Breeding and rearing the Sunrise Dottyback Pseudochromis flavivertex: the importance of live prey enrichment during larval development

Breeding and rearing some of the species most commonly used in the aquarium trade actually represent an economical and ecological tool for broadening development, thus the present study investigates captive breeding and rearing of the Sunrise Dottyback, Pseudochromis flavivertex. Egg clutches were obtained from couples maintained in 200 L tanks under controlled conditions. Eggs were laid in PVC pipes and the male normally guarded the clutch until the fry hatched. Hatching took place 96 h post fertilization at 27 °C. Larvae were divided into different experimental groups and fed on different feeding combinations in order to test the importance of food enrichment on larval survival, growth and metamorphosis timing. A first group (Group A) was fed on enriched Brachionus plicatilis and enriched Artemia nauplii; a second one (Group B) on enriched B. plicatilis and not enriched Artemia nauplii and a third one fed on not enriched live preys (Group C) used as control group. Live prey enrichment was essential for rearing this species. In fact, larvae fed on not enriched live preys did not past day 7. Highest survival rates (39% juveniles) were observed in Group A with respect to Group B (11% juveniles). Moreover, evidences of the importance of enrichment on growth and metamorphosis timing were observed since larvae reared using enriched live preys grew faster and completed metamorphosis earlier than those fed on not enriched Artemia nauplii. The results presented here provide additional evidence of the importance of live prey enrichment in ornamental larval fish rearing.