The saltwater rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis, is widely used in the aquaculture industry as a prey item for first-feeding fishes due to its ease of culture, small size, rapid reproductive rate, and amenability to enrichment with nutrients. Despite the distinct advantages of this approach, rotifers have only been sporadically utilized for rearing larval zebrafish, primarily because of the common misconception that maintaining cultures of rotifers is difficult and excessively time-consuming. Here we present simple methods for maintaining continuous cultures of rotifers capable of supporting even the very largest zebrafish aquaculture facility, with minimal investments in materials, time, labor, and space. Examples of the methods' application in one large, existing facility is provided, and troubleshooting of common problems is discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
CahuC, InfanteJZ. Substitution of live food by formulated diets in marine fish larvae. Aquaculture, 2001; 200:161–180.
2.
HagiwaraA, SugaK, AkazawaA, KotaniT, SakakuraY. Development of rotifer strains with useful traits for rearing fish larvae. Aquaculture, 2007; 268:44–52.
3.
WesterfieldM. The Zebrafish Book. A Guide for the Laboratory Use of Zebrafish, 4th. University of Oregon Press, 2007.
4.
HarperC, LawrenceC. The Laboratory Zebrafish. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2010.
5.
LavensL, SorgeloosP. Manual on the Production and Use of Live Food for Aquaculture. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 361: Rome, 1996.
6.
CarvalhoAP, AraujoL, SantosMM. Rearing zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae without live food: Evaluation of a commercial, a practical and a purified starter diet on larval performance. Aquaculture Res, 2006; 37:1107–1111.
7.
Gómez-RequeniP, ConceiçãoL, Olderbakk JordalA, RønnestadI. A reference growth curve for nutritional experiments in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and changes in whole body proteome during development. Fish Physiol Biochem, 36:1199–1215. 2010.
8.
HernándezLP, BarresiMJ, DevotoSH. Functional morphology and developmental biology of zebrafish: Reciprocal illumination from an unlikely couple. Integr Comp Biol, 2002; 42:222–231.
9.
BestJ, AdattoI, CockingtonJ, JamesA, LawrenceC. A novel method for rearing first-feeding larval zebrafish: Polyculture with Type L saltwater rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis)Zebrafish, 2010; 7:289–295.
10.
Nusslein-VolhardC, DahmR. Zebrafish, A Practical Approach. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2002.
11.
BigaP, GoetzF. Zebrafish and giant danio as models for muscle growth: Determinate vs. indeterminate growth as determined by morphometric analysis. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol, 2006; 291:R1327–1337.
12.
BrownDD. The role of thyroid hormone in zebrafish and axolotl development. Proc Natl Acad Sci, 1997; 94:13011–13016.
13.
LawrenceC, EnnisDG, HarperC, KentML, MurrayK, SandersGE. The challenges of implementing pathogen control strategies for fishes used in biomedical research. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol, 155:160–166. 2012.
14.
HirayamaK, KusanoT. Fundamental studies on physiology of rotifer for its mass culture. 2. Influence of water temperature on population-growth of rotifer. Bull Jap Soc Sci Fish, 1972; 38:1357–1363.
15.
BentleyCD, CarrollPM, WatanabeWO, RiedelAM. Intensive rotifer production in a pilot-scale continuous culture recirculating system using nonviable microalgae and an ammonia neutralizer. J World Aquacult Soc, 2008; 39:625–635.
16.
HotosGN. Growth, filtration and ingestion rate of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis fed with large (Asteromonas gracilis) and small (Chlorella sp.) celled algal species. Aquacult Res, 2003; 34:793–802.
17.
VadsteinO, OieG, OlsenY. Particle-size dependent feeding by the rotifer Brachionus-plicatilis. Hydrobiologia, 1993; 255:261–267.
18.
LindemannN, KleinowW. A study of rotifer feeding and digestive processes using erythrocytes as microparticulate markers. Hydrobiologia, 2000; 435:27–41.
19.
RainuzzoJR, ReitanKI, OlsenY. The significance of lipids at early stages of marine fish: A review. Aquaculture, 1997; 155:103–115.
20.
RodriguezC, PerezJA, IzquierdoMS, CejasJR, BolanosA, LorenzoA. Improvement of the nutritional value of rotifers by varying the type and concentration of oil and the enrichment period. Aquaculture, 1996; 147:93–105.
21.
LieO, HaalandH, HemreGI, MaageA, LiedE, RosenlundGet al.Nutritional composition of rotifers following a change in diet from yeast and emulsified oil to microalgae. Aquacult Intl, 1997; 5:427–438.
BattagleneSC, CobcroftJM. Advances in the culture of striped trumpeter larvae: A review. Aquaculture, 2007; 268:195–208.
24.
CobcroftJ, Shu-ChienA, KuahM-K, Jaya-RamA, BattagleneS. The effects of tank color, live food enrichment and green water on the early insert of jaw malformation in striped trumpeter larvae. Aquaculture, 2012; 356–357:61–72.
25.
ReitanKI, RainuzzoJR, OieG, OlsenY. A review of the nutritional effects of algae in marine fish larvae. Aquaculture, 1997; 155:207–221.
26.
van der MeerenT, Mangor-JensenA, PickovaJ. The effect of green water and light intensity on survival, growth and lipid composition in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) during intensive larval rearing. Aquaculture, 2007; 265:206–217.
27.
YamasakiS, SecorDH, HirataH. Population-growth of 2 types of rotifer (l and s) Brachionus plicatilis at different dissolved-oxygen levels. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi, 1987; 53:1303.
28.
OieG, OlsenY. Influence of rapid changes in salinity and temperature on the mobility of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. Hydrobiologia., 1993; 255:81–86.
29.
EppRW, WinstonPW. Effects of salinity and ph on activity and oxygen-consumption of Brachionus plicatilis (Rotatoria)Comp Biochem Physiol, 1978; 59:9–12.
30.
JoshiP. Influence of salinity on population growth of a rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis, (Mullen)J Indian Fish Assoc, 1988; 18:75–81.
31.
JellisonR, AdamsH, MelackJM. Re-appearance of rotifers in hypersaline Mono Lake, California, during a period of rising lake levels and decreasing salinity. Hydrobiologia, 2001; 466:39–43.
32.
MinkoffG, LubzensE, MeragelmanE. Improving asexual reproduction rates in a rotifer (Brachionus plicatilis) by salinity manipulations. Isr J Zool, 1985; 33:195–203.
33.
LubzensE, MinkoffG, MaromS. Salinity dependence of sexual and asexual reproduction in the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. Marine Biol, 1985; 85:123–126.
34.
ChengSH, AokiS, MaedaM, HinoA. Competition between the rotifer Brachionus rotundiformis and the ciliate Euplotes vannus fed on two different algae. Aquaculture, 2004; 241:331–343.
35.
YuJP, HirayamaK. Study on the unexpected sudden decrease and suppressed growth of the rotifer population in mass-culture. 1. The effect of un-ionized ammonia on the population-growth of the rotifer in mass-culture. Bull Jap Soc SciFish, 1986; 52:1509–1513.
