GLOBAL JOURNAL OF FISHERIES SCIENCE
Integrity Research Journals
ISSN: 2782-750X
Model: Open Access/Peer Reviewed
DOI: 10.31248/GJFS
Start Year: 2018
Email: gjfs@integrityresjournals.org
Ammonia levels during walleye (Sander vitreus) egg development
https://doi.org/10.31248/GJFS2026.111 | Article Number: 2C8F07461 | Vol.8 (4) - August 2026
Received Date: 06 July 2026 | Accepted Date: 10 August 2026 | Published Date: 30 August 2026
Authors: Morgyn Barker , Jill M. Voorhees and Michael E. Barnes*
Keywords: egg, walleye., Ammonia, hatch, Sander vitreus
This study documented ammonia levels in walleye (Sander vitreus) eggs shortly after fertilization until hatch. Walleye eggs from Merritt Reservoir, Nebraska, USA were incubated at 16℃ in 9.5-cm diameter Petri dishes containing 30 mL of well water with a pH of 7.6 and alkalinity (as CaCO₃) of 210 mg/L. Ten dishes were used, with each containing 20 randomly selected viable eggs. Daily ammonia levels varied significantly throughout development. Mean ammonia levels were less than 0.100 mg/L/egg for the first nine days of incubation, significantly increased to 0.130 mg/L/egg on day 10 when hatching began, and significantly increased again to the highest level of 0.238 mg/L/egg on day 11 during peak hatching. Ammonia then significantly dropped to 0.19 mg/L/egg when hatching ceased on day 13. The results from this, the first study to document ammonia concentrations during walleye egg development, have practical implications for fish rearing, particularly with walleye eggs incubated in recirculating aquaculture systems.
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