Improvise, Adapt, Overcome: Larval Success with Minimal Resources

Influence Diagram Explanation

Please contact us with any questions:

Laura Wandel LWandel84@gmail.com

Britnee Niehus Britnee.Niehus14@gmail.com

This document is intended to be used in conjunction with the Larval Fish Rearing Influence Diagram.

The Influence Diagram (IF) is broken into 5 individually graded diagrams:

Staff Knowledge on Larval Culture

An inference is made that if staff are already experienced in culturing Corals, Syngnathids,
Jellies, and Cephalopods then they likely have already developed a lot of the necessary habits
and techniques that are necessary for larval fish culture.
If staff has no prior knowledge than management needs to determine their willingness to train
staff. Things such as job shadows at another facility, hands on/ personalized mentorship, and
access to books and/or scientific articles are good training tools
If management is not willing to train staff, are they willing to provide time and materials to help
staff succeed? This includes virtual mentorships with a biologist at another facility, learning as
you go, or access to books and/or scientific articles.
The more working knowledge a staff member has the higher grade of fish a facility can culture.

Available of Time to Spend on Larval Culture

Trained coverage is vital to a successful larval fish program. Coverage must be adequately
trained. This is a non-negotiable.
If there is trained coverage, look at the hours allotted to larval fish culturing.
The more time spent on larval fish the higher grade of fish that can be cultured.

Available Tools & Resources

If a facility has all the tools needed then larval culture is unlimited.
If tools are needed, figure out whether they can be made, if tools that can be made to work, or
purchase the tools needed.
If you have no idea what tools you need, go back to staff training and increase knowledge.

Available Broodstock & Rearing Tanks

Having a broodstock tank makes accessing the fish and eggs easier. If having a broodstock
tank is not available a facility can also remove eggs from the tank to be moved to larval
systems.
Due to larval fish being more susceptible to stress, rearing fish in line with the broodstock tank,
either in a dedicated MOLAR system or in a tank that has flow through and filtration, is
suggested to avoid acclimation.

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 If that is not an option you can still be successful with free standing tanks, such as a 10 gallon
tank with just air, a 10 gallon tank with flow through and filtration, or a dedicated MOLAR
system.
The type and availability of rearing tanks directly impacts the grade of fish culture available.

Available Live Food Cultures

Live foods are the most significant bottleneck a facility may encounter. Your larval success is
directly related to the live food cultures available. Each individual species has specific
requirements when it comes to live foods and if a facility cant provide exactly what those fish
need your larval fish rearing wont be successful.
The more live food options a facility has the greater number of species that can be attempted
to cultured.

Grading:

1: Culture can be successful with nothing but minimal tank space and filtration
requirements, minimal knowledge or care, and Artemia nauplii.

Examples: Banggai Cardinalfish, Syngnathids, Live-bearing species

2: Culture can be successful with rotifers, a tank with some/ minimal filtration (i.e. a
sponge filter) is required, and rearing requirements are not time intensive.

Examples: Most Goby species, Clownfish

3: Culture needs a tank with basic mechanical filtration, copepod nauplii as their first food,
and requires moderate time and knowledge.

Examples: Pajama Cardinalfish, Damsels

4: Culture requires a tank with mechanical and chemical filtration, their first foods are
copepod nauplii. They require moderate/complex knowledge and increased time
investment. Fish in group 4 arent as hardy as species in group 3.

Examples: Parrotfish, Chromis

5: Culture requires complex knowledge or care, is time intensive, and has complex
nutritional requirements.

Examples: Angelfish

6: Indicates the maximum level of bottlenecks preventing larval culture success. Culture
has very specific rearing requirements. These are typically species whose lifecycles
have not been closed.

Examples: Tangs

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