Growth of Red Drum Larvae in the Laboratory

Larval red drums Sciaenops ocellatus were raised at 24 C and 28 C in the laboratory. Length of newly hatched larvae increased steadily but their mean dry weights first decreased over the first 5 days (until yolk was fully resorbed), then increased rapidly. At day 15, there were significant differences in mean standard lengths between larvae grown at the two temperatures (4.8 mm at 24 C; 5.1 mm at 28 C; P < 0.05); larvae grown at the higher temperature were also markedly heavier (363.7 μg versus 186.3 μg; P < 0.01). Transition from the yolk-sac stage to active feeding occurred at day 5–6 when larvae were about 2.7 mm long.