5. Basic fish biology Species taxonomy, genetics Morphology, diagnostic characters Geographic distribution Life history Reproduction Tolerance to environmental factors Diseases Growth and survival Farming systems and methods Fisheries
6. Taxonomy Family Species Chanidae Chanos chanos (monotypic) Centropomidae Lates calcarifer (8 other Lates ) Serranidae Epinephelus coioides (+ 78 other Epinephelus , Cromileptes, Plectropomus, Cephalopholis , Variola , etc. Lutjanidae Lutjanus argentimaculatus ( + 65 other Lutjanus + other genera) Siganidae Siganus guttatus (+ 26 other Siganus )
7. Scientific name: Lates calcarifer (Bloch, 1790) English name: Asian Seabass, Giant Perch, Barramundi Local name: Apahap, Bulgan, Burgan, Salungsungan, Solong-solong
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11. Geographical Distribution of Lates calcarifer Indo-west Pacific from Arabian Gulf through Asia to Taiwan Province of China, the Indonesian archipelago, Papua New Guinea and northern Australia
49. Salinity tolerance: where farms are possible Milkfish freshwater to seawater Rabbitfishes brackishwater to seawater Asian sea bass freshwater to seawater Groupers brackishwater to seawater Snappers freshwater to seawater Proper acclimation is required before salinity transfer
50. Feeding habit Main food Milkfish herbivore-omnivore detritus, algae Rabbitfishes herbivore seaweeds Asian sea bass carnivore fish, crustaceans Groupers carnivore fish, crustaceans Snappers carnivore fish, crustaceans Juveniles of farmed species can be weaned to formulated diets.
51. Sexuality Sexual maturity Milkfish separate sexes 5 yr, 70 cm Orange-spotted rabbitfish separate sexes 1 yr, 20 cm Asian sea bass male first, 3 yr, 50 cm female when older 5 yr, >60 cm Mangrove snapper separate sexes 3 yr, 50 cm Orange-spotted grouper female first, 2 yr, 50 cm male when older 4 yr, >60 cm
Fish survival in a good state of health during transport is influenced by a number of factors, or combination of factors. Fish with full digestive tracts need more oxygen, more susceptible to stress, produce excrements which take up much of the oxygen of the water.
Stress is caused by: deteriorating water quality (low dissolved oxygen, high water temperature, improper pH, accumulation of ammonia or nitrite, crowding, improper handling during packing); Capacity of fish to take up and utilize oxygen depends on their stress tolerance, water temperature,pH, carbon dioxide concentration, and amount of metabolic products (e.g. ammonia) present in the water
The figure is for transporting tropical fish
Treatment of carrying water with various chemicals is sometimes done to increase carrying capacity, as well as to prevent health deterioration and stress effects; however, test packing and shipment should always be made
MS 222 is a light anaesthetic; fish generally recover even after long exposure to it; however, it is too expensive for everyday use. Quinaldine is a toxic solution and must be applied with care; it is worth using only for mass transport in big tanks; effective concentration 10-30mg/l according to species
