Bowling Green Aquaculture Center (BGAC) received funding from a private foundation for the purpose of baitfish research development. Another great piece of news is from Reed Mariculture, one of the largest live feed companies in the U.S. The organization has seen such value and promise in the work being done at the BGAC, they have donated nearly $45,000.00 worth of algal concentrates to be used in our live feed (rotifer) culture.
Great progress has been made in the culture of spot fin shiners (Notropis spiloptera) at the BGAC. The first significant stride forward was the discovery that this species requires a live first feed (being an altricial species like yellow perch) and the subsequent development of the culture systems and protocols needed to raise the rotifers to feed the shiners. The second significant step forward was that we could raise the salt water rotifer (Brachionus plicatilis) and to successfully nurse this species using the cultured rotifer.
Another issue that plagued the facility (as well as other operations hatching spot fins) was the fungus issues we were having with the eggs. Using standard anti-fungal treatments proved fruitless and hatch rates were extremely low. Almost by accident it was discovered, through observation of eggs removed from the egg transfer devices, there is at least one species of macro invertebrate that eats the fungus off the eggs! We immediately stopped disinfecting the eggs when they are brought into the barn, and our survival rates rose from approximately 15 percent to that approaching 40 percent!
The work being pursued now is the development of “First Feed Protocols.” This project will focus on:
¨ the number of rotifers needed per fish
¨ the daily increase in the number of rotifers needed per fish
¨ the length of time the fish need to be fed live feeds
¨ the weaning time required to move the fish from live feeds to a prepared diet
¨ the length of time this weaning process will be needed
All-in-all, the bottle necks I have encountered in the culture of these fish have been discovered, evaluated, and overcome at an ever-increasing rate. We believe that this species has a very bright future in Ohio aquaculture, and the Bowling Green facility will continue to seek new techniques and information and pass this onto the culturists raising them and those interested in starting to culture this species.
