Elsevier

Aquaculture

Volume 119, Issue 4, 1 February 1994, Pages 371-379
Aquaculture

Abnormal swimbladder development and lordosis in sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and sea bream (Sparus auratus)

https://doi.org/10.1016/0044-8486(94)90301-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Many types of skeletal malformations are found in species reared in intensive conditions. Lordosis, characterized by a more or less acute V-shaped spine, is the most common. It may be congenitally or post-natally induced. Poor rearing conditions are usually the cause of postnatal lordosis. A correlation between the appearance of lordosis in 0.7–4 g juvenile Dicentrarchus labrax and Sparus auratus and the lack of functional swimbladders was found in larval forms of both species. Lordosis was present in all fish which were forced to swim against a current of at least 20 cm/s, while only 20–30% of fish reared in static waters were affected, thus suggesting a mechanical cause of this deformity. Spinal curvatures were mainly in the area of vertebrae 14–15 which is the area where muscle pressure is highest during swimming. The curvature of the deformed fish increased with weight and from less than 10° in 0.7-g fish to 60° in 4-g sea bass and 120° in 150-g sea bream. Late swimbladder inflation was observed in S. auratus of about 7 g and over. However, late swimbladder inflation did not reduce spinal curvatures in fish with chronic lordosis starting at the larval phase.

References (27)

  • B. Chatain

    Contribution à l'étude de l'élevage larvaire de la dorade japonaise (Chrysophrys major)

  • J.L. Coulet

    Synthèse des données acquises sur l'élevage larvaire du loup (Dicentrarchus labrax): techniques semi-intensive et intensive

  • R. Giavenni et al.

    Formazione, differenziamento istologico ed aspetti patologici della vescica natatoria in larve di branzino (Dicentrarchus labrax L., 1758)

    Riv. Ital. Pisc. Ittiop. A

    (1983)
  • Cited by (221)

    • Swimbladder non-inflation and its influence on larviculture of mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi)

      2022, Aquaculture Reports
      Citation Excerpt :

      However, due to the heavier body density than water, SBN fish larvae need to swim continuously to maintain position in the water column and can hardly obtain neutral buoyancy to perform the high-intensity predatory activity (Kitajima et al., 1994; Egloff, 1996). Poor swimbladder inflation leads to increased mortality of fish larvae in early stage, attributed to the spinal deformities (Chatain, 1994; Egloff, 1996), inability of live bait predation and unnormal growth (Szkudlarek and Zakęś, 2007). Besides, SBI fish larvae often bigger than SBN group.

    • Effect of replacing darkness with dim light in the larviculture of red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus

      2021, Aquaculture Reports
      Citation Excerpt :

      Additionally, different lighting regimes have been shown to affect larval ontogeny in marine teleosts, notably in terms of swim bladder development and inflation (Battaglene and Talbot, 1990; Hadley et al., 1987; Partridge et al., 2011; Stuart and Drawbridge, 2012; Trotter et al., 2003). Successful inflation of the swim bladder is an important predictor of larval survival and incomplete inflation has been shown to increase deformities in later life stages (Stuart and Drawbridge, 2012; Chatain, 1994; Iwasaki et al., 2017; Schwebel et al., 2018). While many species may achieve maximal swim bladder inflation when exposed to lengthened or continuous periods of light, some species require a period of darkness to cue proper swim bladder inflation (Cerqueira et al., 1991; Johnson and Katavic, 1984; Trotter et al., 2003; Villamizar et al., 2009, 2011; Woolley and Qin, 2010).

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text