Point-of-no-return and delayed feeding mortalities in first-feeding larvae of the silver therapon Leiopotherapon plumbeus (Kner) (Teleostei: Terapontidae)

This study examined the incidence of mortalities among first-feeding post-yolk sac silver therapon Leiopotherapon plumbeus (Kner) larvae deprived of live food in the hatchery. Starting after their yolk was consumed at 40 h post-hatch (hph) and every 2 h thereafter until 54 hph, larvae were fed and exposed to live food for an hour only and their performance was observed after initial feeding at 25 °C. Feeding incidence progressively increased until 48 hph as larval mouth gape increased during exogenous feeding, but oil globule volume progressively declined until full exhaustion at 52 hph. All starved larvae fed at 48 hph but feeding incidence progressively declined until larvae ceased to feed at 54 hph to coincide with a significant reduction in survivorship, indicating that larvae have reached their point-of-no-return (PNR) at 50 hph despite the availability of food. Delayed initial feeding of un-fed post-yolk sac larvae starting at 46 hph until 54 hph resulted in significantly higher feeding incidence among 46−48 hph larvae than those fed after 50 hph, which did not survive longer than 10 h after initial feeding. These results demonstrate that silver therapon larvae have a very brief transitional or mixed-feeding period of 12 h after yolk exhaustion so that initial feeding beyond 50 hph when larvae have reached their PNR results in early onset of death