Resumen

MATA, Ernesto; ROSAS, Jesús; VELASQUEZ, Aidé  y  CABRERA, Tomas. Hormonal induction to spawning and larval description of the grunt Orthopristis ruber Cuvier (Pisces: Haemulidae). Rev. biol. mar. oceanogr. [online]. 2004, vol.39, n.1, pp. 21-29. ISSN 0718-1957.  doi: 10.4067/S0718-19572004000100003.

The spawning induction of the grunt Orthopristis ruber  Cuvier, 1830 (Pisces: Haemulidae) was realized through the use of Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone Analogue (LHRH_A). Two doses were used (50 and 25 ng/Kg). Two females were injected with each dose while four male were injected just with 50% of each doses. The same number of organisms was injected with distilled water. One female and two males were placed  in 2000 L tanks, each treatment  was duplicated. Only females injected with 50 ng/Kg produced viable eggs, with a fertilization percentage of 85 ±10% and a hatching rate of 95 ± 2%  at 17 h from spawning at 23.95 ± 0.59°C and 37 psu. Larval description was realized from recently hatched larvae of 1.35 ±  0.15 mm of total length and 1.25 ±  0.16 mm of notochordal length. At 48 h the mouth opening was detected. The metamorphosis started 17 days after hatching. The hormonal induction technique permitted to obtain Orthopristis ruber larvae which were described. Larval feeding consisted of a mixture of microalga (I. galbana) rotifer  (Brachionus plicatilis) and Apocyclops distans copepodites

Palabras clave : Larval development; experimental spawning; Gulf of Venezuela.