Title : The combined effect of C/N ratio and stocking density on growth performance and biomass production of Artemia under laboratory culture conditions
Abstract :A two-factorial experimental design was used to evaluate the combined effect of three stocking densities—500, 750, and 1,000 ind./L—and three C/N ratios—5, 10, and 15—on the growth and biomass production of Artemia franciscana. Artemia nauplii (newly hatched) were reared in 1.5 L bottles containing 1 L of sea water at 30‰. Molasses with a 38% carbon content was used as carbon source to stimulate bacterial growth in the Artemia culture medium. Results showed that the manipulation of C/N at 5 and 10 promoted better growth of Artemia in terms of length compared to that obtained by Artemia in the higher C/N ratio. However, it was not clear whether there was an increase of growth performance in the culture where Artemia were reared at high densities. Moreover, the addition of molasses produced a biomass in stocking density at 500 ind./L that was nearly similar to that obtained in the 750 and 1,000 ind./L