Effects of Salinity on Production Characteristics of Red Drum, Sciaenops ocellatus

Abstract

Red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus were cultured for 56 days at 29.5 °C in water containing either 5 g or 10 g sea salts/L. Fish cultured in the lower salinity exhibited significantly better growth (161% vs. 136%) and feed conversion ratios (2.26 vs. 2.49) than fish cultured in the higher salinity. Condition factor (1.01) and survival (97-100%) were not affected by salinity. Culture of red drum in low-salinity water offers advantages over culture in high-salinity water such as lower costs for reconstituting water, more flexibility in siting farms, and protection against the pathogenic dinoflagellate Amyloodinium.

Key Words:

• Red drum
• Sciaenops ocellatus
• growth
• salinity