Phytoplankton supports fisheries and aquaculture production. Its vital role as food for aquatic animals, like mollusks, shrimp, and fish cannot be overemphasized. Because of its contribution as a food source for fish, the growth kinetics of Microcystis aeruginosa, a dominant cyanobacterium in the lake, was studied. The regular occurrence of M. aeruginosa is experienced during the months of May to July or from September to November in Laguna de Bay, the largest freshwater lake in the Philippines. M. aeruginosa was collected from Laguna de Bay, isolated, and established in axenic conditions. Data on the growth kinetic parameters for nitrate-nitrogen and phosphate-phosphorus utilization by M. aeruginosa gave the following values: half-saturation constant (K s ), 0.530 mg N. L −1 and 0.024 mg P. L −1 respectively; maximum growth rate (μ max ), 0.671. d −1 and 0.668. d −1 respectively; maximum cell yield, 6.5 and 6.54 log, cells. ml −1 respectively; nutrient level for saturated growth yield, 8.71 mg N. L −1 and 0.22 mg P. L −1 respectively; and minimum cell quota (Q 0 ), 2.82 pg N. cell −1 and 0.064 pg P. cell −1 respectively. The low K s value and high maximum growth rate (μ max ) for phosphorus by M. aeruginosa would suggest a high efficiency of phosphorus utilization. On the other hand, the high K s value for nitrogen indicated a low rate of uptake for this nutrient.

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of five live organisms (Artemia, Brachionus calyciflorus, Chironomus plumosus, Moina macrocopa and Tubifex sp.) and an artificial diet (40% protein) in the larval rearing of Asian catfish Clarias macrocephalus. The larvae were fed three times daily starting at the onset of exogenous feeding. Results showed that the catfish larvae utilized the live organisms more efficiently than the artificial diet. The Tubifex-fed larvae consistently showed the highest growth rate. In trial 1, length increment (64.9 mm), weight gain (3192 mg) and specific growth rate (13.1%) after 8 weeks of feeding were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in catfish larvae given Tubifex than those in all other treatments. In trial 2, length increment after 4 weeks of feeding was highest in larvae fed Tubifex (22.9 mm) although it did not significantly differ from that of larvae given Moina (21.0 mm). However, weight gain of larvae fed Tubifex (253.0 mg) was significantly higher than that of larvae fed Moina (171.6 mg). The specific growth rate was highest for larvae fed Tubifex (15.0%) followed by larvae fed Artemia (14.5%), Moina (14.4%) and Chironomus (12.0%). Survival rates of the catfish larvae ranged from 9 to 39% after 8 weeks in trial 1 and from 26 to 83% after 4 weeks in trial 2. The present results suggest that Tubifex is an excellent food and a potential substitute for Artemia in the rearing of catfish larvae.