Malays. Appl. Biol. (2020) 49(1): 23–29
OPTIMUM SALINITY LEVEL FOR THE CULTIVATION OF
CILIATED PROTOZOA
YUKINORI MUKAI1,2*, SYAFIQAH HANANI MOHD SHAHIDIN3 and
NORMAWATY MOHMAAD NOOR1,2
1Department of Marine Science, Kulliyyah of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia,
Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Bandar Indera Mahkota, 25200 Kuantan, Pahang Malaysia
2Institute of Oceanography and Maritime Studies (INOCEM), Kulliyyah of Science,
International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah,
Bandar Indera Mahkota, 25200 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
3Department of Biotechnology, Kulliyyah of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia,
Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Bandar Indera Mahkota, 25200 Kuantan, Pahang Malaysia
*E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Accepted 3 February 2020, Published online 30 June 2020
ABSTRACT
In the present study, protozoa was cultured in different salinity water (10%, 20% and 30%) to determine the optimum salinity level required for the culturing. We examined the densities of protozoa and the ciliates Euplotes spp. in a general culture and Euplotes encysticus Yonezawa in a separate monoculture. Various species of protozoa were observed in the culture water, with a peak density of 30,000–40,000 cells ml–1 on day 4. The density of Euplotes spp. in the culture water increased with elapsed days, peaking on day 3. One-way analysis of variance showed a significant difference in the densities on day 3, and post-hoc Tukey–Kramer test results showed that the density at 10% was significantly higher than that at 30%. The E. encysticus monoculture peaked at 5000–6000 cells ml–1, but there was no significant difference between the salinity levels. Although our results are not definitive, the lower salinity level appeared most suitable for culturing protozoa. The ciliated protozoa Euplotes spp. in the current study were smaller than 100 ?m, and they may be suitable size as live feed as starter diet for marine fish larvae with small mouth openings.
Key words: Protozoa, Euplotes encysticus, starter live feed, ciliates, salinity
