The Clownfish (Amphiprion spp.) Larviculture Technique with Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) in Buleleng, Bali

Abstract

Clownfish is one of the most demanding-marine ornamental fish. Due to the increased demand of the clownfish, wild clownfish catch has also been increasing, until reaching the overexploitation condition. One way to preserve the existence of this fish species and to sustainably fulfil the market demand is by conducting a culture technique with advanced application using a recirculating-aquaculture system, specifically larviculture. Thereby, this paper reported the procedure of the clownfish larviculture and determined the growth performance of the larvae during the culture activity. This paper reviewed the direct observational operation for 40 days at Rizky Mitra Karya Hatchery, Buleleng, Bali. All observational data were analyzed descriptively. During the culture, the process was composed of rearing media preparation, clownfish egg-clutch collecting and stocking, and larval rearing. This process also included the feeding management in each rearing part (broodstock and larval rearing), water quality control by setting the RAS standard and and harvest for juvenile rearing. However, the hatching rate was lower than the standard given. Egg collection with scrapping method produced a lower hatching rate due to more human error discovered. To gain a better improvement, rotifer as a live feed for clownfish larvae and fluctuated weather condition due to the seasonal transition, which impacted on the availability of live feed for clownfish larvae should be handled intensively. Therefore, proper live feed culture with indoor system, thorough live feed intake observation on larvae, and proper larvae stocking by directly taking from the broodstock tank are necessary to stabilize this culture production with high sustainability level.