The use of microbial cultures for feedstocks in aquaculture
Professor Hodgkiss, Ivor John (Principal investigator)
Dr Chan (Co-Investigator)
Other Funding Scheme
A major problem related to the culture of fish fry involves growing algal stocks on a large scale for feeding the fry, because the cultures are inevitably invaded by various zooplankton, which render the cultures worthless. Control measures attempted include pH adjustment using ammonium hydroxide to control cladocerans, formalin to control various ciliates and protozoans, autoclaving the original water, and lowering of water temperature. All these involve costs which are beyond the average small scale farmer and, furthermore, often damage the growth of copepods and rotifers which are also food species for the fish larvae, as well as affecting the fish fry themselves. Thus, no simple and economic method for the reliable mass production of algae is available. Studies to identify a reliable, simple and economic method that can be used in the field by fish farmers to enchance their aquaculture yields have already begun.