Note
Accurate decisions about microbial health of released fish require determination of normal and pathogenic flora for each species released. As a first step toward assessing juvenile health and formulating a predictable standard for successful stocking, we monitored but did not manipulate bacteria of larval common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) in two culture systems. Snook survived better in an open (flow-through) system than in a closed (recirculating) system. Fish from the open system had a higher diversity (at least nine genera) of bacteria than those from the closed system (four genera).