Hey everyone! I've been doing a ton of research into the aquaculture of a variety of organisms, and I've found that some feeders are generally useful for the larval rearing of certain organisms but not for others. So, here's a quick, general guide for what feeders to use in the rearing different types of creatures:
Fish:
Rotifers, Artemia (Brine Shrimp), and Copepods are the go-to for rearing fish. For species with particularly small larvae, rotifers and Parvocalanus Pods are the go-to (Parvocalanus being preferred for more difficult to rear species - if the species hasn't been reared in captivity before, has only been reared a few times, or has only been reared recently, it will probably require Parvocalanus rather than rotifers); that said, for truly tiny larvae, even these feeders will need to be filtered/sieved down to allow only the smallest feeder specimens into the larval tank for first feedings (from what I've seen, you'd want to filter these through a ~45-50 micron mesh for the first feeding).
Shrimp:
Rotifers and Artemia (Brine Shrimp).
Snails:
Oocystis sp., Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso), Chaetoceros sp, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and Nitzschia sp.
Bivalves:
Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso) and Chaetoceros sp.
Crabs:
Artemia (Brine Shrimp).
Hermit Crabs:
Artemia (Brine Shrimp - this one is the food of choice, and it produces good results across a wide range of species), Rotifers, and Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso; though this seems more for tinting the water/enriching the rotifers/brine than for the larval hermits themselves).
*Important note for hermits - these are rarely (if ever, as I don't know that I've seen it done) reared to proper settlement/metamorphosis despite the fact that they frequently reach the glaucothoe stage (at this stage, they are no longer planktonic, but they're not quite fully settled); this is likely but not necessarily due to the difficulty of providing proper homes/shells for the tiny, young hermits to settle into and swap into during their early growth stages, but I can't say for certain.*
Sea Hares:
Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso) and Chaetoceros sp.
Sea Cucumbers:
Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso), Tetraselmis sp., Thalassiosira sp., and Chaetoceros sp.
Feather Duster Worms:
Isochrysis galbana and Chaetoceros muelleri (Dunaliella tertiolecta has been used successfully as well, but in the tests I've seen it was inferior to the others for growth).
Other (Non-Predatory) Worms:
Thalassiosira sp. and Navicula sp.
Barnacles:
Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso), Chaetoceros sp., Skeletonema costatum, and Tetraselmis sp.
Echinoderms (Sea Stars, Brittle/Serpent Stars, Sea Cucumbers, and Sea Urchins [including Sand Dollars] - I haven't seen much work done with Crinoids [Feather Stars] at this point, so I don't know if these work for them or not):
Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso), Chaetoceros sp., Rhodomonas sp. and Dunaliella sp. (Amphidinium earterae, Isochyrsis sp. [not galbana], Tetraselmis sp., Pavlova sp., Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Chlorella sp., Pyranimonas sp., and Proteomonas sulcata have also been used, but less commonly from what I've seen).
*Important note for Sea Stars (Asteroidea) - most species of starfish that I've seen which have been aquacultured are either coldwater species, predatory species, or both; however, most starfish (including the predatory ones) start life as herbivores (which is why these feeds can work). From the little work I've seen done with biofilm eating starfish larvae (like Linckia spp. larvae, for example), these algal diets won't work - the larvae still seem to need biofilm to feed on.*
Cephalopods (Octopus & Cuttlefish):
Mysis/Mysid Shrimp (order Mysida), Amphipods, larval Shrimp (Ghost/Grass Shrimp, Palaemonetes sp., being the most commonly used), and larval Crabs - these are the feeders for cuttlefish and "large egg" octopus species (Artemia are not used for these that I've seen; I've seen it suggested that Molly and/or Guppy fry may work as well, but I can't confirm if they would or not at this point). [Edit: I have now seen Artemia used for the large egg octopus species Octopus bimaculoides successfully.]
For "small egg" octopus species, Artemia (Brine Shrimp) and Crab zoea (larval crabs) were used in one of the two only successful "small egg" rearings I know of (the species that was reared was the Common Octopus, Octopus vulgaris, the crab species used was Maja squinado, the European Spider Crab; the survival rate by the time the octopus larvae reach maturity was 1.5%); it has been suggested that Copepods (no specific pods were mentioned) and Crab zoea are the nutritionally appropriate feeders for these. The other small egg species that was successfully reared was the Giant Pacific Octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini, and it was reared using appropriately sized frozen seafoods (25 settled at 7 months, only 1 survived by 9 months; unfortunately - due to the variety being fed - it's uncertain what in the mix was useful for the young; grated clam and krill have also been tried since unsuccessfully).
Fish:
Rotifers, Artemia (Brine Shrimp), and Copepods are the go-to for rearing fish. For species with particularly small larvae, rotifers and Parvocalanus Pods are the go-to (Parvocalanus being preferred for more difficult to rear species - if the species hasn't been reared in captivity before, has only been reared a few times, or has only been reared recently, it will probably require Parvocalanus rather than rotifers); that said, for truly tiny larvae, even these feeders will need to be filtered/sieved down to allow only the smallest feeder specimens into the larval tank for first feedings (from what I've seen, you'd want to filter these through a ~45-50 micron mesh for the first feeding).
Shrimp:
Rotifers and Artemia (Brine Shrimp).
Snails:
Oocystis sp., Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso), Chaetoceros sp, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and Nitzschia sp.
Bivalves:
Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso) and Chaetoceros sp.
Crabs:
Artemia (Brine Shrimp).
Hermit Crabs:
Artemia (Brine Shrimp - this one is the food of choice, and it produces good results across a wide range of species), Rotifers, and Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso; though this seems more for tinting the water/enriching the rotifers/brine than for the larval hermits themselves).
*Important note for hermits - these are rarely (if ever, as I don't know that I've seen it done) reared to proper settlement/metamorphosis despite the fact that they frequently reach the glaucothoe stage (at this stage, they are no longer planktonic, but they're not quite fully settled); this is likely but not necessarily due to the difficulty of providing proper homes/shells for the tiny, young hermits to settle into and swap into during their early growth stages, but I can't say for certain.*
Sea Hares:
Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso) and Chaetoceros sp.
Sea Cucumbers:
Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso), Tetraselmis sp., Thalassiosira sp., and Chaetoceros sp.
Feather Duster Worms:
Isochrysis galbana and Chaetoceros muelleri (Dunaliella tertiolecta has been used successfully as well, but in the tests I've seen it was inferior to the others for growth).
Other (Non-Predatory) Worms:
Thalassiosira sp. and Navicula sp.
Barnacles:
Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso), Chaetoceros sp., Skeletonema costatum, and Tetraselmis sp.
Echinoderms (Sea Stars, Brittle/Serpent Stars, Sea Cucumbers, and Sea Urchins [including Sand Dollars] - I haven't seen much work done with Crinoids [Feather Stars] at this point, so I don't know if these work for them or not):
Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso), Chaetoceros sp., Rhodomonas sp. and Dunaliella sp. (Amphidinium earterae, Isochyrsis sp. [not galbana], Tetraselmis sp., Pavlova sp., Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Chlorella sp., Pyranimonas sp., and Proteomonas sulcata have also been used, but less commonly from what I've seen).
*Important note for Sea Stars (Asteroidea) - most species of starfish that I've seen which have been aquacultured are either coldwater species, predatory species, or both; however, most starfish (including the predatory ones) start life as herbivores (which is why these feeds can work). From the little work I've seen done with biofilm eating starfish larvae (like Linckia spp. larvae, for example), these algal diets won't work - the larvae still seem to need biofilm to feed on.*
Cephalopods (Octopus & Cuttlefish):
Mysis/Mysid Shrimp (order Mysida), Amphipods, larval Shrimp (Ghost/Grass Shrimp, Palaemonetes sp., being the most commonly used), and larval Crabs - these are the feeders for cuttlefish and "large egg" octopus species (Artemia are not used for these that I've seen; I've seen it suggested that Molly and/or Guppy fry may work as well, but I can't confirm if they would or not at this point). [Edit: I have now seen Artemia used for the large egg octopus species Octopus bimaculoides successfully.]
For "small egg" octopus species, Artemia (Brine Shrimp) and Crab zoea (larval crabs) were used in one of the two only successful "small egg" rearings I know of (the species that was reared was the Common Octopus, Octopus vulgaris, the crab species used was Maja squinado, the European Spider Crab; the survival rate by the time the octopus larvae reach maturity was 1.5%); it has been suggested that Copepods (no specific pods were mentioned) and Crab zoea are the nutritionally appropriate feeders for these. The other small egg species that was successfully reared was the Giant Pacific Octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini, and it was reared using appropriately sized frozen seafoods (25 settled at 7 months, only 1 survived by 9 months; unfortunately - due to the variety being fed - it's uncertain what in the mix was useful for the young; grated clam and krill have also been tried since unsuccessfully).
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