Feeding intensively-cultured marine fish larvae

Criteria and methods for feeding marine fish larvae
are reviewed. Tank colour, lighting, and water
circulation are important factors in the rearing
environment that must be correct. Food must be
available, at the right density, visible and attractive,
of the right size, with appropriate chemical stimuli, of
high nutritional quality, digestible, and stable until
eaten. Larvae of many marine fish can be reared on
a simple diet of rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) and
brine shrimp (Artemia sp.) nauplii. Foods given to
these prey organisms can vary in quality. To ensure
that they contain sufficient essential fatty acids
(n3HUFA, mainly eicosapentaenoic acid and
docosahexaenoic acid), rotifers and brine shrimp
should be enriched before fish eat them. Copepod
larvae and adults are probably the most nutritious
live food for marine fish larvae, but large quantities
are more expensive to produce than rotifers and
Artemia. For most marine fish that have been
cultured, weaning from live to dry food is most
effective if it begins a few days before transformation
starts, and weaning usually can be completed by the
time the fish are juveniles.