Induced breeding and developmental biology of endemic western ghats fish Dawkinsia filamentosa (Valenciennes, 1844) under captive conditions

In the present study, induced breeding of endemic barb, Dawkinsia filamentosa was carried out using three different synthetic hormones namely Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), WOVA-FH and Ovatide at different (0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 ml/Kg) doses. All synthetic hormones showed good performance at 0.7 ml/kg body weight. Comparatively WOVA-FH showed better performance with higher number of spawned eggs (1405±5.74 nos/female) and hatching rate (90±0.6%). The study concluded that WOVA-FH at 0.7 ml/kg is an ideal for induced breeding of D. filamentosa. Fertilised eggs were golden in colour with an orange tinge. Hatching took place 34- 36 hrs (26±0.5°C) of post fertilization. Yolk sac remained up to 60 hrs of post hatching. Complete developmental stages of D. filamentosa from egg to adult were recorded in captive condition. The present study aids in introducing hatchery-bred seeds of valuable indigenous fish Dawkinsia filamentosa into the ornamental fish trade. Availability of hatchery seed may reduce the wild exploitation and contributes to the conservation of the natural resources.