Grey sea chub, Kyphosus bigibbus, is able to browse seaweed at night under rearing condition

Abstract

The browsing ability of the grey sea chub, Kyphosus bigibbus, was examined under tank-rearing conditions. Ten fish (total length, 40.0-43.5 cm) were reared in each of two round 3 kl fish tanks. Brown seaweeds (Ecklonia kurome and Padina arborescens) were fed to the fish during different time periods (4:00-7:00, 11:00-14:00, 17:00-20:00 and 21:00-24:00). The average amount of seaweed browsed by the fish during the four periods ranged from 33.6 to 41.1 g/kg-fish/3-h for E. kurome and from 35.8 to 45.4 g/kg-fish/3-h for P. arborescens. The amounts of seaweed browsed were similar between the two species of seaweed and between the four time periods. These preliminary experiments suggest that K. bigibbus browses seaweed during any time period including night.