the use of adult Artemia instead of nauplii is highly recommended.
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