Artificial fertilization of eggs and early development of the milkfish Chanos chanos (Forskal)

Abstract

Hydrated eggs obtained from a female milkfish were artificially fertilized with the milt collected from a male injected with acetone-dried pituitaries of salmon. The fertilized eggs (1.1 to 1.25 mm in diameter) developed normally in seawater in basins and Petri dishes at a salinity of 30-34 ppt and successfully hatched in 25 to 28½ hours at a temperature of 26.4-29.9°C. The yolk was completely absorbed in about 2½ days and at this period many postlarvae died. A few larvae were reared up to 5 days but all died within 6 days. Effects of feeding the postlarvae from the third day with freshly hatched trochophore larvae of oysters obtained from eggs artificially fertilized in the laboratory could not be ascertained.