The effect of time from hatch on the yolk conversion efficiency of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri

The growth and development of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri , from hatch to first feeding depends upon the nutrients stored in the yolk sac. The efficiency ( E ) with which yolk can be converted to larval biomass is a useful measurement in chronic toxicity tests, and it can be simply estimated by comparing the gain in larval weight ( L ) to the loss in yolk weight ( Y ) at hatch (time 0) and at any time t after hatch: E =( L ₁− L ₀)/( Y ₀− Y ₁); E may be calculated on a wet or dry weight basis. Although the rates of weight change were constant for the first 15 days after hatch at 10.5° C, E was not. E increased from near 0 and approached a value of 2.1 on a wet weight basis or 0.70 on a dry weight basis after 5–8 days. The variability of E was also very high shortly after hatch, but declined and stabilized within 5–9 days. For toxicity testing, we recommend that E be measured 10–15 days post-hatch to ensure precision with a minimum bias due to dissection error.