Challenges to the Intensification of Largemouth Bass Culture

Using digestive physiology to develop larval culture protocols for the Blackbanded Sunfish, a threatened centrarchid native to the United States

“…Larvae were considered altricial at hatch, with endogenous yolk reserves providing nutrition for the first 4 dph, after the larvae required exogenous sources of trition. This endogenous period is shorter than that of Largemouth Bass, which rely on yolk reserves for 5-7 dph at 22-24°C (Coyle et al 2020), and is more similar to that of Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish Elassoma gilberti, which have an endogenous period of 3 dph at 24.40°C (Lipscomb et al 2020a). Early developmental milestones, such as mouth opening and swim bladder inflation (2 dph) and first feeding (3 dph), were consistent with those of several other altricial ornamental species, such as the Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish (Lipscomb et al 2020b), Serpae Tetra Hyphessobrycon eques (Çelik and Cirik 2020), and Siamese Fighting Fish (Silva et al 2016), for which these milestones occur within the first 4 dph.…”

“…The rearing temperature used in the weaning trial (28.40°C) was approximately 5°C higher than that used in the dietetics trial (23°C) due to seasonal differences in ambient temperature; however, Blackbanded Sunfish should be able to grow in a wide range of temperatures since the species' native range spans over half of the U.S. East Coast. In comparison to other centrarchids, the optimal rearing temperature range for Largemouth Bass has been reported as 22.80-30.00°C (Coyle et al 2020), and rearing temperatures for Bluegill and Redear Sunfish L. microlophus have been reported as 23.40-27.60°C (Dudenhoeffer et al 2012). Similar to Blackbanded Sunfish, these centrarchid species also exhibit a wide endemic range.…”

“…Direct comparison of the larval duration of Blackbanded Sunfish to those of other centrarchids is difficult due to the use of TL as a proxy for life stage in pond-raised species, such as Largemouth Bass, crappies Pomoxis spp. (Culpepper and Allen 2016), and Green Sunfish L. cyanellus (Teal et al 2022); however, the "nursery" pond stage for Largemouth Bass often lasts upwards of 30-45 days (Coyle et al 2012). Therefore, the relatively protracted larval stage of Blackbanded Sunfish may be similar to those of other cultured centrarchids.…”

“…2022); however, the “nursery” pond stage for Largemouth Bass often lasts upwards of 30–45 days (Coyle et al. 2012). Therefore, the relatively protracted larval stage of Blackbanded Sunfish may be similar to those of other cultured centrarchids.…”

“…copepods, rotifers, and brine shrimp Artemia spp.) for several weeks until they reach 25-50 mm total length (TL) and must undergo a "feed training" stage for 10-14 days to transition to a 100% inert diet (Coyle et al 2012). Heavy reliance on live feeds during the larval period can be costly and labor intensive and can encourage the introduction of pathogens into the culture environment (Sheng et al 2022).…”