Weaning Regimes for Golden Pompano Trachinotus ovatus Larvae

This chapter covers the digestive ontogeny of T. ovatus from hatch to 32-day post-hatch (DPH). The development of the digestive system in T. ovatus can be divided into three stages: stage I starting from hatching and ending at the onset of exogenous feeding (3 DPH), stage II starting from first feeding and ending at the formation of gastric glands in the fish stomach (15 DPH), and stage III starting from the appearance of gastric glands and continuing onward. The specific activities of lipase, trypsin, and amylase in fish increased sharply from the exogenous feeding to 5–7 DPH. The pepsin activity was detected on 15 DPH, and the specific activities increased with fish age. The dynamics of enzyme activity reflected the structural development in the fish digestive system. After the formation of gastric glands in the stomach, the enzyme activities became stable. Depending on the development of the digestive system, the larvae of T. ovatus can begin weaning at 15 DPH. This chapter updates the improved understanding of the ontogeny of T. ovatus during the larval phase and provides the protocol of feeding and weaning for this economically important fish in aquaculture.