Swimming performance of white-spotted conger <i>Conger myriaster</i>

Abstract

jp) SUMMARY: Swimming performance of white-spotted conger was examined by forcing the fish to swim at various given flow speeds in the small-size swimming channel. Maximum sustained speed was estimated at around 1.1 BL/s for fish of 23.5-33.0 cm TL at 18.3 •Ž. The beating frequency of tail tip increased linearly related to the increase of swimming speed. The contraction time of the white muscle was measured in fish of 23.5-33.0, 49.0, 56.0 and 62.8 cm TL in order to examine the size effect, so as to estimate the maximum swimming speed. The EMG recordings were also made in order to determine the white muscle activity during swimming. The results revealed that the maximum sustained speed of fish of 31.0 cm TL was estimated at around 0.65-0.97 BL/s at 18.8 •Ž and 1.38-1.72 BL/s in fish of 29.0 cm TL at 25.5 •Ž. The findings suggest that swimming performance of fish can be affected by temperature change, showing the higher values of maximum sustained speed at higher temperatures.