The Japanese whiting
Sillago Japonica (T.et S.) is a valuable coastal resource, however, for mass-rearing of this fish the rotifer,
Brachionus plicatilis used generally is too large for the inital feeding of this particularly small larvae and some trials using oyster larvae have been conducted with only limited success because of difficulties in supplying the necessary amount.
In this paper the use of rotifer of relatively smaller size, separated from the cultured population by filtration through a 71μ mesh net, was examined.
Fertilized eggs were collected from adults spawning naturally in a 6 ton concrete tank. In the preliminary trial, survival and growth of the larvae resulting from 3 different feeding programs (A: small rotifer at a density of 20 ind./m
l, B: unfiltered rotifer at a density 20 ind./m
l, C: unfiltered rotifer at a density of 100 ind./m
l) in three 1 ton clear plastic tanks were compared with each other. The results were good for tank A with an 83% survival rate after 8 days, while tank B and C showed only 18.7% and 2.4%, respectively. The growth rate also showed the same trend (A>B>C) .
The mass-rearing experiment was conducted based on the results of the preliminary trial with 300, 000 eggs stocked in a 10 ton concrete tank. From the 2nd to 5th day after hatching, filtered rotifer at a density of about 20 ind./m
l were given. Seven days old larvae were given unfiltered rotifer collected in a 37μ mesh net for 9 days, then rotifer collected in a 100μ mesh net were introduced until day 29. Afterward live ade frozen
Tigriopus japonicus,
Artemia enriched with the essential fatty acids by adding emulsionized “Ester 85” to its culture medium, and finally minced sand eel were offered.
The approximate survival rate and total length after about 40 days were 50% (150, 000 ind.) and 30 mm, respectively. Three and a half months old fish reached an average length of 7.2 ± 0.85cm and a weight of 2.9 ± 1.15g.
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