Effects of Temperature on the Growth of Golden Shiners in Aquaria

Control of fish size is critical to baitfish production and marketing, and temperature is a major factor affecting fish growth. Temperature‐dependent growth models were developed for juvenile golden shiners Notemigonus crysoleucas . Two 10‐week trials with two juvenile sizes (0.5 and 1.0 g) were conducted in a flow‐through aquarium system to determine the growth response to temperature. Four temperature treatments (15, 20, 25, and 30°C) were randomly assigned to twenty 110‐L glass aquaria; 20 fish were stocked into each aquarium. Each aquarium received a constant inflow of water at a rate of approximately 200 mL/min, equivalent to a total water exchange every 9 h. Fish were hand fed twice daily to apparent satiation with a commercial minnow feed (32% crude protein) that had been crumbled and sieved (particle size < 0.85 mm). Fish in each aquarium were batch weighed and counted every 2 weeks to document growth and survival. Average survival across treatments ranged from 93% to 96% for 0.5‐g fish and from 91% to 97% for 1.0‐g fish, and survival was not significantly different among treatments ( P > 0.05). Quadratic equations were derived to predict maximum rates of total weight growth (Δ W , g/d) and total length growth (Δ L , mm/d) from temperature. Under study conditions, Δ W was obtained at 26.0°C for 0.5‐g fish and at 24.1°C for 1.0‐g fish; Δ L was obtained at 26.0°C for 0.5‐g fish and at 23.9°C for 1.0‐g fish. Documenting the relationship of temperature to growth could lead to improvements in baitfish farming techniques. A combination of pond and tank culture would make it possible to extend the growing season or to stockpile quantities of different sizes of fish to meet market requirements.