GROWTH AND RESPIRATION OF EMBRYOS AND LARVAE OF THE RABBITFISH SIGANUS-RANDALLI (PISCES, SIGANIDAE)

Growth and respiration of larval rabbitfish from Guam were examined. L arvae were reared from eggs in 2- to 10-ton tanks and were fed rotifer s, Artemia, and artificial feed in succession as development proceeded through metamorphosis. Growth in length was rapid during the 12h afte r hatching, then slowed until the larvae began to feed. The yolk sac w as usually absorbed by 36h after hatching. Rates of respiration of lar vae and eggs were determined with a dissolved oxygen electrode at vari ous times through development. Larval metabolism increased steadily du ring the embryonic stages culminating in a metabolic burst immediately after hatching. Respiration rates remained relatively stable from sho rtly after hatching until the onset of exogenous feeding, after which respiration rates increased with larval size. The respiration rates of post-yolk-sac larvae scaled isometrically with larval dry mass. Daily growth of feeding larvae was 27 to 28% of larval dry mass.