The results of this study suggested a sequence of suitable food items from the beginning of exogenous
feeding until day 35 post hatching. In particular, dusky grouper larvae actively select copepod nauplii in the
size range between 2 and 12 mm in TL, and Artemia salina nauplii for TL larger than 9 mm. The rearing
approach applied seemed to be promising. Indeed, while previous rearing trials of dusky grouper failed
within ten days or finished at 30 days post hatching with a lower percent of survivors, this paper reports the
best survival rate reported for this species (10%±7.0 survivors at 35 days post hatching). Finally, mouth width
was observed to be the limiting factor in the selection of prey, while the smallest prey size plays a critical role
in determining ingestion. Our results contribute to clarifying some aspects of the larval ecology of this
species, furnishing some suggestions for its cultivation.