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<br />56 <br /> <br />JOURNAL OF APPLIED AQUACULTURE <br /> <br />A concern about population declines and lack of recruitment in ex- <br />tant stocks (Lanigan and Tyus 1989; Marsh and Minckley 1989) has <br />resulted in increased efforts to evaluate culture techniques to propa- <br />gate this species. Although razorback sucker fry can be raised in <br />ponds (Hamman 1987), their specific dietary requirements are un- <br />known, and information about intensive culture on dry, formulated <br />foods is scant. <br />Maintenance of separate genetic stocks of endangered fishes re- <br />quires raising separate lots of fish to a size large enough to bear <br />permanent marks or tags. A lack of young (Lanigan and Tyus 1989; <br />Marsh and Minckley 1989) and scarcity of mature fish in the wild <br />have necessitated the development of hatchery techniques to pro- <br />duce fry (Lanigan and Tyus 1988). In a previous study (Tyus and <br />Severson 1990), razorback sucker fry were cultured for 45 days, <br />utilizing commercial feeds as first exogenous foods~ However, dif- <br />ferences in fish response to five diets indicated that a combination <br />of diets may be required to obtain good growth and survival, espe- <br />cially for larger fish. <br />The objective of this study was to determine a combination of <br />artificial diets that would allow raising of razorback suckers from <br />sac-fry to fingerlings with high growth and survival. <br /> <br />MATERIALS AND METHODS <br /> <br />-~ <br /> <br />Eggs and milt were stripped from wild razorback suckers from <br />the Green River near Jensen, Utah in May, 1989. Eggs were fertil- <br />ized in the field and were transported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife <br />Service hatchery at Ouray, Utah. Fertilized eggs were disinfected in <br />a 10% betadine solution for 10 minutes, then flushed, tempered to <br />210C, and placed in Heath~1 incubators. Eggs began hatching 71 <br />hours after fertilization, and hatching was complete at 95 hours. <br />Sac-fry (N = 3,482) were placed in a 70-1 wooden tank supplied <br />with heated, degassed and aerated, single-pass well water (flow = <br />41/minute; average temperature = 19.30C; average dissolved oxy- <br /> <br />1. Use of trade or manufacturer names does not imply endorsement by the <br />U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. <br /> <br />I <br />