The influence of diet on the early development of two seahorse species (H. guttulatus and H. reidi): Traditional and innovative approaches

Larval nutrition plays a key role in the development of a sustainable aquaculture where fish development, health and wellness are of prime importance. For some species, satisfactory growth and survival rates are met providing exclusively enriched rotifers and Artemia; however, feeding on copepods during the larval period has been shown to improve growth in both larval and juvenile fish, including seahorses. For the first time, the effects of different diets (Artemia and copepods) on the early development of juvenile seahorses (H. guttulatus and H. reidi) development were analysed by combining biometry, traditional histology and FPA-FTIR Imaging spectroscopy. Survival and growth and biochemical composition on the liver in seahorse were significantly affected by the type of diet offered. The results achieved were related to differences in the digestion of the two types of live preys, mainly dependent on their biochemical composition and permeability of the exoskeleton.