The culture and early weaning of larval haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) using a microparticulate diet

In order to effectuate haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus, as a practical aquaculture candidate, they must be able to successfully wean onto a formulated diet. This weaning should be accomplished soon after hatching in order to limit financial bottlenecks associated with the high cost of live feed production. Two experiments were designed to determine the earliest point at which haddock could be successfully weaned onto a formulated food. The first examined start weaning at 14, 21, 28, and 35 days post-hatch (dph) at 8.5 degreesC. Control animals were given only live feeds throughout the experiment. Samples of larvae were taken weekly for length and dry weight analysis. Haddock did not wean as effectively as cod onto the commercial diet (Biokyowa(TM)), and survival was compromised for all treatments examined. There were no differences in survival for any of the weaning periods investigated with averages ranging from 2.5% to 6.3%. However, the survival of the control group was significantly higher at 37.9%. The second experiment examined weaning at later stages and at an increased temperature, This experiment examined start weaning periods of 30, 35, and 42 days post-hatch. The 42-day start weaning period yielded results similar to those obtained with the live feed control, however survival and growth was compromised for both the 30- and 35-day weaning periods. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.