Performance of Advanced Juvenile Cobia, Rachycentron canadum, Reared Under Different Thermal Regimes: Evidence for Compensatory Growth and a Method for Cold Banking

Abstract

ABSTRACT Two trials were undertaken to examine the growth response of juvenile cobia, Rachycentron canadum, at varying temperatures. The initial trial was conducted to determine the effect of various temperatures (18, 23, and 29°C) on weight gain and feed efficiency. The second trial investigated the effect of elevating water temperature in which fish maintained at 18°C and 23°C to a temperature close to their optimum (29°C). The latter study was undertaken in order to determine the effect of thermal shifts upon subsequent growth response of the species. Such information will assist commercial producers in developing various culture guidelines. As anticipated, differences (P < 0.01) in weight gain were recorded among all treatments, although remarkably, feed efficiency did not differ for cobia held at 23°C and 29°C. Following thermal shift, cobia subjected to the largest temperature change (18–29°C) illustrated an immediate growth response, but specific growth rates (SGR) did not exceed that of cobia held at 29°C for the duration of the trial. Nevertheless, when SGR were examined using fish of similar size (i.e., derived from different time points during the study) evidence for growth compensation was obtained. This study illustrates that cobia can be held at reduced temperatures, without detrimental impact on future performance, as a means of maintaining animals at smaller size for production and experimental purposes: “Cold banking.”