Effect of Rearing Experience on the Survival, Growth, and Behavior of Hatchery‐Reared Largemouth Bass

Abstract

Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides are commonly stocked throughout their native range, but survival of stocked fish is variable and often low. Hatchery fish may have difficulty switching to natural forage; therefore, providing feeding experience with natural prey in the rearing environment could result in improved growth and survival of Largemouth Bass after stocking. We conducted pond experiments to evaluate differences in growth and survival of Largemouth Bass reared in raceways and fed pellets or in ponds and fed either Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus prey or Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas prey. Largemouth Bass reared on one of these three diets were stocked into ponds containing Bluegill prey. After 2 months, pellet-reared Largemouth Bass were significantly smaller than fish reared either on Fathead Minnows or Bluegills, whereas fish reared on either Fathead Minnows or Bluegills were similar. Fathead Minnow-reared Largemouth Bass had lower survival than Bluegill-reared fish, but no other survival differences were observed. To determine possible mechanisms influencing differential growth and survival of juvenile Largemouth Bass, we also conducted laboratory experiments examining the influence of prior feeding experience (pellets, Bluegills, or Red Shiners Cyprinella lutrensis) on foraging behavior and prey capture success in pools. Largemouth Bass reared on live forage captured prey faster, ingested more prey, and had higher capture efficiencies than did fish reared on pellets. Combined, pond and laboratory experiments show prior acclimation to live prey may ultimately be beneficial to increasing growth of stocked hatchery Largemouth Bass and could result in increased recruitment. We recommend additional exploration of acclimation of Largemouth Bass fingerlings to natural prey, preferably Bluegills, prior to stocking to determine whether hatchery managers should consider alternative rearing techniques.

Shift happens: Evaluating the ability of autumn stocked walleye Sander vitreus to shift to natural prey

“…Relative to stocked fry or hatchery fish reared on live forage, pellet‐reared hatchery fish often consume less prey (Bachman, 1984; Porak et al, 2002; Pouder et al, 2010; Reiriz et al, 1998; Sosiak et al, 1979), have lower prey capture efficiencies (Diana et al, 2018), consume fewer prey types (Diana et al, 2018; Sosiak et al, 1979) and are slower to switch to novel prey (Ersbak & Haase, 1983). The success of walleye stocking programmes is dependent on walleye recognising and successfully foraging on high caloric prey items that promote growth and improve condition and overwinter energy reserves.…”

Reared to become wild-like: addressing behavioral and cognitive deficits in cultured aquatic animals destined for stocking into natural environments—a critical review

“…Walleye (Sander vitreus) trained with live prey and stocked into small predator-free ponds showed no signifficant differences in survival and growth after either 15 or 30 d compared to naïve walleye, possibly reflecting the rapid learning of foraging skills indicated in lab trials (within 5 trial days; . In a similar pond-stocking experiment, prey-experienced largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) were found to grow faster than prey-naïve conspecifics, but survival did not differ between these groups (Diana et al 2018). Costas et al (2013) found no survival benefit of feeding Atlantic salmon juveniles with invertebrates for 2 wks prerelease in a 3-wk release experiment in a screened-off river section.…”

Availability and Timing of Fathead Minnow Supplementation Influence Largemouth Bass Survival and Production in Rearing Ponds

“…Age-0 bass that are large enough to convert to piscivory generally exhibit increased growth compared to those that are not [8]. Moreover, pellet-reared largemouth bass may have difficulty recruiting within lakes compared to bass that are acclimated to capturing live prey fish [9]. Pellet-reared juvenile muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) showed lower post-stocking survival than minnow-reared fish, due to higher predation mortality [10].…”