Abstract
The knowledge of how fish survive and grow at different temperatures, and how these traits vary between life stages, is essential to evaluate the effects of climate change on wild fish and implement effective strategies in aquaculture. These issues are addressed in this study through a series of experiments that evaluate the effect of temperature (23-34 degrees C) on the embryos and larvae of clown loach, Chromobotia macracanthus. This species is endemic to the rivers of Sumatra and Borneo, highly praised on the ornamental fish market, and has been reproduced in captivity recently. No embryo survived a 24-h exposure to 34 degrees C until the age of 3 days after hatching (dah); mortality was high at 32 degrees C at 2 and 3 dah, whereas it was low and similar from 1 to 4 dah at 23-29 degrees C (<10%). Yolk absorption was proportional to water temperature (Q(10 degrees C) of 1.69 in the 23-32 degrees C range), but fish reared at cold temperatures were larger than others at the start of exogenous feeding (5.7 vs. 5.5 mm TL, at 23 and 32 degrees C, respectively). The survival of larvae fed Artemia nauplii ad libitum was high at 23-32 degrees C (80-100%), but almost null at 34 degrees C. Growth models at different temperatures were produced from weekly measurements in two experiments, and tested by comparing their predictions with the results of a third experiment. Throughout the larval stage, the optimal temperature for growth (T. opt) was close to 29 degrees C, and departures from T. opt resulted in substantial growth penalties (-30% SGR for -5.1 degrees C and +3.1 degrees C). High survival, fast growth (0.7 mm day(-1)) and limited size dispersal at T. opt are encouraging perspectives for the aquaculture of clown loach. From an ecological perspective, the species has an atypical thermal biology, as it is less thermophilic than other tropical fishes, but more stenothermal than temperate fishes exhibiting similar values of T. opt, both traits being of particular concern in the context of global warming.