Light conditions for larval rearing of meagre (Argyrosomus regius)

Meagre is a new candidate for Mediterranean aquaculture due to its fast growth in sea cages and good quality. Two experiments were designed in order to study the effect of photoperiod and light intensity on larval survival and specific growth rate (SGR) for days 1–15 (SGR1-15) and days 16–30 (SGR16-30). Overall larval survival was unaffected by light intensity (50 to 1000 lux) with rearing in 16 h light and ranged from 10% to 15%. Under a light intensity of 500 lux, decreasing photoperiod length significantly improved survival, increasing from 6% with rearing in 24 h light to 48% with 8 h light. SGR1-15 was unaffected by any of the light intensity and photoperiod regimes that were tested. However, SGR16-30 was highest for a light intensity of 500 lux with 16 h and 24 h light when compared with 12 h and 8 h light. High light intensity and induced a deleterious effect on larvae increasing mortality either due to cannibalism or swim bladder over-inflation.

► Larval response to a particular characteristic of light is species specific
► The effect of photoperiod and light intensity on meagre larval rearing
► The best results in growth were obtained using long photoperiods and medium intensity
► High light intensity and continuous light induced a deleterious effect on larvae