Hatchery Raised Tiger Muskies and Cannibalism

[Red Childress]

https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley....002/naaq.10301

[Red Childress]

To summarize……..

Juvenile tiger muskellunge are cannibalistic, which can lead to a substantial reduction in yields within an intensive culture environment. Utah hatcheries have traditionally raised the female Northern Pike × male Muskellunge cross, and hatchery managers are reluctant to raise the female Muskellunge × male Northern Pike due to a perceived difference (increase) in cannibalism rates when rearing this cross."

So they did some experimenting to test that theory....

"We raised both crosses in replicated microcosms to evaluate the differential cannibalism between them. All rearing conditions were consistent.

"After 6 weeks, we found that the female Muskellunge × male Northern Pike cross offspring were significantly more cannibalistic than juveniles from the female Northern Pike × male Muskellunge cross, with total cannibalism across the 6-week period estimated at 27% and 5.6%, respectively."