Growth, survival and fatty acid composition of Rhamdia quelen (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) larvae fed on artificial diet alone or in combination with Artemia nauplii

Black catfish (Rhamdia quelen) is a species of interest for aquaculture in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding R. quelen larvae on either only an artificial diet or in combination with Artemia nauplii (AN) on larval performance and fatty acid composition. For 12 days, larvae were fed from first feeding (3 days after hatching, TL = 5.88 ± 0.23 mm) with artificial food only or a combination of artificial food and AN (co-feeding). At the end of the trial, total length of co-fed larvae was significantly higher than that of larvae fed solely artificial food (P < 0.001). No significant differences were found in survival rates. Co-feeding microdiet with a small amount of AN significantly affected larval fatty acid composition. Lipid and fatty acid composition of food and larvae revealed the importance of n-3 fatty acids for growth of black catfish larvae and that, as most freshwater fish, R. quelen larvae can elongate and desaturate linolenic acid to n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids. Results suggest that R. quelen larvae can be fed from first feeding on microdiets as unique food source, although better larval performances are obtained by co-feeding with a small amount of AN.