A review of spawning induction, larviculture, and juvenile rearing of the fat snook, Centropomus parallelus

Abstract

The fat snook, Centropomus parallelus, is a commercially valuable marine fish species with potential for aquaculture. This paper describes the development of technology for mass production of fat snook juveniles at the Experimental Fish Hatchery of the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, focusing on research about reproduction, larviculture, and juvenile rearing. Induced spawning of wild fat snook was first achieved in 1991 with a single injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). There was a substantial increase in egg quality when broodstock was conditioned in maturation rooms and induced to spawn. Different dosages of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogue (LHRHa) with saline injection and colesterol implant were also tested. As fat snook exhibits group-synchronous oocyte development, females could be induced to spawn (with 35-50 mug kg(-1) of LHRHa) once a month, resulting in up to four consecutive spawnings. Results of larval culture were highly variable at the beginning; survival rates were frequently around 1% until the juvenile stage. Several experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of environmental factors and feeding quality on survival and growth. With the improvement of the spawning induction technique and better larviculture practices, survival rates increased to 10-30%. Studies on the particular requirements of juveniles in terms of stocking density, feeding, nutrition, and environmental factors were also performed in order to improve growth rates and feed utilization. The present study demonstrates the feasibility of mass production of fat snook juveniles. However, further research is needed to develop cost-effective grow-out technology.

Early development of fat snook, <i>Centropomus parallelus</i> (Poey 1860) (Teleostei, Centropomidae) from Southeastern Brazil

“…Our data concerning the size of newly hatching larvae and size of notochord flexion are not directly comparable to those presented by Alvarez-Lajonchère et al (2002) and Cerqueira and Tsuzuki (2009), as their results were expressed in total length, whereas in the present study the measurements are in notochord length. Anyway, the hatching size of fat snook larvae from Cananeia (1.28 ± 0.08 mm NL) is apparently smaller than those from Florianópolis (1.85± 0.08 mm TL).…”

“…Descriptions of the development for C. undecimalis is the exception (Jackson & Ockelmann-Lobello 2006), for which the ontogeny and osteological series was developed by Lau and Shafland (1982) and Pottoff and Tellok (1993). Studies of the embryonic and larval developmental stages of C. parallelus were previously conducted and briefly described by Álvarez-Lajonchère et al (2002), and by Cerqueira and Tsuzuki (2009) but details of pigmentation and illustration of the larval developmental series is lacking. This study aims to describe the morphological development of larval and early juvenile C. parallelus based on specimens obtained during rearing experiments and from wild specimens collected at the Cananéia-Iguape estuarine system in southeastern Brazil.…”

Crescimento e produtividade de juvenis de robalo-peva a diferentes temperaturas e taxas de alimentação

“…Há grande conhecimento sobre sua reprodução em cativeiro (Cerqueira & Tsuzuki, 2009), e esta é uma das únicas espécies nativas com a qual é possível realizar a produção de juvenis em massa (Alvarez-Lajonchère et al, 2002), fator primordial para o desenvolvimento de uma espécie. Características como hábito gregário, robustez, resistência a doenças, tolerância a altas densidades de estocagem e a amplas variações de salinidade, bem como alto valor de mercado (Tsuzuki et al, 2007;Alvarez-Lajonchère & Tsuzuki, 2008;Ribeiro & Tsuzuki, 2010), têm estimulado o interesse na criação da espécie.…”

The copepod Acartia tonsa as live feed for fat snook (Centropomus parallelus) larvae from notochord flexion to advanced metamorphosis

“…In the first months of life, fat snook (Centropomus parallelus) larvae undergo drastic morpho-physiological changes in the process of metamorphosis until they become juveniles , and during laboratory rearing important losses occur, probably due to inadequate diets and environmental conditions (Cerqueira & Tsuzuki, 2009).…”