Growth and survival of first-feeding spotted wolffish (Anarhichas minor Olafsen) at various temperature regimes

In order to define temperature regimes that could benefit successful production of spotted wolffish (Anarhichas minor) juveniles, experiments with offspring from two different females were carried out. The larvae were fed a new formulated feed or a commercial start‐feed for marine fish, both of which have given high survival rates. In the first experiment newly hatched larvae were fed at constant 6 °C, 8 °C, 10 °C and 12 °C as well as at ambient seawater temperature (2.9–4.5 °C) during 63 days. High survival, 90% to 96%, was registered at ambient and most constant temperature regimes, whereas in the 12 °C groups survival was reduced to 80%. Growth rate (SGR) was very low, 1.8% day^?1, at the low ambient temperatures. Growth rate was positively correlated with temperature and varied between 3.1% day^?1 to 4.7% day^?1, from 6 °C to 12 °C. In the second experiment, set up to include potential detrimental temperatures and study beneficial effects of a more restricted, elevated first‐feeding temperature regime, the larvae were fed at constant 8 °C, 10 °C, 12 °C, 14 °C and 16 °C until 30 days post hatch, followed by constant 8 °C for the next 33 days. In this experiment, low survival, 25% and 2.0%, was registered at 63 days post hatch when larvae were reared initially at 14 °C and 16 °C respectively. The survival of the larvae at the other temperature regimes varied from 47% to 64%, highest survival rate (64%) was found at 8 °C. The lowest specific growth rate, 2.6% day^?1, was noted in the 16 °C group. At constant 8 °C to 14 °C (regulated to 8 °C), the SGR varied from 4.45% day^?1 to 5.13% day^?1. The larvae grew faster in the experiment when initially comparable temperatures (8 °C, 10 °C and 12 °C) were regulated to constant 8 °C after 30 days compared with the first experiment where feeding was carried out at the same constant temperatures (8 °C, 10 °C and 12 °C) during the whole experimental period.