Evaluation of nutritional and environmental variables during early larval culture of pigfish Orthopristis chrysoptera (Linnaeus)

Pigfish ( Orthopristis chrysoptera Linnaeus) are a commonly used baitfish in the southeastern United States. Aquaculture methods for broodfish spawning and juvenile grow‐out have been developed but there is still a paucity of information regarding larval culture methods. Five, short duration (10 days) experiments were conducted to determine effective strategies to yield high larval survival and growth during early development. Experiment one examined the rotifer enrichments Ori‐Green, DHA Protein Selco, and AlgaMac 3050 as well as a non‐enriched control along with corresponding fatty acid levels in the enriched rotifers and pigfish larvae. Experiment two evaluated three, once daily feeding frequencies of either 5, 10 or 20 rotifers mL −1 . Experiment three compared feeding 20 rotifers mL −1 once daily to feeding 5 rotifers mL −1 twice daily. Experiment four examined four different larval stocking densities: 50, 75, 100, or 125 larvae L −1 . Experiment five examined green water strategies using either live Tahitian strain Isochrysis galbana (Parke) or Nannochloropsis oculata (Hibberd) paste at either 250 000 or 500 000 cells mL −1 as well as a clear water control. Results indicated rotifer enrichment with DHA Protein Selco and green water application using live T‐ ISO at 500 000 cells mL −1 had the highest survival of pigfish during early stages of larval culture. A once daily rotifer feeding regime of 20 rotifers mL −1 and stocking density of 50 larvae L −1 also improved survival. These results provide producers with methods to improve efficiency for pigfish larval culture and provide researchers with new foundational data, such as potential fatty acid requirements.