Examination of a practical method for zinc enrichment of euryhaline rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis)

Larval growth and survival of marine finfish in mass seed production are affected by the nutritional value of live feeds such as rotifers and Artemia. Thus far, many studies have been conducted to develop effective methods for the enrichment of live feeds with essential fatty acids and vitamins. In this study, a practical method for enrichment of rotifers with zinc was investigated. Changes in the concentrations of other minerals when zinc was added to the rotifer-enrichment tanks were also studied. The mineral composition of rotifers and Chlorella after zinc enrichment revealed that the direct addition of zinc to the culture media was not effective because rotifers cannot efficiently accumulate waterborne zinc. The ability of Chlorella to absorb waterborne zinc is much higher than that of rotifers, and hence, zinc was pre-accumulated in Chlorella, which was then fed to the rotifers. The maximum zinc content of the rotifers was 585.0 μg g− 1 (dry matter) when the rotifers were enriched with zinc alone. This zinc concentration is comparable to that found in natural zooplankton. In rotifers simultaneously enriched with zinc and n−3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs), the zinc content increased, but the n−3 HUFA content did not. Therefore, separate enrichment with zinc and fatty acids was adopted. The zinc content of rotifers fed zinc-enriched Chlorella was significantly higher than that of rotifers fed unenriched Chlorella. After zinc enrichment, rotifers were enriched with fatty acids, and the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and n−3 HUFA levels in rotifers were higher than the levels obtained after simultaneous enrichment with zinc and fatty acids. With regard to the concentration of other minerals in rotifers after zinc enrichment, the manganese content tended to decrease when the zinc content increased.The results of this study demonstrated that zinc enrichment of rotifers was successfully performed by using microalgae that had accumulated zinc, and the enrichment of rotifers with fatty acids was also achieved after the completion of zinc enrichment and before feeding the larvae. This method could be utilized for the enrichment of zooplankton with other minerals as well.