In our husbandry, we are observing a high mortality in our embryos 5 dpf upto 1 month post fertilization, after checking the water sample we found paramecium feeding on them. There is paramecium in the adult tanks also but they are not causing any harms to the adults. We are feeding artemia and 100 um feed to our larves
Dear Archisman,
It is not really surprising that you observe ciliates (are you sure it is paramecia ?) on dead animals because many of them feed on organic wastes. More surprising would be that you're fish are attacked by ciliates ! It is more likely that your larvaes are raised under poor conditions (too much organic wastes ? bad water quality ? high rearing densities ?...) which might explain why you're facing high mortalities and why you are able to detect ciliates in your tanks. More informations are needed to give wiser hints.
We use RO + UV water in our facility, what should be the proper rearing density for larve?
Hi again,
It's impossible to get an idea of what could be wrong in your fish facility with so few data. I would recommend that you check basic water parameter : temperature, pH, ammonia, nitrites, KH. RO water cannot be used to raise fish : it does not fulfill physiological needs for calcium and magnesium and does not allow biological filtration.
In our system, we find raising larvaes at a density of 25/L for the first 2 months a good compromise to diminish growth heterogeneity, obtain an unbiased sex ratio and good survival rates.
You should read this nice paper to get basic knowledge on zebrafish husbandry.
Article Zebrafish Housing Systems: A Review of Basic Operating Princ...
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