The Growth of Local Microalgae in Synthetic and Agricultural Wastewater for Aquaculture Feed Application

Abstract

Microalgae's high protein content makes them an attractive feedstock for aquaculture feed applications. However, an economical and effective mass cultivation is essential for greater feasibility in microalgal-based aquaculture applications. Therefore, in this research the utilization of wastewater for microalgal cultivation using two local species of Chlamydomonas sp. UKM6 and Scenedesmus sp. UKM9 were discussed with particular attention to the feasibility of utilizing POME as microalgal growth medium for the production of bulk biomass. The growth rate for Chlamydomonas sp. UKM6 and Scenedesmus sp. UKM9 grown in Bold's Basal Media (BBM) were found higher (0.2829, 0.4045 day-1) than in POME (0.160, 0.255 day-1). Their biomass were then applied as zooplankton enrichment feed for Daphnia magna and then subsequently for feeding fish larvae. The result shown that enriched Daphnia using Scenedesmus sp. UKM9 microalgae promotes better growth, survival and fecundity of fish larvae (P > 0.05) than the control diet using dried yeast. Thus, this research indicating the feasibility of culturing microalgae using wastewater as a means to reduce the cost of production is possible and therefore can be applied in aquaculture feed industries.