Food selectivity of longtooth grouper Epinephelus bruneus and sevenband grouper E. septemfasciatus larvae fed rotifers and Artemia nauplii

Abstract

 To know the optimal feeding schedule for culturing larvae of longtooth grouper Epinephelus bruneus and sevenband grouper E. septemfasciatus during seed production, we examined the food selectivity for rotifers Brachionus plicatilis species complex and Artemia nauplii by larvae reared in a hatchery. The larvae of both species with ≥8 mm standard length showed a preference for Artemia nauplii and the mouth width of larvae with minimum body sizes fed with Artemia nauplii was nearly equal to the body width of Artemia nauplii. Therefore, it was suggested that the mouth width of larvae of both species is the restricting factor for preying on Artemia nauplii. This finding will help improve the feeding schedule of Artemia nauplii during the seed production process of these commercially important grouper species.