Comparing the capacity of five different dietary treatments to optimise growth and nutritional composition in two scleractinian corals.

• Main Authors: Jessica A Conlan, Line K Bay, Andrea Severati, Craig Humphrey, David S Francis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207956

Developing an optimal heterotrophic feeding regime has the potential to improve captive coral growth and health. This study evaluated the efficacy of three exogenous diets: Artemia nauplii (ART), a commercially available coral diet (Reef Roids) (RR), and a novel, micro-bound diet (ATF), against a comparatively natural, unfiltered seawater treatment (RAW), and an unfed, ultra-filtered seawater treatment (CTL), in adult Acropora millepora and Pocillopora acuta nubbins. After 90 days, both species showed significantly positive weight gain in response to one treatment (A. millepora-RAW, P. acuta-ART), and comparatively low growth in response to another (A. millepora-ATF, P. acuta-RR). The results highlighted substantial differences in the nutritional requirements between species. The nutritional composition of A. millepora in the best performing treatment was dominated by high-energy materials such as storage lipids and saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. In contrast, the P. acuta nutritional profile in the superior treatment showed a predominance of structural materials, including protein, phospholipids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. This study demonstrates that Artemia nauplii can successfully replace a natural feeding regime for captive P. acuta, yet highlights the considerable work still required to optimise supplementary feeding regimes for A. millepora.