326 
Fishery Bulletin 107(3) 
Table 3 
Mouth size of Florida pompano ( Trachinotus carolinus) at the onset of opening (three days after hatching, DAH) through 20 
DAH. Values represent measurements (means ±standard error [SE] ) for larvae sampled from three rearing trials. Mouth gape 
estimates were based upon calculations assuming the mouth opens 90° (min) to 120° (max) during feeding and prey capture. 
Days after 
hatching 
Upper jaw length 
(mm) 
Lower jaw length 
(mm) 
Min mouthgape 
(mm) 
Max mouthgape 
(mm) 
3 
0.28 ±0.02 
0.24 ±0.00 
0.213 
0.319 
4 
0.29 ±0.02 
0.27 ±0.05 
0.250 
0.372 
5 
0.30 ±0.01 
0.28 ±0.05 
0.427 
0.640 
6 
0.36 ±0.09 
0.38 ±0.09 
0.525 
0.784 
7 
0.37 ±0.12 
0.39 ±0.19 
0.618 
0.924 
8 
0.39 ±0.04 
0.43 ±0.12 
0.763 
1.132 
9 
0.47 ±0.11 
0.52 ±0.16 
1.065 
1.550 
10 
0.53 ±0.17 
0.59 ±0.26 
1.221 
1.805 
11 
0.55 ±0.02 
0.62 ±0.22 
1.912 
2.838 
12 
0.61 ±0.03 
0.68 ±0.29 
2.265 
3.392 
13 
0.70 ±0.03 
0.69 ±0.35 
3.250 
4.863 
14 
0.77 ±0.09 
0.73 ±0.45 
3.472 
5.197 
15 
0.79 ±0.03 
0.75 ±0.39 
4.002 
5.979 
16 
0.88 ±0.13 
0.85 ±0.39 
4.383 
6.575 
17 
0.89 ±0.07 
0.86 ±0.50 
5.216 
7.757 
18 
0.94 ±0.06 
0.89 ±0.50 
5.306 
7.958 
19 
1.01 ±0.18 
0.89 ±0.62 
5.501 
8.252 
20 
1.06 ±0.19 
1.03 ±0.55 
5.878 
8.802 
the standard for commercial hatcheries, a variety of 
small copepods, protozoans, cladocerans, and molluscan 
larvae offer great promise as feed, provided they offer 
adequate nutrition. 
As a result of the findings of this study a refined 
feeding regime for Florida pompano was developed 
(Fig. 8). The regime directly addresses the importance 
of feeding small prey items (80-130 pm) to larvae at 
first feeding (three DAH), and it pro- 
vides a stage- and size-specific guide- 
line for feeding larvae reared under 
laboratory conditions at 25°C. Future 
work should address the bioenergetics 
and nutritional requirements specific 
for Florida pompano larvae and deter- 
mine the effect of increased tempera- 
ture on larval growth and development. 
Although research conducted in this 
study was performed within a small- 
scale marine hatchery, the techniques 
could be used to formulate commer- 
cial hatchery production protocols for 
other subtropical and tropical marine 
species with similar early life-history 
patterns. 
|< »| Artificial feeds (400-800 |jm) 
|«e s»| Artemia Instar II (600-900 |jm) 
|« *| Artemia Instar I (400-600 pm) 
|* *) Brachionus plicatilis (125-250 pm) 
»| Copepods and size-sorted rotifers (50-150 pm) 
|< *) Nannochloropsis oculata (300,000 cells/mL) 
[«-») Stock yolk-sac larvae (50 fish/L) 
i 1 — —i 1 1 1 
0 5 10 15 20 25 
Day of culture 
Figure 8 
Recommended hatchery feeding regimen for rearing Florida pompano 
( Trachinotus carolinus) from hatching through transformation. Chrono- 
logical stages of development are noted by the upper bar: A-preflexion; 
B-flexion; C-postflexion; D-metamorphosis, and E-juvenile. 
Acknowledgments 
This research was supported by the 
USDA Agricultural Research Service 
as part of the Engineering and Produc- 
tion Strategies for Sustainable Marine 
