Cría de larvas y canibalismo en la merluza europea (Merluccius merluccius Linnaeus, 1758) en España

Abstract

The European hake, Merluccius merluccius, is considered a promising species for diversification in aquaculture. This work presents growth data for reared European hake larvae up to two months of life, and cannibalism within the cohort was evaluated. Larvae were fed a combination of rotifer (2 ind mL-1) and Artemia nauplii (0.2 ind. mL-1) at first feeding and later were grown with dry pellet until 105 days in a 500-L capacity circular tank. Rearing temperature and salinity were 14.5ºC and 34 psu, respectively, and a daily photoperiod of 12L:12D was used. Two-month-old larvae reached a total length of 17.66 ± 1.22 mm and a dry weight of 7.30 ± 1.65 mg, with a 12% survival rate. The final total length and wet weight (105 days old) were 52 ± 4.20 mm and 9.72 ± 2.32 mg, respectively. The length and dry weight growth equations and the length-weight relationship were estimated for the first two months of life. Larval survival at two and three months after hatching was 12% and 8%, respectively. Cannibalism was first observed from 35 days after hatching onwards..