Aquaculture at the MIT Sea Grant Finfish Hatchery
Gloucester
Maritime Heritage Center
Note: words
in red link
to an online glossary (or dictionary) of related terms.
Fish Life
Cycle
Eggs
The development of marine finfish eggs is temperature
dependent among all teleost (bony fish). Once the egg is fertilized,
the
embryo will form inside the hardened egg. The embryo will start
to develop organs, and eventually eyespots and
the tail can be seen inside the egg. The embryo will develop pigmentation spots
along the body. The tail will wrap around the egg to the head.
If the species lives in warmer waters, the embryo will hatch
more quickly. Colder water species hatch slowly, and the eyes
and pigmentation will be fully developed at hatching. The tail
of the embryo will break out of the shell and the embryo becomes
a free-swimming larva.
Larvae
Once the fish is hatched, it is known as a larva. Newly hatched larvae have
a yolk sac that is a source of nutrition for the larvae. They absorb their
yolk sac for several days until they are developed enough to feed on live prey.
Yolk sac larvae can survive for 2-4 days by feeding off their yolk sac food supply. This is called endogenous feeding. The length of the yolk sac period for larvae is dependent on the culture temperature and the species of fish. The warmer the water, the faster the fish will use up their yolk reserves. Once the larvae mouth has formed and the eyes are partially developed, the larvae can be offered a live feed.
Feeding on organisms or particles in the water column is called exogenous feeding. Live
feed is essential to the early stages of developing larvae. Because their eyes are underdeveloped at hatch, the larvae need to be offered a feed that is moving around to help stimulate a feeding response.
When the larvae hatch, they have a finfold around their whole body that looks
like an outline when observed under a microscope. This fold will eventually
develop into fins, beginning with the process of metamorphosis.
Juvenile
Metamorphosis is the process that signifies the end of the larval stage.
After metamorphosis, the fish are considered juveniles and will acquire characteristics
of an adult fish: body features, coloration, fins, etc. Metamorphosis also
denotes full organ development; it occurs at different times for different
types of fish. For example, some fish will metamorphose in 20 days, whereas
some will not go through the process until 4 months of age. Metamorphosis is
a very stressful time for the fish, which means there is a point of high mortality,
known as a bottleneck. The larvae are given a different type of feed during
this period because they are now juvenile fish. Weaning fish to a new diet
is also a stressful part of the culture process.
Juveniles are usually resistant to stress (temperature, water quality,
etc.) over time. As long as the culture environment remains healthy,
the fish should thrive on dry feed and show significant growth rates. Juveniles
are
not considered adults until they become sexually mature. The developmental
cycle is complete once spawning to egg and larvae to juvenile and adult
has been accomplished.
Adult
Adults are characterized by their ability to reproduce.
Related Links:
All
About Aquaculture
Species
raised at the Finfish Hatchery
Table
Top Recirculating System
Facilities
overview
The
MIT FinFish Hatchery
MIT Sea Grant's Aquaculture Curriculum On-line
|