Food concentration and stocking density effects on survival and growth of laboratory-reared larvae of bay anchovy Anchoa mitchilli and lined sole Achirus lineatus

Abstract

Bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli) eggs were stocked at densities from 0.5 to 32.0 l-1 and larvae were fed on wild plankton (copepod nauplii) in concentrations that ranged from 50 to 5000 prey l-1. Lined sole (Achirus lineatus) eggs were stocked at 0.5 to 16.0 l-1 and larvae were fed wild plankton at concentrations from 50 to 1000 prey l-1. Some larvae of each species survived at all stock and food levels to the transformation stage at 16 days after hatching. Survival rates for both species exceeded 40% when food concentration was 1000 l-1 or higher. Growth and dry weight yields also increased significantly at the higher food concentrations. Effects of initial stocking density were not well defined, but both survival and growth decreased at the highest stocking rates. Standardized culture of bay anchovy and lined sole larvae can be based on a food concentration of 1000 copepod nauplii l-1 to routinely produce healthy larvae.