A review on the use of live feeds in marine ornamental fish culture

The type of food and the way of feeding is one of the most important challenges in the culture and reproduction of aquatic species. The marine ornamental fish business generates more than $1.5 billion annually and is still growing. However, only 35 species of fish, a small fraction of the 1,800 species recorded in the trade, are thought to be produced commercially today. A limiting factor in marine ornamental fish production is the need for live food of suitable size as starter food due to the small mouth gap size of many commercial fish species. Therefore, the need for suitable live feed has created a bottleneck in the production of marine ornamental fish species, and it is necessary to enable the expansion of this industry.  In this review, the use of common live foods, including Artemia, rotifers, copepods, and ciliates, and the advantages and disadvantages of each for commercial marine ornamental fish culture are presented. Live foods are often larger than the mouth gap size of marine ornamental fish larvae at the start of exogenous feeding. Advances are reviewed with a focus on new and existing live foods for these valuable species. These advances enable aquaculture to meet the growing demand for marine ornamental fish instead of exploiting wild populations.