Exclusive Piscivory of Reared Mandarinfish Siniperca chuatsi Larvae during the First Feeding Stage

Abstract

The dietary preference of Siniperca chuatsi larvae during the first feeding stage was examined under aquarium conditions. The feeding behaviors and survival rates of the larvae supplied with various prey including larvae solely of other species were observed. The larvae fed on fish larvae survived for over 15 days after hatching (DAH) . The larvae of this species took and engulfed fish larvae whose body sizes were larger than the pre-anal length (mean 2.44 mm) of the predator. They also bit the larvae of other species whose body sizes were almost the same as those of the predators (TL, mean 5.80 mm) and spat them out after digesting some of the body parts, whereas the larvae fed on only zooplanktons starved to death within 9 DAH. The larvae did not take any zooplanktons which were smaller than the mouth size (mean vertical height 1.2 mm, mean width 0.79 mm) of the predator. The number of prey-capture actions conducted by the larvae was compared between light and dark conditions. Prey-capture actions were more frequently observed under the light condition (37-47 %) than the dark one (3-13 %) showing a statistically significant difference. The larvae of S. chuatsi probably capture prey by vision.