• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.449-455
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• 1998

The small size food organism(under the size 150${\mu}m$) is needed as food for early stage of marine fish larvae of small mouse (e.g the group of grouper). This study was investigated to develop a method for copepod Apocyclops sp. culture in combination with the rotifer B. rachionus for stable culture of copepod species and harvest of various size food organisms. The culture conditions as temperature, salinity, culture volume, photo period, culture preiod and observation interval were 25${\circ}C$, 22ppt, 40ml, all dark except to observation time, 16 days and every two day during the experimental period, respectively. The Tetraselmis suecica was used as the food for the two testing orgtanisms. After every two day counting, theses two organisms were transferred to fresh culture tanks with Tetraselmis suecica of $7{\times}10^5$cells/ml. In the mixed culture of B. rotundiformis and A. sp., growth of rotifer was suppressed by mixed culture with A. sp. whereas the growth of copepod Apocyclops was promoted in the mixed culture with rotifer B. rotundiformis (the maximum density was 22 individuals/ml through the 16 culture days). Moreover, the number of copepod nauplius were promoted about 2 times in the mixed culture compared to the numbers in single species culture. With this combination culture, the havested two food organisms of variable sizes. This size variation of food organisms was useful tools for larval rearing of small mouse marine fish larvae and next step food organism size of post hatched larvae.