Juveniles of threadsail filefish, Stephanolepis cirrhifer, can survive and grow by feeding on moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita

Abstract

We conducted feeding experiments on threadsail filefish Stephanolepis cirrhifer juveniles for 16 days to evaluate the efficacy of moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita as a prey item. Four treatments, each with 40 individuals, were prepared to compare fish growth performance. The treatments consisted of filefish that were starved (control) (S), fed only jellyfish (J), fed only krill (K), and fed both jellyfish and krill (JK). Fish in the S treatment exhibited a 50% mortality rate and reduced body weight, whereas the J treatment exhibited a zero mortality rate and increased body weight. Fish in the JK treatments showed a significantly faster growth than those in the K treatment. Filefish consumed as much as 24 and 13 times their own body weight in jellyfish per day in the J and JK treatments, respectively. This is the first report showing that growth can be sustained by feeding a marine fish only jellyfish, and indicates the potential of jellyfish as a fish prey in both nature and captivity.

Comparative genetic diversity of wild and hachery populations of Korean threadsail filefish Stephanolepis cirrhifer using cross-species microsatellite markers

“…The catch decline and increased demand make threadsail filefish a promising target species for aquaculture. In addition to increased interests in aquaculture production of threadsail filefish, the Korean government has sponsored artificial threadsail filefish juveniles release as a predator to prevent blooms of jellyfish, Aurelia aurita (Miyajima et al, 2011). However, hatchery production raises concerns regarding the maintenance of genetic diversity among cultured stocks, especially because their juveniles are released into natural habitats.…”

Tracking Fatty Acids From Phytoplankton to Jellyfish Polyps Under Different Stress Regimes: A Three Trophic Levels Experiment

“…Although there are indications that they may serve as prey for many top predators such as some fish (Miyajima et al, 2011), penguins (Thiebot et al, 2016), and sea turtles (Carman et al, 2014), on the other hand, they can also heavily prey on fish larvae (Lynam et al, 2005) and mesozooplankton (Behrends and Schneider, 1995), therefore being a competitor for fish. In particular, scyphomedusae exhibit a metagenic life cycle, which involves a sexual pelagic medusae stage and an asexual benthic polyp stage (Arai, 1997).…”

New polymorphic microsatellite loci of threadsail filefish, Stephanolepis cirrhifer (Teleostei, Monacanthidae), from Korean waters

“…To ease pressures on wild fishery stocks and to satisfy the growing levels of consumption, an early-stage effort has been made to develop the aquaculture of this species. Furthermore, the Korean government has sponsored the release of artificial juvenile threadsail filefish as predators to prevent blooms of the jellyfish Aurelia aurita (Miyajima et al, 2011). However, aquaculture practices are likely to reduce genetic diversity due to founder effects, inbreeding, and random genetic drift in hatchery-reared stocks.…”