State of Art for Larval Rearing of Grouper

Groupers belonging to the family of Serranidae, are widely distributed throughout sub-tropical and tropic water area. With increasing marketing demands and reduced natural resource, groupers have been considered have high aquaculture potential in tropical and subtropical waters. However, since the first attempt to culture groupers, significant problem exists in fingerling production, particular with survival rates are low and inconsistent. In this review, we will use the life cycle of grouper larvae as a framework to review internal factors regulating ontogenetic development in fish larvae and environmental factors affecting grouper larvae development. To understand the cause of high larvae mortality in early life history, we will review factors related to the ontogenetic development, and then we will focus on issues of first feeding of grouper larvae in intensive aquaculture. At the end, we will review the management strategies of using live feeds in grouper hatcheries.