Summary: | The present technical note reports the new method for the mass production of spotted rose snapper Lutjanus guttatus juveniles. The source of eggs came from a total of 387 spawns obtained in 2013 and 2014. 85 % of the spawns had floating eggs, and 93.5 ± 2.8 % of them had live embryos. The initial stocking density of eggs in the rearing tanks was 165 ± 69 embryos/l. The hatching rate was 88 ± 4%, with 50 ± 8% larval survival at 48 h post-hatch (hph). After 35 days post-hatch (dph), a total of 706,799 pre-juveniles (0.1 ± 0.05 g of body weight) were harvested, obtaining from first feeding 31 ± 20 % larval survival. The larvae grew from an average of 2.55 mm–23.58 mm in five weeks. From nursery I, a total of 664,301 juveniles with 0.6 g to 0.8 g body weight (BW) were harvested (94 % survival) and transferred to nursery II, growing on average from 0.48 g to 14.78 g BW in seven weeks. Finally, from nursery II a total of 596,382 juveniles (5–15 g BW) were harvested at 90 dph (89.8 % survival) and delivered to farmers for grow-out. The new method was integrated with an older rearing protocol, and a pre-commercial number of juveniles was produced with high efficiency, requiring only four 48 hph larvae to produce every 90 dph juvenile. These results provided an improvement in the state-of-the-art of snapper aquaculture and it can be applied at a commercial scale.
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