Respiration and food requirement by larvae and juveniles of red sea bream, Pagrus major

Respiration rates of the red sea bream Pagrus major, in larval and early juvenile stages were measured by the water bottle method at 20 degree C. Relationship between respiration rate (R; mu l O sub(2)/indiv./h) and body weight (W; mg dry wt./indiv.) was expressed as R = 3.75W super(0.92)(r = 0.98, n = 93). Based upon the respiration data, daily food requirements for the individual of larva and juvenile ranging from 12 to 1,400 mu g body carbon weight were calculated as 26.3-38.3% of body carbon for ingestion and 8.8-12.8% of body carbon for routine metabolic expenditure, assuming digestion efficiency and gross growth efficiency to be 70% and 20%, respectively.