the presentation provides the details regarding the murrels or snakeheads which includes the basic taxonomy, some of the important species, distribution, special characters, its aquaculture potential, food and feeding habits, sexual dimorphism, parental care, age at maturity, the maturity stages, breeding season, courtship and mating, natural spawning, fecundity, induced spawning using ovaprim and HCG and LHRHa, and also the detailed facts regarding larval reariing.

1. Presented by,
Akhila. S(2014-01-13),Roshni Joseph(2014-01-38)
FSc 2014 Batch,Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies,Ko

2. INTRODUCTION
 Highly regarded food fish in South and
South East Asian Countries
 Popular fish for aquaculture since they
breed in confined water bodies.
 Aggressive and carnivorous in nature.
 Also considered a pest fish since they
destroy other natural species of a
water body where they inhabit.

3. BASIC TAXONOMY
 Phylum Vertebrata
 Subphylum Craniata
 Superclass Gnathostomata
 Series Pisces
 Class teleostomi
 Subclass Actinopterygii
 Superorder Ostariophysi
 Order Channiformes
 Family Channidae(=Ophiocephalidae)
 Genus Channa

4.  There are about 33 sps of murrels
distributed in tropical Asia including
Northern China and Africa
 Species of aquaculture importance:
◦ Channa striatus
◦ C. punctatus
◦ C. marulius
◦ C. maculata
◦ C. micropeltes

5. Channa
striata
Bangladesh, Dumuria, Khulna, by Balaram Mahalder
Courtesy:fish base

6. Bangladesh, Faridpur fish market, by Shovan Khan Sabuz
Channa punctatus
Courtesy:fish base

7. Channa marulius (Hamilton, 1822)
Bangladesh, by Balaram Mahalder
Courtesy:fish base

8. Channa maculata
Courtesy:fish base

9. Channa micropeltes
Courtesy:fish base

10. DISTRIBUTION
 The geographic distribution of genus
Channa extends from Amur in eastern
Siberia to China, Korea, India, Burma,
Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran,
Srilanka, Thailand, Vietnam,
Kampuchia, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Phillippines, East India and tropical
Africa.
 Channa inhabit all type of freshwater
such as rivers, lakes, reservoir, ponds,
swamps, canals, ditch.

11. SPECIAL CHARACTERS
 Ability to breathe atmospheric oxygen-
sold alive at high prices in the market
 Predacious and cannibalistic
 Known to survive drought by
aestivating for months in moist mud
 Very hardy and can tolerate
unfavourable conditions.

12. AQUACULTURE POTENTIAL
 Most common system of murrel culture is in earthen
ponds ranging in size from 800- 1600m³.
 In Vietnam- cultured in cages moored near the shore
or trailed behind fishermen boat
 Traditional system- in irrigation wells
 High quality flavour and texture of flesh- regarded as
diets for invalids and recuperating patients
 Generally monoculture practiced,
◦ In Taiwan, murrels stocked in carp and tilapia ponds to
forage unwanted fishes
◦ In Thailand, integrated culture with pig and poultry
 In Thai, farmers stock 75-460 fry of C. striatus per
square metre of pond area
 trash fish, rice bran and broken rice are fed thrice
daily in the ratio 8:1:1

13. FOOD AND FEEDING
HABITS
 Parameswavaran(1975) has made a detailed
study on the food and feeding habit of C.marulius
in swamps.
 He found that post larvae are exclusively
phytophagus, the bulk constituted by
zooplankton and rotifers and also small quantity
of protozoans.
 The phytoplankton encountered were desmids
and diatoms.
 The large post larvae subsists mainly on small
aquatic insects and other hemipterans.
 Aquatic insects predominate the diet of larger
juveniles.
 The species develops piscivorous tendency at
this stage.

14.  In general, the food and feeding habit of
C.striatus is the same as given murrel.
 They are also highly piscivorous, but a lesser
degree than C.marulius.
 At 151-250 mm size group, C.striatus
develop piscivorous tendency.
 Larger adult are predominating piscivorous
constituting their diet mainly with carp
minnows, weed fish, small sized murrel etc..
 True cannibalism is also observed in fry and
juveniles stage.
 The feeding intensity decrease with the
increase in size of the fish; more in juveniles
and maximum in adults during maturing and
recovering months.

15.  Like other murrels C.punctatus is also a
carnivore, feeding mainly on the animal food
right from the post larval stage, but in
different stages of life different diet have been
noticed.
 Spawn and the early fry feed almost
exclusively on zooplankton; juveniles
consume mainly on aquatic insects;
fingerlings feed on bigger sized aquatic insect
and partly shrimps, annelids and small fish
while adult subsists on medium fish fry,
minows, shrimps, worms and insects.
 The difference in food habit of the species of
murrels as observed may be attributed to the
variation in the availability of the different food
organisms.

16. SEXUAL DIMORPHISM
SPECIES MALE FEMALE
C.marulius No bulging abdomen.
Vent pale round and
reddish.
Slight bulging of
abdomen.
C.striatus No bulging abdomen.
Vent pale . Anal
papilla-like structure
with its tip pointed.
Slight bulging
abdomen. Vent round
and reddish. Anal
papilla like structure
broad, slightly reddish
in colour and blunt
with reddish dot.
C.punctatus No bulging abdomen.
Numerous minute
black dots on the dark
ventral bands. Vent
oblong and pale with
brown to dark
periphery. A pinkish
Slight bulging
abdomen. Diffused
black blotches. A few
minute black dots may
or may not be present.
Vent round, slightly
protruding and

17. Channa striata

18. Channa striata

19. PARENTAL CARE
 In Channa marulius, the species exhibits
deep parental care.
 They build cup like nests in a weedy
margin by inter weaving act of stem and
blade of weeds.
 Both parents guard the egg and fry
although at times only one is seen with
the brood.
 Parental care ceases and the young are
disposed when attain a size of above
170mm.
 The degree of negligence is inversely
proportional to the size of young one.

20. Parental care

21. AGE AT MATURITY
 Murrels attain maturity at an age
between one and two years
 Length
◦ C. striatus- above 25 cm
◦ C. marulius- above 36 cm

22. MATURITY STAGES
 The following six stages of maturity was
observed in the ovary of spotted murrel

23. Stage 1 Ovaries thin, looks ribbon like transparent,
whitish grey in colour. Extends to not even half
the length of coelom.
Stage 2 Ovaries pale yellow, granular in appearance;
becomes slightly thicker and longer. Oocytes
increase in size and show formation of yolk
vesicle in the periphery of ooplasm.
Stage 3 Ovaries yellow, granular in appearance,
increases in length and width, occupying half of
the length of the body cavity. Yolk granules
increases in quantity and passes towards
periphery of ooplasm.
Stage 4 Ovaries enlarge in girth and length; occupy
almost entire length of coelom. Ova closely
packed, nuclear content not visible.
Stage 5 I. Ovaries attain maximum volume; ova
transparent with large yolk granules.
II. Volume is reduced; extrusion of some ova.
Stage 6 Spent ovaries shrunken; reddish in colour
occupying 3/4th length of coelom.

24. BREEDING AND LARVAL
REARING

25. BREEDING SEASON
 Peak breeding season of C. striatus is during
the rainy season, but the species seem to
breed throughout the year
 the moderate climate and abundant rainfall in
peninsular India provide favourable
conditions for breeding of murrels throughout
the year
 In north, these conditions prevelant only for
limited period- breeding restricted to
monsoon and post monsoon
 spawns in a variety of habitats such as
rivers,lakes, reservoirs, swamps, jheels,
bheels, tanks,ponds, paddy fields and even
puddles

26. COURTSHIP AND MATING
 An elaborate courtship with males actively
chasing the females precedes spawning
 Only one male pairs with the female
 intense male competition inherent in group
spawning.
 The absence of breeding behavior from any
of the breeders often results in spawning
failure
 Several factors like body size, pigmentation,
age, and social dominance, environmental
conditions, mating history, female
reproductive state, male dominance and
aggression are known to affect the mating
behavior of fishes in many species

27. Courtship behaviour

28. NATURAL SPAWNING
 In Channa striatus,
 Construct a nest with its tail at the edge
of tanks, bites off weeds which grows in
them
 The species generally lays its eggs in
shallow margins of weed infested waters
where the weeds are cleared in a small
circular area, probably during active
spawning movement of the breeders
 weeds help to hold the floating eggs
together without dispersal.
 Also found to breed in weed free waters
and even puddles

29.  Both parents guard the egg and larvae
 fertilization external
 Fry move in shoals near the water
margin
 Parental care ceases when they attain
a size of 57mm- young ones disperse
 fry and fingerlings frequent the surface
and column
 juveniles are column and shallow
bottom dwellers.

30. FECUNDITY
 few hundreds to a few thousands,
depending on the size of the fish
 vary between 2200 and 34,000 among
cultivated murrels
 Fecundity differs in different agro climatic
region as well as habitat
 eggs are free floating, spherical and non-
adhesive and have an oil globule.
 Are golden yellow in colour in fresh
condition

31. Fertilized eggs

32. INDUCED SPAWNING
 Hypophysation,- natural and synthetic
hormones
 using carp pituitary glands
◦ injected intramuscularly in the dorsolateral region
in two instalments
◦ An initial dose of gland varying from 2 to 20 mg/
kg weight of fish was administered to the female
◦ Nil to 20 mg to the males
◦ After 4 to 6 hr a higher dose ranging from 5 to
380 mg/kg was given to the females and 5 to
250mg to the males
 Disadvantage- gonadotropic potency of
pituitary glands used is unknown and difficult
to standardise

33.  Ovaprim hormone
◦ Single dosage
◦ Mass induced breeding
◦ Brood stocks were injected with dosage of
0.5 ml/kg body weight
◦ spawning occurred within 24-26 h,
following the injection with the hormon
 Human Chorionic Gonodotrophin
(HCG) and LHRHa also used for
induced spawning

34. HORMONAL INJECTION

35. LARVAL REARING
 Captive reproduction and larval rearing of
snakehead have been accomplished
experimentally, but are not done on a
commercial scale
 The hatchling, according to Alikunhi (1953),
measures 4.33 mm in length.
 The yolksac is fully absorbed on the third day
 At this stage the post-larva has a well formed
mouth and has commenced feeding
 Pronounced cannibalism is observed during
fry and juvenile stages(minimised in captive
stocks by ensuring abundant supply of
preferred food

36.  The life cycle of any species of fish
from hatchlings to fry/fingerlings stage
have high mortality
 Early fry subsists mainly on
zooplankton, it is better to feed them
with small plankton like rotifers and
Artemia nauplii
 Fingerlings – insect larvae, fish fry,
zooplankton

37.  fed with a supplementary feed
comprising of fish meal (50%) and
mustard oilcake (50) at the rate of 5-
8% of theestimated body weight.

38. REFERENCE
 Aquaculture Principles and practices.
-T.V.R.Pillai
 Murrels and Murrel Culture
-N.M.Chakrabarty

39. PAPERS
 Induced spawning of the striped murrel
Channa striatas using pituitary extracts,
human chorionic gonadotropin, luteinizing
hormone releasing hormone analogue, and
ovaprim- Mohamed A. Haniffa, Thangarose
Merlin, Junaith Shaik Mohamed; Acta Icht.
Piscat. 30 (1): 53-60, Ann. 2000
 Effect of Different Synthetic Hormones and/or
Their Analogues on Induced Spawning in
Channa marulius-Muhammad Hafeez-ur-
Rehman,1 Muhammad Ashraf, 1 Farzana
Abbas, 1 Khalid Javed Iqbal, Iftikhar Ahmed
Qureshi and Syedah Andleeb; Pakistan J.
Zool., vol. 47(3), pp. 745-752, 2015.