Spawning, early development and first feeding in the gobiid fish Priolepis nocturna

The reproductive behavior, embryonic development and early larvae of Priolepis nocturna are described. Three pairs of P. nocturna began spawning 41 days after acquisition and maintained a 5–10 day spawning cycle lasting beyond several months. Spawning was initiated by the female who signaled her readiness to spawn by displaying to the male. Egg clutch size averaged 1578 ± 51.23 eggs and ranged from 268 to 3121. Egg length averaged 0.82 ± 0.01 mm total length (TL) and ranged from 0.75 to 0.90 mm. Egg width averaged 0.51 ± 0.51 mm total width (TW) and ranged from 0.49 to 0.52 mm. Fertilized eggs were ovoid in shape and attached to the ceiling of provided shelters via adhesive filaments at the proximal end. Hatching rates averaged 97.3 ± 0.51% and ranged from 91.9 to 99.8%. Larvae measuring 1.89 ± 0.04 mm TL hatched 121 ± 0.5 h post fertilization and did not rotate position prior to hatching. Skeletal elements of the chondrocranium were simplistic and dominated by the hyoid, hyomandibulosymplectic cartilage, ethmoid and Meckel's cartilage in first feeding larvae. No elements were added to the cranial architecture by 5 days post hatch (DPH) when larvae measured 2.05 ± 0.04 mm TL. First feeding larvae consumed only dinoflagellates and tintinnids suggesting that feeding was constrained by a poorly developed feeding mechanism. Embryology and larval development are described to 5 DPH.     

Ingestion Rate and Feeding Behavior of the Peppermint Shrimp Lysmata wurdemanni on Artemia Nauplii

A laboratory study was conducted to examine the effects of food level and water temperature on the ingestion rate in the larvae of the peppermint shrimp Lysmata wurdemanni , a popular aquarium spe cies. Artemia nauplii were used as the food item. Number of newly hatched Artemia nauplii consumed by the larvae (from zoea II to zoea VII, zoea I can metamorphose to zoea II without exogenous nutrition in about one day) was measured daily at four food concentrations (2, 5, 10 and 20 Artemia nauplii/mL) and two temperature levels (25 C and 28 C). The experiment was conducted in 500-mL beakers with three replicates for each treatment. The results show that the shrimp consumed significantly more food at 28 C than at 25 C (P < 0.01). Ingestion rate increased with increasing food concentration in all larval stages and with larval development except for the lowest food level ( 2 Artemia nauplii/mL) where insufficient food supply limited the ingestion rate to around 35 Artemia nauplii/ larva per d after zoea IV stage. The larval development rate was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the shrimp subjected to the two lowest food concentrations (2 and 5 Artemia nauplii/mL) in the 500-mL beakers. But in a separate experiment conducted in the 1,400-mL beakers, the results were reversed: both survivorship and development rate were significantly lower at the two higher food levels (6 and 12 nauplii/mL) than those at 3 nauplii/mL level. During molting period, ingestion rate decreased significantly, followed by a sharp rise to the normal rate the following day.     

Effects of Food and Temperature on Survival and Development in the Peppermint Shrimp Lysmata wurdemanni

Abstract— The effects of four kinds of foods ( Artemia nauplii, rotifer, and microalgae Chaetoceros gracilis and Isochrysis galbana ) and four temperature regimes on survival and development of larval Lysmata wurdemanni , a marine ornamental shrimp, were determined. The larvae fed with Chaetoceros or Isochrysis only survived for a maximum of 17 d, before developing to zoea IV. The survivorship of the larvae fed with Artemia nauplii or rotifer from zoea II to post-larvae was 66.7% and 68.9%. respectively, without significant difference ( P > 0.05). But larvae fed with Artemia nauplii grew significantly ( P < 0.05) faster than those fed with rotifer. Larvae fed with Artemia nauplii reached postlarvae in 29–32 d, compared with 32–36 d in the rotifer treatment. Artemia nauplii are also suitable food for the postlarvae and juveniles of L. wurdemanni . The 30 postlarvae fed on Artemia nauplii all survived to reach sexual maturity in 50 to 70 d, growing from about 7 to 28 mm in total length. The effects of four temperature regimes on larval development of L. wurdemanni was also investigated. The duration (mean ± SD d) to the postlarvae at temperatures of 26 C (37.4 ± 5.4) and of 26–30 C daily (40.2 ± 5.8) was significantly ( P < 0.05) longer than that at 28.5 C (29.3 ± 4.8) and at 27–29 C daily (28.7 ± 3.5).