1) Ciliated protozoans like Fabrea salina and Euplotes can be an important live food for fish larvae due to their abundance in coastal waters, small size similar to copepod nauplii, and ability to grow well on inert foods which is easier for aquaculture. 2) The document describes methods for culturing different ciliate protozoans like Fabrea salina that have advantages as a live food for fish larvae, such as small size, smooth cell wall, short generation time, and ability to form cysts that can remain viable. 3) The experiments conducted cultured Fabrea salina in 2L flasks with algae as food, under continuous light and measured

1. Protozoan-Infusoria
as Alternative Live Food in
Aquaculture
Sefti Heza
Dwinanti
Department of Aquaculture
Sriwijaya University

2. Protozoa Infusoria
Protozoa merupakan binatang yang paling banyak di dunia
Infusoria merupakan kelompok terbesar di Phylum Protozoa, di mana
anggotanya sekitar 8.000 species
Infusoria adalah sekumpulan jasad renik sejenis zooplankton
(FLAGELLATE, CILIATE, AND TENTACULIFEROUS PROTOZOA)
Umumnya berukuran antara 40-100 mikron
Infusoria sebagai pakan alami digunakan sebagai makanan pertama
(first feeding) bagi larva ikan yang mempunyai bukaan mulut kecil
Secara visual warna infusoria adalah putih dan hidup menggerombol
sehingga akan tampak seperti lapisan putih tipis seperti awan.

3. • Infusoria is a collective term for minute
aquatic creatures like:1. Ciliates
2. Euglenoids
3. Protozoa
4. Unicellular Algae
that exist in freshwater ponds.
• In modern formal classifications the
term is considered obsolete; and the
microorganisms previously included in
the Infusoria are mostly assigned to the
Kingdom Protista.

4. Ciri-ciri dari Ciliata antara lain :
Memiliki bulu getar (silia) di seluruh tubuh yang berfungsi untuk
bergerak, menangkap makanan, menimbulkan arus air untuk pernafasan;
Kosmopolitan
 planktonik (Tintinnidae/memiliki kantung kitin sebagai pelindung (lorica)
mempunyai 2 inti yaitu makronukleus & mikronukleus
 Habitat di lingkungan berair
 Hidup bersimbiosis & parasit
 Reproduksi asexual (pembelahan biner) dan sexual (konjugasi).

5. Yang termasuk ciliata adalah Paramaecium caudatum, Didinium narutum,
Calpodium capulum.
Yang termasuk flagellata adalah Euglena viridis, Pandorina sp, Chilomonas sp.
Dalam akuakulture Paramecium and Stylonychia adalah infusoria air
tawar sedangkan yang di air laut adalah Fabrea and Euplotes
Paramecium
Stylonychia

6. Euplotes
Fabrea

7. Ciliated protozoans may be important for first-feeding fish larvae
because:
1) ciliates often dominate such communities and are more
abundant than copepod nauplii in coastal waters
(Kamiyama 1994);
2) most of the ciliates in the plankton are of a similar or
smaller size than copepod nauplii (Taniguchi 1978).
3) Protozoans can grow often just as well on inert foods, which is
easier for aquaculture purposes
Marine ciliates are conventionally divided into loricate (tintinnid) and
aloricate (naked) forms (Sanders 1987, Kamiyama 1994).
Naked ciliates may be more important food for fish larvae than tintinnids,
because naked ciliates occur in considerably larger numbers than
tintinnids (Pierce and Turner 1992).

8. The advantages of Fabrea salina as an alternative for rotifers or brine
shrimp larvae were summarized by De Winter, 1975 as follows:
i) It is one of the few truly “pelagic” ciliates
ii) It has the appropriate dimensions as a live food: depending on
culturing conditions its size can vary from 50 - 500 μm
iii) The smooth cell wall and the absence of appendages facilitate its
uptake by the predators
iv) The generation time is very short
v) As a particle feeder it can be cultured on live algae as well as inert
foods
vi) According to the literature data its nutritional value for fish larvae
seems to be excellent
vii) As many other protozoans it forms a tough cyst membrane when
submitted to unfavorable environmental conditions. The cysts can be
kept viable for a certain period of time without losing their
hatchability.

11. Generally, for infusoria culture, lettuce, cabbage and banana peels are commonly used
as media as they stimulated growth of organisms. Take a glass jar or aquarium, filled with
de-chlorinated filtered water and add 2 to 3 banana peelings. Cover the container with
a cloth to prevent the entry of mosquitoes and files. Keep the container in a cool place
where natural diffused light is available. After 2 to 3 days the water will turn milky and
also emit foul smell. This is due to the multiplication of a large number of bacteria causing
decay of banana peelings. A film of slime will be formed on the water surface. In about
4 to 5 days, the water will turn clear, becoming transparent with light yellowish colour.
This is because of the floating spores of infusoria in the air which have settled on the
water surface break up and disintegrate. The culture is now ready for feeding the early
stages of fish larvae. Once the culture reaches the peak density, it must be harvested, if
not, the density will suddenly fall due to lack of space and oxygen depletion. After 50 %
harvesting, add 2 to 3 drops of milk and again fill the glass jar with fresh water. The
culture will sustain for a week. Infusoria can also be cultured by above method by putting
bruised lettuce leaves or take some dry paddy husk and boiled it in water and take the
solution for culture. Infousoria can be collected using 0.12 mm fine mesh cloth from foul
smelling water bodies.

12. Ciliate Culture
Initially, several ciliates were considered for culture, and Fabrea salina
showed to be more reliable in culture than Strombilidium sp. and Strombidium
sp and is, therefore, the focus of this paper. Algae (Isochrysis and Rhodomonas ) provided as
food was cultured with Gulliard’s F/2 in the laboratory. All of the experiments were carried
out for seven days in 2 L
Erlenmeyer flask initially containing 1 L of chlorinated then dechlorinated, 1
μm filtered seawater (32 - 34 ‰). the normal range was 25 - 30°C. The trials
were conducted under continuous light ranging from 1,240 to 1,680 lux. Daily
counts for organisms were performed in triplicate using Sedgwick-Rafter slides
on a compound microscope; Samples for water quality measurements including ammonia,
temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH were taken daily from each
replicate.