Larval growth patterns in Cyprinus carpio and Clarias gariepinus with attention to the finfold

During the larval period, most teleost fishes undergo a dramatic change in body form. Most functional systems are incomplete at hatching. Rapid development of swimming, feeding and respiration systems are expected. In this study, growth patterns of morphological characteristics related to these three functions were studied in two species of Ostariophysian teleosts: African catfish Clarias gariepinus and common carp Cyprinus carpio. Special attention was paid to the larval finfold, which is a remarkably common feature of fish larvae. The results confirmed that larval growth shows different phases. Many morphological characters showed fast allometric growth in early larvae, followed by isometric growth after an inflexion point. In carp, all larval growth curves showed such inflexion points at a total length of about 7 mm while in Clarias such a coupling was not found. The inflexion points in carp occur at a stage during which the typical larval swimming style changes towards the adult swimming style.