Rotifers Improve First‐Feeding for Indoor Culture of Florida Bass, <i>Micropterus salmoides</i>

Florida bass, Micropterus salmoides , an economically important sport fish species, has great potential for indoor recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS), but knowledge about optimal dietary requirements during the early life history stages remains unresolved. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine a first‐feeding protocol for Florida bass indoor RAS culture. Four dietary treatments were tested: treatment 1 received rotifers with enriched Artemia , treatment 2 received rotifers with nonenriched Artemia , treatment 3 received only enriched Artemia , while treatment 4 received nonenriched Artemia . At 5 days posthatch (DPH), all treatments received a microdiet. Fish were sampled in regular intervals for total length (TL), body area (BA), myotome height (MH), jaw length (JL), eye diameter (ED), oil droplet area (ODA), and yolk area (YA). Condition index (CI), yolk utilization efficiency (YUE), and yolk utilization rate (YUR) were calculated. Wet weight, tank biomass, and survival were also recorded at 25 DPH. Results showed that Artemia enrichment did not influence any of the morphometric traits. Adding rotifers or enriched artemia did not significantly impact weight, final biomass, or survival at 25 DPH for Florida bass. Larvae fed rotifers exhibited a significant increase in morphometric development (TL, BA, MH, JL, ED, and CI) and were more efficient and faster at converting yolk reserves to body size. We conclude that a dietary regimen including rotifers allows Florida bass larvae to transition to exogenous energy sources faster and increase development. The present study improves understanding of black bass dietary requirements during critical early life history stages to increase hatchery efficiency.