Fatty acid composition of zooplankton and its transfer to common carp (Cyprinus carpio) larvae at the first week of larval rearing

This study aimed to investigate the fatty acid composition of zooplankton and common carp larvae in hatcheries at the first seven days of larval rearing. SFA was higher in rotifers before releasing of larvae on = day 1 gain (6.15%), compared to that of day 7, and significantly decreased in the rate of 3.53%. On day 7, total amount of MUFA was increased significantly. Oleic acid was the most dominant monounsaturated fatty acid in all treatments except day 1 and showed the higher amount day 5.  . The highest PUFA concentration was on day 7 with 52.27% and the lowest level was on day 4 with 42.92. The rotifer PUFA was significantly lower in that that of larvae before releasing. At the end of the experiment, total amount of PUFA increased of in the rate of 5.16%. The amount of omega 6, linoleic acid, arachidonic acid and acid was higher in the body of larvae compared to rotifer. However their values were increased at the end of the experiment. The levels of EPA and DHA were higher in rotifers compared to those in fish larvae on day before the larval releasing. The results of this study indicated that rotifer is a rich source of fatty acids for food for developing fish larvae. MUFA levels was lower in rotifer than the larvae. Similar to SFA, MUFA levels decreased significantly in the rate of 1.79% from day 1 to day 7.