Intensive Cultivation of the Calanoid Copepod, Bestolina Similis, and Evaluation of Calanoid Copepods as a Live Food Source for Ornamental Finfish Larvae

Abstract

My honors thesis is composed of two separate parts: a research project on optimizing the cultivation of a calanoid copepod, and a presentation on copepod biology and cultivation for the aquaculturist. The growth of the aquarium industry has led to a new interest in the cultivation of marine reef fishes. Thus, there has been much interest in the development of first feeds for ornamental fish larvae. The small fish larvae are not capable of ingesting traditional feeds such as rotifers, and instead need a diet of small prey such as calanoid copepod larvae.