The Progressive Fish-Culturist

ISSN: 0033-0779 (Print) 1548-8640 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uzpf20

Environmentally Controlled Sea Water Systems for

Maintaining Large Marine Finfish

Rodric A. Schlieder

To cite this article: Rodric A. Schlieder (1984) Environmentally Controlled Sea Water Systems
for Maintaining Large Marine Finfish, The Progressive Fish-Culturist, 46:4, 285-288, DOI:
10.1577/1548-8640(1984)46<285:ECSWSF>2.0.CO;2

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1577/1548-8640(1984)46<285:ECSWSF>2.0.CO;2

Published online: 09 Jan 2011.

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Download by: [La Trobe University] Date: 18 January 2016, At: 15:20
 Brine Shrimp Hatchery 285

Acknowledgment (Walbaum). Special Report, South Carolina

I thank Messrs. Frankie Edwards, David
Oldham and Ronald Jones for assistance in
constructingthe solar heating system.Thanks
is also expressedto Mr. D. E. Reed for his
assistancewith system design.
Wildlife and Marine Resources Department.
Lewis, W. M., and R. C. Heidinger, 1981. Tank cul-
ture of stripedbass.Illinois StripedBassProject
IDC F-26-R. Fisheries ResearchLaboratory,
SouthernIllinois University, Carbondale,IL.
Lewis, W. M. 1963. Maintaining fishes for ex-
perimental and instructionalpurposes.South-
ern Illinois Plain Press, Carbondale, IL.

References Cited
Bayless, J. D. 1972. Artificial propagation and
hybridizationof stripedbass,Moronesaxatilis
Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 15:20 18 January 2016
Marshall C. Ray, North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission, Fayetteville State Fish Hatchery,
Fayetteville, North Carolina 28304

Environmentally Controlled Sea Water Systems

for Maintaining Large Marine Finfish

Experimental fish culture facilities at the 1972) and red drum, Sciaenops ocellata
Florida Department of Natural Resources (Roberts et al. 1978). Current research in
(FDNR) Bureau of Marine Research (BMR) these new systemsinvolves conditioning and
were recently expanded to allow concurrent spawning of gag, Mycteropercamicrolepisand
replicatestudiesof large marine finfish. Three snook, Centropomus undecimalis.
of nine duplicateenvironmentallycontrolled The single large holding tank, 4.3 x 3.0 x
systems were completed in 1982. 1.2m (14 x 10 x 4ft), with a capacity of
Three criteria were establishedprior to de- 13,000 L (3435 gal) is constructed and rein-
signand construction of facilities:1) the larg- forcedentirely of hand-laid fiberglas. All cor-
est possibletanks and water volume within a ners are rounded and airlifts at vertical corn-
wet lab 24.4 x 18.3 x 3.0 m (80 x 60 x 10 ft), ers (Fig. 2) eliminate debris accumulation and
2) duplicate systemsto allow statistical com- maintain water flow. A single 7.6 cm (3 in.)
parison of concurrentenvironmental regimes boat thru hull fitting mounted flush with the
and 3) completecontroland monitoringof en- bottom and at one end of the holding tank
vironmental parameters. serves as a drain and is connected to an out-
Rectangular tanks are favored over other side standpipe to control water depth. The
configurationsbecausethey providethe most drain fitting accepts a 7.6 cm (3 in.) PVC
efficientuse of floor spaceand can be stacked standpipe which allows surface overflow and
to utilize vertical space. Each system in- directs pelagic eggs onto a collecting screen
corporates two fiberglas tanks with a total placedunder the outflow.
water volume of 20,000 L (5284 gal), re- Water from the holding tank is directed into
circulatingartificial salt water and biological a settling tank (Fig. 3) modified from Parker
filtration locatedwithin an environmentally (1979). This settling tank has a capacity of
controlled room (Fig. 1). This method main- 510 L (135 gal) and directs water flow over a
tains exceptionalwater quality with minimal series of baffles which effectively eliminate
disease problems and has been used suc- most large particulate from the water column
cessfullyat the BMR to maintain and spawn before collecting and clogging the biological
pompano, Trachinotus carolinus (Hoff et al. filter. Debris separatedin the settling tank is
 286 Schlieder

4.3 0.6
I i I

E-__-----] [_-_-::::3

ESSSSSS] ES:::SS3
F
H

Fig. 2. Arlifts at vertical corners of holding tanks

reduce debris in corners and direct water around
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tank.

0.9

Fig. 1. Top and side view of environmental room

showing dimensions (m) and placement of holding
(H), filter (F), and settling (S) tanks, and di-
atomaceousearth (DE) filter, rock lime (RL), wooden
walk way (W), and fluorescentfixtures (L).

periodically flushed through a drain in the

lowest point of the triangular tank.
Water is directed from the settling tank into
the lower biological filter tank. The filter
tank, 4.9 x 3.0 x 0.8 m (16 x 10 x 2.6 ft),
supports the holding tank and is accessible
through a 3.0 x 0.6 m (10 x 2 ft) area at one
end of the tank. Woeden walkways, built over
the filter tank, extend along each side of the
holding tank. Broodstock are captured with
the aid of a 3.0 x 1.2 m (10 x 4 ft) seine. A
false bottom in the filter tank built with
bricks, fluorescent light fixture egg crate lens
Fig. 3. Side view of settling tank with dimensions
material, and fiberglas window screen sup- (m). Water (open arrows) and particulates (dark
ports 30-46 cm (12-18 in) of 0.9 cm (% in) arrows) flow as indicated; particulates settle to the
lime rock which provides substrate for nitrify- lowestpoint and are dischargedat the bottomwhile
ing bacteria and pH buffering control. A 1 H.P. clarifiedwateroverflowsthroughan outletat thesur-
pump, coupled to a network of 3.8 cm (11/2in) face.
 Marine Fish
PVC wellpoints under the false bottom, draws
water from a central point on the bottomof the
filter tank and reduceschanneling effectsdue
to tank shape.Water volume in the filter tank,
minus the volume of lime rock is 6,350 L
(1678 gal).
A diatomaceous earth filter (D.E.), con-
nected to the 1 H.P. pump with valves, pro-
vides additional particulate filtration when
necessary.Flow rate is 265 L/minute (70 gal/
minute) without D.E. filtration and provides
18 water changes within a 24 hour period.
Each systemhas separatefresh water and salt
water supply lines. Artificial salt water is
pumped from two 4,163 L (1100 gal) mixing
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tanks located within the wet lab.
Each system is completely enclosed in a
5.3 x 4.9 x 3.0 m (17 x 16 x 10 ft) room
constructed from 7.6 cm (3 in) rigid foam be-
tween 0.2 cm (1/sin) fiberglass sheets provid-
ing an R-23.1 insulation rating. Individual
wall panels, 3.0 x 1.2 m (10 x 4 ft), joined by
fiberglass and resin, provide wall units with
adjacent roomssharing a commonwall. Access
to each room is through a single insulated
door. Roof panels, made from 10.2 cm (4 in)
rigid foam between 0.2 cm (1/8in) fiberglass,
contain two 3.0 x 0.3 m (10 x lft) sealed
plexiglas windows that protect 16 fluorescent
light fixtures. The fixtures, locatedoutside the
room, are wired in parallel and can be op-
erated singly to controllight intensity. A sin-
gle white incandescent light with dimming
capacityis usedto eliminate abrupt light cycle
changes and simulates sunrise and sunset. A
single red incandescentlight provides mini-
mal lighting for observation of fish during
hours of darkness.
Water temperature in each system is con-
trolled through teflon immersion coils located
in each settling tank. One 2.4 m (8 ft) coil, con-
nected to the existing building brine air con-
ditioning system,provides7.0 C (45 F) cooling
when activated; a second 1.2 m (4 ft) coil, con-
nected to the building boiler system,provides
82.0 C (212 F) water for heating when acti-
vated. Cooling or heating is accomplished
through electrically operated on/off solenoid
valves on eachexchanger.Rate of temperature
change is controlled by regulating flow of
brine or hot water by manual ball valves.
Holding Systems 287
All environmental parameters, water tem-
perature within 0.1 C (0.2 F), water level,
fluorescentphotoperiodand incandescentsun-
rise and sunset are controlled and monitored
by computer. Experimental regime schedules
are stored on computer disk and actual con-
ditions are monitored and compared con-
tinuously with expectedvalues. Deviations in
environmental parameters beyond specified
tolerances or malfunction of equipment or
monitoring devices trigger a computer alarm
systemthat informs personnel by telephone at
their office or home. An emergency generator
insures continued computer operation and en-
vironmental control in the event of power fail-
ure.
Three two-tank recirculating systems have
beenoperativesinceAugust 1982. Water qualo
ity, clarity and pH dependon number of fish in
the system, their total body weight and feed-
ing schedulesbut have remained exceptional
from that date while maintaining different
numbers of gag and red drum broodstock
through several different environmental re-
gimes. Water circulation is not restricted by
rectangular tank design and broodstockhave
adapted well to tank shape. Environmental
rooms,immersion coils,lighting and computer
installation were completed in December
1982. Preliminary conditioning regimes and
spawning attempts with gag have indicated
satisfactoryoperation of all fish culture facilit-
ies.
Acknowledgments
Completionof these facilities resulted from
the effortsand cooperationof many staff at the
Bureau of Marine Research. My thanks to
George Henderson, Assistant Bureau Chief,
for supportand continuedefforts to facilitate
funding, to Dan Roberts, Ken Halscott, and
Bill Plaia for assistance in various design
aspects,specificationsand computerinstalla-
tion, and to Scott Willis and Mark Moffier for
manuscript review. Thanks to these staff and
to Cary Burns, Jamie Serino, Dave Kelly, and
Albert Rodriquez who helped move 22 tons of
rock lime by hand.
 288
References Cited
Hoff, F., C. Rowell, and T. Pulver. 1972. Artificially
induced spawning of the Florida pompano,
Trachinotus carolinus, under controlled con-
ditions. Proc. World Maricult. Soc. 2:53-64.
Parker, N. 1979. An air-operated fish culture system
with waterreuse and subsurface silos. Pages
131-137 in L. J. Allen and E. C. Kinney, eds.
Proceedingsof the bio-engineeringsymposium
for fish culture Fish Culture Section Publ. 1,
American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.
Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 15:20 18 January 2016
Capturing and Restraining Technique for Experimental
Work on Small Tuna in Large Laboratory Holding Tanks
Our recent studies on induced spawning of
captive tuna at the Kewalo Research Facility
(National Marine Fisheries Service, South-
west Fisheries Center, Honolulu Laboratory)
have required new methodsof handling these
fish and minimizing injury. Since our pro-
cedures (Kaya et al. 1981; 1982) involve pe-
riodic gonadal biopsies of live fish, as de-
scribedby Shehadeh et al. (1973) the fish must
be kept immobile while gonadal tissue is ex-
tracted by a catheter inserted into the
urogenital aperture. Such proceduresmust be
effectedwithout traumatizing the fish serious-
ly enoughto prevent their subsequentspawn-
ing. The tunas used in this experiment were
kawakawa (Euthynnus affinis) and skipjack
(Euthynnus pelamis) 40 to 50 cm (15.7 to 19.7
inches) in length and 1.2 to 3.2 kg (2.6 to
7.0 lb) in weight. They were held in groups of
up to 20 in 7.3 m (24 ft) diameter by 1.1 m
(3.6 ft) deepholding tanks. Fast and powerful,
these fish are difficult to capture from holding
tanks and to physically restrain them for any
manipulative purposesusually causesserious
and often fatal harm. Lacking protective
scales on their skins, the fish are readily
bruisedby any but the mostgentle contactand
their caudal fins are easily frayed. Attempts to
restrain them often produce internal injuries
which may result in death within a few days,
and survivors are prone to develop an
Schlieder
Roberts,D. E., Jr., B. V. Harpster, and G. E. Hender-
son.1978. Conditioningand inducedspawning
of the red drum (Sciaenopsocellata)under var-
ied conditionsof photoperiodand temperature.
Proc. World Maricult. Soc. 9:311-332.
RodricA. Schlieder,Florida Department of Natural
Resources,Bureau of Marine Research, 100 Eighth
Avenue, S.E., St. Petersburg, FL 33701
apparently stress-relatedconditionreferred to
as "puffy snout." This condition obviates their
usefulness as experimental specimensand is
eventually fatal.
Preliminary experimentation eliminated
the use of anesthesia as a satisfactory
approach for working with more than a few
tuna at a time. The fish can be injured by han-
dling associatedwith the administration of an
anesthetic. In addition, as obligatory ram ven-
tilators they must pass water over their gills
by moving forward with their mouths open.
Tunas anesthetized deeply enough for the
biopsy procedure must then be nursed until
they are capable of coordinated swimming.
This processis time consuming and increases
handling of each specimen.
To capture these fish from holding tanks
and manipulate them with minimal injury, we
developed procedures to: (1) prevent contact
between fish and abrasive surfacesduring the
capture and biopsy processes;(2) immobilize
each fish sufficiently to effect the catheteriza-
tion; (3) permit rapid processingof each spec-
imen; and (4) allow the sequential handling of
every specimen in a holding tank.
The capture system (Fig. 1) was designed to
force a fish to swim into a transparent capture
sac. The capture sac was made from transpar-
ent polyethylene sheeting, 0.15 to 0.25 mm (6
to 10 mils) thick, cut to size and shape and