Objective  Starvation tolerance of Gymnodiptychus dybowskii larvae was studied to determine the optimal time to start feeding larvae for the aquaculture.

  Method  Morphological development, growth, and survival rate of regularly fed G. dybowskii larvae and those under artificially imposed starvation were observed in separate fish tanks with a controlled water temperature at 15.2–16.4 ℃. The point of no return (PNR) under starvation of the larvae was determined by the percentage of the stressed fish that took daily feed initially.

  Result  The normal mixed nutrition for the larvae lasted 5–6 d. In general, on the 7^th day after hatching the larvae started natural feeding, and their yolk sac disappeared in 12–13 d. Approximately 5% of the larvae began to feed at the time of feeding initiation stage. The percentage of larvae started feeding reached 100% on the 11^th day but was 50% at PNR after 17 d when deprived of food. Normally, it lasted for 10 d for the larva beginning to take the initial morsel of food. There was no significant difference found in the total length of the larvae fed regularly and under the starvation treatment up until the age of 9 d (P＞0.05). However, at 12-day-old, the two groups of larvae began to significantly widen the differentiation in body length (P＜0.05), and the starved fish started to show negative growth with physiological atrophy. After PNR, body distortion and deformities appeared on the starved larvae with the mortality rate gradually rising to 100% 25 d after hatching.

  Conclusion   In a water of 15.2-16.4 ℃, G. dybowskii larvae displayed a tolerance to starvation with an apparent PNR. It showed that the optimal start time for feeding the larvae was 11 d after hatching.