FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE,MOA,TAIWAN

The present study sought to develop the techniques of larval culture of coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus). Three thousand fries with an average total body length of 27.75 ± 2.06 mm and an average body weight of 0.27 ± 0.07 g were evenly and randomly divided into two groups (Group A and Group B). The fries in Group A were directly released and raised in 2-ton round FRP tanks, while those in Group B were kept in black mesh cages floating in a 10-ton FRP tank. All the fries were sieved with meshes every five days to separate them into three size categories in both groups. In the first rearing stage, all fries in both groups were acclimated with artificial feed for a period of 15 days. In the second rearing stage, the survival fries from the previous stage were then graded and categorized into subgroups. After a 67-day culture period, 1,201 juveniles in Group A survived (survival rate: 80.07%) with total body lengths ranging from 68.15 ± 5.24 mm to 78.73 ± 5.45 mm and body weights ranging from 4.43 ± 1.21 g to 6.85 ± 1.51 g. In Group B, 1,113 juveniles survived (survival rate: 74.20%) with total body lengths ranging from 66.54 ± 5.86 mm to 80.50 ± 6.91 mm and body weights ranging from 4.34 ± 1.06 g to 7.20 ± 1.69 g. The results showed that there were not significantly different between two methods in terms of the growth and survival rates. This indicated that both methods were suitable for the larval culture of coral trout.