Larval Development of Spotted Sucker (Minytrema melanops)

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Abstract
Larval stages of spotted sucker, Minytrema melanops, were described using diagnostic characters. Suitable criteria for the identification of larval spotted sucker are fin ray counts, myomere counts, and pigmentation. Eggs reared in the laboratory at 16.1–20.0 C hatched between 108 and 156 h after fertilization. Newly hatched larvae averaged 6.0 mm in total length. The prolarval phase was complete 8 days after hatching at an average size of 10.5 mm. The juvenile phase was reached between 7 and 9 weeks at lengths of 20 to 23 mm. Five‐ to 6‐day‐old larvae, averaging 10.0‐mm total length, initiated vertical movements in the culture tanks and, within a few hours, became totally free‐swimming; these movements were associated with the air bladder beginning to fill. Larvae 7 to 8 days old formed a compact, integrated school when exposed to direct light but dispersed in a darkened vat. Postlarvae 15.0‐mm total length and smaller fed at the surface and in the midregion of the culture vats. Postlarvae greater than 15.0‐mm total length fed in the midregion and bottom of the culture tanks. Bottom feeding was not prevalent until the juvenile phase when the mouth was distinctly inferior.

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