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Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is the second most used animal model by the scientific community.

  • This species has high biological variability mainly due to the diverse husbandry feeding protocols established in the different zebrafish facilities.

  • There is a need for the standardization of zootechnical production techniques and methodologies to achieve scientific replicability.

  • The use of live feeds (artemia and rotifers) is common among the different zebrafish facilities. Rotifers have recently been suggested as a good candidate for the standardization of zebrafish larval rearing practices.

  • To achieve standard protocols, ideally the live preys should be fed or enriched with the necessary nutrients for the correct zebrafish development and reproduction.

For this goal, microalgae are ideal!

Product development Framework

New formulations will be developed based on a combination of microalgae species towards balanced blends for rotifer enrichment for zebrafish nutrition

Microalgae industrial production

Scale-up of microalgae production to obtain biomass for new products development in ZEBRABLOOM project

Product Development: Pilot microalgae formulations

Different microalgae species and blends of microalgae in several biomass typologies will be formulated. The biochemical analysis of microalgae and enriched rotifers will be performed and the different microalgae species and blends will be tested in zebrafish nutrition.

Microalgae blends testing in zebrafish larvae

Microalgae blends focused on zebrafish larvae growth and adequate development will be tested and the biological performance will be evaluated.

Microalgae blends testing in zebrafish broodstock

Microalgae blends will be formulated for rotifers enrichment for broodstock nutrition aiming the improvement of reproduction efficiency, gametes quality and offspring quality and development.

Live feed culture optimization

The methodology of rotifers culture and enrichment will be optimized for small and medium zebrafish facilities conditions and necessities towards higher reliability of live feed production.