Chapter 1 - Facilities and Husbandry (Large Fish Models)

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the husbandry requirements of the more common varieties of coldwater, coolwater, warmwater, and tropical large fish used in research, such as the salmonids (Salmonidae), catfish (Ictaluridae), flatfish (Pleuronectidae), and panfish (Centrarchidae). Coldwater fishes are commonly represented by the Salmonidae, and include those species with minimal tolerance for warm water that are naturally found in water primarily less than 18-20 ºC. Coolwater fish are represented by the pike family (Esocidae); they prefer slightly warmer temperatures than coldwater fishes, but tolerate cold water and warm water. Warmwater fishes are represented by the catfish (Ictaluridae) and sunfish (Centrarchidae), and exhibit the widest temperature tolerance, with a preference for slightly warmer waters than coolwater fishes. Tropical fishes such as the pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) and tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) tolerate only minimal variation in their preferred warmwater temperatures. The general principles presented in this discussion are applicable to other species as well. All large fish are, for some time in their life, small fish. So for certain periods at least, culture conditions that would be unacceptable for adult and subadult large fish may be perfectly adequate for their earlier life stages. Therefore, the chapter discusses the appropriate conditions necessary to culture the early life stages of these species.