Abstract Orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) is one of the most important aquaculture species in tropical and subtropical Asia. Traditionally, rotifer are fed to the larvae after they hatched. However, larval survival rate has been very low, and prey of suitable size during the first week after hatching is a major constraint. In this study, we raised grouper larvae by using an inorganic fertilization method to produce natural assemblages of phytoplankton and zooplankton, and compared it to a traditional rotifer-fed group. The results showed higher larval survival rate in inorganic fertilization group, albeit not significantly different due to high variation. Using next-generation sequencing to examine the fish stomach content from inorganic fertilization group, we found that copepods and choanoflagellates were actively consumed, whereas rotifers were not. The results imply that the inorganic fertilization method can produce desirable forage species for the grouper larvae, and it can be an alternative way in grouper larviculture worldwide.

中文翻译：

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使用二代测序分析无机施肥法下生长的橙斑石斑鱼（Epinephelus coioides）幼体的饮食偏好

摘要 橙斑石斑鱼（Epinephelus coioides）是亚洲热带和亚热带地区最重要的水产养殖品种之一。传统上，轮虫在孵化后被喂给幼虫。然而，幼虫的存活率非常低，孵化后第一周内大小合适的猎物是一个主要限制因素。在这项研究中，我们通过使用无机施肥方法生产浮游植物和浮游动物的自然组合来饲养石斑鱼幼虫，并将其与传统的轮虫喂养组进行比较。结果表明，无机施肥组的幼虫成活率较高，尽管由于变异大而没有显着差异。使用二代测序检测无机施肥组的鱼胃内容物，我们发现桡足类和领鞭毛虫被积极消耗，而轮虫不是。结果表明，无机施肥方法可以为石斑鱼幼虫生产理想的饲料品种，它可以成为世界范围内石斑鱼幼虫养殖的替代方式。