Taking this one step further, suboptimal levels of taurine in the egg,
which would normally originate from the parent, may be a significant
factor determining larval performance at first feeding. The importance
of egg taurine is further emphasized in light of the fact that taurine is
found only at trace levels in rotifers (Brachionus sp.), the zooplankton
ubiquitously fed to first feeding marine fish larvae in hatcheries
world-wide (Conceição et al., 1997; van der Meeren et al., 2008). This
contrasts with the taurine content (0.5–1% DW) in copepods, which is
a major component of the larva's natural zooplankton diet (van der
Meeren et al., 2014). An alternative, more effective and economical
strategy may be to introduce nutrients, such as taurine, directly into
the egg which would circumvent the use of costly dietary additives or
taurine rich marine meals in brood stock diets.