Medusa consumption and prey selection of silver pomfret Pampus argenteus juveniles

The current study explored Aurelia aurita and Rhopilema esculent um consumption by silver pomfret juveniles, as well as their prey selection between the two jellyfi sh species. Silver pomfret juveniles weighing 1±0.1 g actively preyed on both the species. Their daily A. aurita consumption was 11.6 times their own body weights regardless of the size of A. aurita medusae. Their daily R. esculent um consumption was 13, 9.1, 5, and 4.1 times their own body weights when the R. esculentum medusae were 10, 20, 30, and 40 mm in bell diameter, respectively. The survival rates of the R. esculent um were higher than those of the A. aurita. When the R. esculent um medusae were more than 30 mm in bell diameter, their survival rate exceeded 92%. Silver pomfrets serve as a type of potential predators on A. aurita in coastal waters, and they have little infl uence on R. esculent um with a size exceeding 30 mm. Besides, A. aurita may be able to be used as fi sh prey in silver pomfret artifi cial breeding.