Applying a New Feeding Protocol for Enhancing Mass Culture and Nutritional Value of the Rotifer Brachionus plicatilis Müller, 1786

The study tested a new feeding protocol to find out the best program using cheap and available products to enhancement the mass culture and the nutritional value of B. plicatilis. The feeding regime was six artificial treatments formulated from dried yeast (Saccharomyces cervisiae) with sucrose sugar and yeast with molasses in different concentrations. Additionally, a live Cyclotella sp. had been applied as supplementary food to each treatment and as independent treatment (control). B. plicatilis was cultured in small scale to find the best food regime and technique to apply it in the large one. B. plicatilis attained its highest density in the small scale culture (370 Ind.ml1 ) with T1 (30 % yeast, 70 % sugar and Cyclotella sp.) at the 12th day, while the highest population growth rate (PGR) (0.65) was calculated at the 9th day. According to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and PGR, T1 had been applied in the large scale culture. B. plicatilis samples were composed of 51.6% total protein with 16 amino acids and 33.01% total lipid with 19 identified fatty acids. The study concluded that the treatment (T1) is a suitable diet for enrichment the mass culture and the nutritional value of B. plicatilis.