Effect of microalgae feed supplementation on growth performance and feeding efficiency of tilapia fry

Search for novel best-performing starter feed ingredients is one of the main challenges of modern aquaculture industry. The goal of this article is to evaluate the effect of microalgae supplementation enriched with omega-3 polyunsaturated eicosapentaenoic acid and the powerful antioxidant fucoxanthin on growth performance of Red tilapia fry (Oreochromis mossambicus × Oreochromis niloticus). We formulated three experimental diets, using two strains of microalgae from our culture collection – Vischeria magna SBV-108 (Eustigmatophyceae), rich in eicosapentaenoic acid and Mallomonas furtiva SBV-13 (Chrysophyceae), rich in fucoxanthin – and their combination. Vischeria magna SBV-108 is a new strain which biochemical properties and growth characteristics have not been previously studied. Coppens Supreme-15 was used as a control diet. The best growth performance was recorded in eicosapentainoic acid enriched Diet 1 (10% w/w V. magna), that significantly (P<0.05) overperformed control feed on absolute growth, average growth, specific growth rate, feed conversion rate, protein efficiency ratio, protein productive value and energy productive value. Diet 3 (5% w/w V. magna and 5% w/w M. furtiva) and Diet 2 (10% w/w M. furtiva) were not significantly different from control at most parameters. Generally, supplementation of feed with microalgae rich in omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid significantly improved Red tilapia fry growth parameters and overall feed performance, while supplementation of feed with microalgae rich in antioxidant fucoxanthin was not beneficial compared to the control.