Vol. 43 No. 2, 2004

Biochemical Profile of Heliodiaptomus viduus, Sinodiaptomus (Rhinediaptomus) indicus, and Mesocyclops aspericornis and their Dietary Evaluation for Postlarvae of Macrobrachium rosenbergii

Safiullah Aman¹ and Kareem Altaff*

Department of Zoology, The New College, Chennai - 600 014, India

Safiullah Aman and Kareem Altaff (2004) The biochemical profiles of a calanoid, Sinodiaptomus (Rhinediaptomus) indicus, and a cyclopoid, Mesocyclops aspericornis, from a natural pond were studied for a period of 1 yr. In S. (R.) indicus, moisture, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, ash, and amino acid contents were 81.1%, 68.1%, 8.9%, 19.11%, 3.2%, and 56.2%, respectively; while in M. aspericornis, the values of these parameters were 82.4%, 69.0%, 12.4%, 13.97%, 4.5%, and 62.9%, respectively. Fatty acid content was higher in M. aspericornis (102.38%) than in S. (R.) indicus (42.87%). Variations were observed with regard to biochemical components in different seasons. The biochemical profile of S. (R.) indicus and M. aspericornis cultured in medium fertilized with an equal mixture of yeast (Y), poultry waste (PW), cotton seed cake (CSC), gingly cake (GIN), and ground nut cake (GNC), was comparable with that of copepods from natural sources. Higher values of the biochemical profile, survival, and growth were recorded in postlarvae of M. rosenbergii fed on a mixture of S. (R.) indicus and M. aspericornis than those fed on individual copepods or on Artemia nauplii. The amino acid content of postlarvae of M. rosenbergii fed on M. aspericornis was higher (71.83%) than that of postlarvae fed on S. (R.) indicus (46.15%) and a mixture of M. aspericornis and S. (R.) indicus (34.48%). The nutritional importance of copepods in aquaculture is discussed.

Key words: Freshwater copepods, Live food, Feeding experiments.

*Correspondence: Present address: Department of Chemistry, The New College, Chennai - 600014, India. E-mail:kaltaff@rediffmail.com