Abstract
The effect of feeding with taurine-enriched rotifers on larval growth and survival in the small yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis was investigated. Rotifers, control (without taurine enrichment) or enriched with a commercial taurine supplement at two concentrations (400, and 800 mg/L), were used. The larvae (initial notochord length = 3.83 mm) were fed taurine-enriched rotifers in triplicate, from 3 days after hatching for 12 days. The average taurine contents of the rotifers were 0.31, 5.34, and 8.55 mg/g dry matter, respectively. The rotifers from all treatments had similar fatty acid composition. The growth and survival rates of the larvae fed rotifers enriched with 800 mg/L taurine supplementation were significantly higher than those of larvae fed rotifers without taurine enrichment (p = 0.005 and 0.002, respectively). The whole-body taurine content in the fish increased significantly with the increase in taurine level in the rotifers: 1.02, 3.48, and 4.11 mg/g in larvae fed control rotifers, and rotifers enriched with 400, and 800 mg/L taurine supplementation, respectively. The results of this study indicate that small yellow croaker larvae benefit from taurine concentrations above those typically reported in non-taurine-enriched rotifers.