Technical Notes: Methods for Culturing Bluegill in the Laboratory

Abstract

Pond culture of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) does not provide researchers with an adequate means of obtaining eggs or larvae for laboratory studies. Intensive laboratory culture of bluegill larvae through their critical period (when they switch from endogenous to exogenous feeding), however, presents unique problems, requiring different approaches from those used for rearing many other fish species. Consequently, ecological and toxicological studies of larval bluegills are uncommon. We present a laboratory protocol for maintaining bluegill brood stock capable of producing eggs and larvae throughout the year. A unique automatically feeding, self-cleaning rearing chamber for larval bluegills and the use of Artificial Plankton Microcapsules* as the first exogenous food source are discussed. Initiation of exogenous feeding is the key to successful larval bluegill culture in the laboratory. Successful laboratory culture methods will facilitate future larval bluegill research.

Growth and Survival of Hybrid Sunfish Larvae in the Laboratory under Different Feeding and Temperature Regimes

“…Both parental stocks of GϫB hybrids have optimal water temperatures exceeding the temperatures used in experiment 2. Optimal temperature for larval bluegills is 25ЊC (Beitinger and Magnuson 1979;Bryan et al 1994). When water temperatures in small ponds dropped below 23.5ЊC, green sunfish larval development was affected (Hunter 1963).…”

“…Out-of-season spawning methods for sunfish have been developed (Banner and Hyatt 1975;Banner and Van Arman 1975;Bryan et al 1994;Mischke and Morris 1997). High mortality at the onset of feeding remains the largest problem for intensive culture of sunfish larvae.…”

Weaning Ages of Bluegill and Redear Sunfish Fry in Indoor Recirculating Aquaculture Systems

“…Experimental fish and housing.-Multiple single-mating bluegill and redear sunfish broods were spawned from F 1 and F 2 indoor-reared broodfish into prefabricated nests similar to those used by Bryan et al (1994). Nests with developing embryos were incubated individually through nest exodus (∼6 d post fertilization) in 100-L (27 gal) flow-through tanks shaped like truncated cones.…”

“…Year-round indoor breeding and larval rearing has been successful in bluegill Lepomis macrochirus (Childers and Bennett 1961;Eaton 1974;Smith 1975;Bryan et al 1994;Mischke and Morris 1997, Dudenhoeffer et al 2011 or interspecies hybrids of bluegill (Mischke et al 2001). Dudenhoeffer et al (2011) is the first study reporting on larval redear sunfish L. microlophus.…”

Aquaculture Techniques for Crappie, Pomoxis spp., Culture

“…Advanced spawning and culture methods, such as adult tank culture, artificial spawning, and out-of-season spawning for several other popular centrarchid species (largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides; bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus), have been more intensively researched (Morris and Clayton 2009). Research advances in these species have facilitated culturing adults indoors in recirculating systems allowing for year-round production (Willis and Flickinger 1981;Mischke and Morris 1997) and in-tank spawning method development (Banner and Hyatt 1975;Bryan et al 1994). Reproductive timing has been manipulated to spawn fish out of season (Mischke and Morris 1997;Matthews and Stout 2013), providing greater flexibility in culture.…”