The study highlights how the production settings in nurseries of P. hypophthalmus could be adjusted if the premium is growth, survival or food conversion. These priorities can vary substantially between producers, depending on local constraints in terms of food supply, size and type of rearing system (ponds versus recirculating water systems), number of broodfish relative to the production of weaned larvae or juveniles, water renewal rate or water quality. If growth, survival and food conversion are equally important, the best compromise until 192 hah is a density of 90 fish per litre, with slight overfeeding (3 RFL). It is possible that higher performance be obtained with intermediate combinations of feeding levels and fish densities, or with feeding schedules that better track the ontogenetic variations in fish behaviour and morphology. For example, it might be worth testing very high feeding levels during the first 24 or 36 h of exogenous feeding, in order to maximise early survival and growth, then decreasing the feeding level. This would have little negative impact on the food conversion, because young larvae of P. hypophthalmus consume few nauplii per capita.