Embryonic development and hatching rate of grouper (<i>Epinephelus suillus</i>) eggs incubated at different stocking densities

Abstract

Fertilized eggs of the grouper Epinephelus suillus were obtained from natural spawning of broodstock reared in a 50—t concrete tank at the Aquaculture Department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, Tigbauan, Iloilo. The development of eggs incubated at three different stocking densities (50, 1OO, and 150 eggs/1) were monitored. Hatching rates in the different treatments were also determined. Fertilized eggs were floating, non—adhesive, transparent, and spherical in shape with a mean diameter range of 0.83 — 0.84 mm. The yolk was colorless, transparent, and possessed a single oil globule of 0.22 mm in diameter. The eggs have developed into the 2—cell stage 45 min after stocking. Eggs incubated at 1OO eggs/1 hatched 24 h after stocking, while hatching occurred after 27 h and 5 min at 50 eggs/1. No hatching was observed at 150 eggs/1 stocking density even after 28 h post—stocking. Water temperature and salinity during the experiment were 27 ° C and IB ppt, respectively.