SUPPLEMENTING BROODSTOCK AND LARVAL DIETS FOR FLORIDA POMPANO Trachinotus carolinus WITH TAURINE TO IMPROVE EGG, LARVAL, AND WEANED JUVENILE QUALITY  

Florida Pompano have been identified as an ideal species for aquaculture in America. As with many cultured marine finfish species there is a production bottleneck between egg and weaned juveniles. Florida Pompano have the potential to produce up to 1.5 million eggs but it is not uncommon to have survivability of 5% to 15% from eggs to weaned juveniles. Recent research shows that amino acids supplemented in broodstock diets were passed onto the eggs. Taurine, a 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is a common organic compound and has been suggested to help enhance egg quality. To evaluate the potential of taurine supplementation for Florida Pompano broodstock and larvae, a 2x2 factorial experiment was conducted, where two group of adult fish received formulated gel diets with or without taurine supplementation, and the resulting larvae were divided to receive taurine-supplemented or unsupplemented live prey. Broodstock received experimental diets three times a day for 3 weeks prior to spawning, while the larvae were raised on an otherwise standard protocol based on rotifers (in green water) and Artemia enriched with a commercial emulsion and weaned on a dry feed at 15 days-post-hatch when the trial was terminated. Results show that supplementation of the broodstock diet could be beneficial while larval supplementation may not be warranted. Further research is being conducted to strengthen and complement these results.