Live prey utilization is very important in larval rearing of cultured marine fish species . First live prey is Rotifer (Brachionus plicatilis ) following Artemia sp. and microdiets , respectively . However , in many cases , most of mortality occurs during weaning period due to incomplete of fully developed gut and lack of digestive enzymes of larvae.
The strains of Chlorella vulgaris , Rhodomonas salina , Thalassiosira pseudonana and Diacronema vlkanium were obtained by Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa (CCAP) culture collection . Acartia clausi fed four microalgae diets; Chlorella vulgaris (CV) + Rhodomonas salina (RS) (diet CV+RS), Thalassiosira pseudonana (TP) + Rhodomonas salina (RS) (diet TP+RS), Diacronema vlkanium (DV) + Thalassiosira pseudonana (TP) (diet DV+TP) and solely Thalassiosira pseudonana (TP).
At the end of the study , copepods fed Rhodomonas salina and Chlorella vulgaris (1:1 ) mixture resulted higher survival rate (p<0.05)(Fig.1) . Beside, copepods fed solely Thalassiosira pseudonana resulted lower survival among groups. Proximate and fatty acid composition were also studied . Further studies are needed for other microalgae and copepod feeding interaction , feed acceptance and growth of selected copepods.