Title: Food Compositions of Two Commercial Fairy Shrimps, Branchinella thailandensis and Streptocephalus sirindhornae (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Anostraca)
Abstract: Background and Objective: Aquaculture production of fairy shrimps has recently attracted growing interest with increasing evidence supporting close interaction between natural food compositions and fairy shrimp growth performance.The aim of this study was to examine the diversity of fairy shrimp gut biota and the nearby environment.Materials and Methods: Two species of fairy shrimps, Streptocephalus sirindhornae and Branchinella thailandensis were collected from different localities in the northeast of Thailand.Their gut contents were analyzed and determined for food compositions.Results: The amount and number of food items found in the guts of fairy shrimps related with their natural habitats.Number of food items found in B. thailandensis (46 taxa) was significantly higher than items recorded from S. sirindhornae (36 taxa) (p<0.05).The major food component appeared to be phytoplankton.Chlorophytes were the most abundant natural foods in the guts of B. thailandensis (57.4%) and S. sirindhornae (69.3%).The green algae Chlorella sp.represented the major food component in the guts of both species.Conclusion: Streptocephalus sirindhornae and B. thailandensis were both omnivorous species that consumed phytoplankton, small zooplankton and inert particles.