Hill areas offer good scope for the development- of fisheries—both for commercial and sport purposes. The coldwater fishery resources in India comprise high and mid-altitude lakes, rivers, streams, their tributaries and reservoirs dammed across such rivers. The importance of coldwater fisheries lies in their unique biodiversity, valuable germplasm and maintenance of environmental quality in hills. Coldwater fishes breed naturally but since some species have been listed as endangered, therefore artificial breeding is now being practiced to restore the diversity.

1. A seminar on
Breeding of Coldwater fishes
(trouts and mahseers)
Faq-317
.

2. contents
 Introduction
 Coldwater fishes (trout)
 Breeding of trout
1. Natural breeding
2. Induced breeding
 Coldwater fishes(mahseer)
 Breeding of mahseer
1. Natural breeding
2. Induced breeding
 Conclusion
 References

3. •Hill areas offer good scope for the development- of
fisheries—both for commercial and sport purposes.
•The coldwater fishery resources in India comprise high
and mid-altitude lakes, rivers, streams, their tributaries
and reservoirs dammed across such rivers.
•The importance of coldwater fisheries lies in their
unique biodiversity, valuable germplasm and
maintenance of environmental quality in hills.
•Coldwater fishes breed naturally but since some
species have been listed as endangered, therefore
artificial breeding is now being practiced to restore the
diversity.

4. Coldwater fishes
 Fishes having the temperature tolerance limit just
like the salmonids i.e. 00 C-200 C are called coldwater
fishes. Their optimum temperature range is 100 C-
120C.
 General modifications:
1) Streamlined bodies.
2) Mouth modified for sucking or burrowing.
3) Narrow gill openings.
 In India 258 species of coldwater fishes belonging to
21 family and 76 genera are available.

5. Coldwater fishes of India
Food species Sport species Ornamental species
Indegenous: Tor putitora.
T. tor.
Neolissocheilus spp.
Lepidopygopsis spp.
Osteobrama spp.
Tor putitora.
T. tor
T. khudree
T. malabaricus
Brachydanio rerio
Danio devario
Labeo nandina
Lepidocephalus guntea
Exotic: Cyprinus carpio
Oncorhyncus mykiss
Hypophthalmichthys
molitrix
Ctenopharyngodon
idella
Salmo trutta fario Gageta cenia
Conta conta
Carassius carassius
C. auratus

6. SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF TROUT
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Salmoniformes
Family:
Salmonidae
Genus:
Oncorhynchus
Species: O. mykiss

7. Some important trouts
Onchorynchus mykiss (Rainbow
trout)
Salmo trutta fario (Brown trout)

8. Schizothoraicthys richardsonii S. curviforns
Salvelinus fontinalis S.micropogon
SNOW TROUTs

9. Sexual dimorphism of Trouts
The sexes can be distinguished during the
breeding season.
 The lower jaw of the males is turned up into a kind of
hooked beak shape where as in female it is absent.
 A genital papilla is present in the fully ripe female.
 Change in body colouration in male. Colour
becoming brighter during breeding season.

10. FEMALE
TROUT
MALE
TROUT
MALE
TROUT

11. Breeding of trouts
 Spawning season:
In India trout breeds during December-January,
where as rainbow trout breeds during February
and March .
 Natural breeding ground/ habitat:
All trout return to rivers and streams for
spawning. The trout seek out gravel beds(pea sized
gravels are best) with good water flow over it to
bring in oxygen and carry away silt.

12.  Spawning behaviour:
The hen fish cuts a trench(redd) in the gravel with
the tail fin and is then accompanied by the male.
 Age at first sexual maturity:
In case of male, milt is best in the age group
between 2nd and 4th yr. Female are used for breeding
from 3+ years onwards up to 6th yr. Generally Trout
attain maturity at the end of 2nd yr.
 Fecundity:
The fecundity of trout is very low around 1500-2000
eggs per kg body weight.

13. • Hundreds of eggs and milt are
squirted into the base of the
redd simultaneously.
• Thus fertilized the eggs absorb
water and sink. They are quickly
covered up by the female.
• Inevitably eggs miss the redd
and drift downstream.
• Fish including other trout will
eat them, but some will find
their way into other cracks and
crevices where they may well
develop.
Natural breeding

14. Induced breeding
• Pituitary extract @ 2-25 mg/kg in case of
female and 2-16 mg/kg in case of male or
they are striped directly.
• The fertilized eggs are reared in both
stagnant and running water conditions

15. Hatchery unit
• Brood stock unit
1) Optimum climatic conditions must be
maintained.
2) A proper water source must be available.
3)Water quality must be good.
•Egg taking& milt collection unit:
Here egg is collected by stripping by wet or dry
method.

16. Contd…..
 Incubation unit:
The incubation devices for trout eggs are:
1) Flow through and Trays
2) Vertical flow incubators
3) Jar incubators
 Larval rearing unit:

17. •Flow through and Trays.
•Vertical flow incubators
•Jar incubators

18. Females are
squeezed for eggs.
Eggs. Milt is collected
from males
Milt
The milt is mixed
with the eggs and a
little saline solution
The mixture is poured
into fresh water. After 1
hour the fertilized eggs
are transferred into
incubator.

19. Eggs in incubating jar Water is piped into the bottom of the
jars and flows out the top. Jars are
wrapped to keep them dark
Eggs with eye spots.
The white eggs are
dead
Incubating jarsThe fish at this stage are
called Sac Fry

20. Mahseers
 Mahseer, at one time considered to be of single
species, is now represented by six valid species
distributed all over India.
 Despite their abundance, at one time their catches
have dwindled considerably by now.
 In the effort to conserve mahseer breeding of mahseer,
with and without hypophysation has been undertaken.

21. Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order:
Cypriniformes
Family:Cyprinidae
Sub
family:Cyprininae
Genus :Tor
Species: Tor khudree

22. Tor tor Neolissochilus wynaadensis
Tor putitora Tor khudree

23. Reproductive biology
•SIZE AT FIRST SEXUAL MATURITY:-
Males at 1.5-2 yr.
Females at 3yr.
•SEXUAL DIMORPHISM:
•Size of the body :
Male are smaller and body narrower than female. Abdomen is bulkier in
female. Ventral profile of abdomen is straight in male.
•Fins
The pectoral fin of male is longer than that of female. In male it reach upto
6th lateral line scale. In female it reach upto 5th lateral scale.
•Tubercle on head
In male tubercle are present on either side of head which is absent in
female.
•Body colour
Males are brighter in colour and black sport on the lateral side of mouth.

24. Breeding of Mahseer
 Spawning season:
The breeding season of all mahseer species extends from July
to September with a peak in July - August and in exceptional
cases to October, and even beyond which has been observed.
This has shown the adaptability of the species to different
environments.
 Natural breeding ground/ habitat:
The breeding habitats usually comprise the marginal lake
areas where streams draining the adjoining hills cascade into
the lake. The journey to these grounds may be safe or fraught
with risks and dangers, but their inner instinct drives the
spawners to meet the challenges in order to breed.

25.  Spawning behaviour:
The ripe fish in the lake are attracted by the sound and
the incoming well oxygenated running water, and they
congregate in the area. If the streams are negotiable, the
broodfish migrate into them and cannot be captured.
 Physiochemical characteristics for breeding:
Water temperature - 10.50 C-26.50 C
pH- 7.1-7.9
Dissolved Oxygen- 8.2- 11.5 mg/litre.
 Fecundity:
Mahseer species have very low fecundity of 10 000 to
15 000 per kg of body weight,

26. Natural breeding
 In nature, the spawners try to reach their favoured
spawning grounds which may be in the vicinity or far
away.
 The hatching period of different mahseer species is
in water temperature of 200C- 280C is 92 hrs.
 If water temperature falls below 200C, the hatching
period extends beyond 96 hours.

27. induced breeding
 Healthy broodfish of minimum 3 years is either
collected from nature or cultured in pond.
 Fishes are then administered injection of pituitary
extract(2 doses) or ovaprim (1 dose) .
 Dose:
Female(2 doses)-initial 6mg/kg and final 12mg/kg
body weight.
Male-one dose is given @ 6mg/kg body weight.

28.  Ovaprim-Female(0.6-0.8ml/body weight) and
Male(0.2-0.3ml/body weight).
 Stripping the fishes after 6-12 hours and keeping the
fertilized eggs in trays.
 The fertilized eggs are demersal, lemon yellow or
brownish golden in colour.
 Transferring the fertilized eggs in Flow -through
hatchery.

29. Stripping of mahseer

30. Flow-Through Hatchery
 Hatchery unit:
A hatchery, for incubation for eggs and rearing of
swim up fry, is generally sheltered with a roof having
number of hatching troughs and tanks, especially
designed for this purpose.
 Troughs:(220cmx50cmx40cm or 220cmx60cmx50cm )
Rectangular troughs made of cement, fiberglass etc.
are arranged in a series such that water flows into the
first trough to subsequent ones. Each trough has
separate inlet and outlet mechanism. A trough with
five hatching trays can hold 20,000-25,000 fertilized
eggs.

31.  Trays:(50cmx30cmx10cm and 3-4 inches in height)
The hatching trays made of fiberglass/wood may be
rectangular or square such that 4-5 trays can fit in each
troughs. The bottom of each trays is fitted with synthetic
netting cloth to ensure regular water movement. Each tray
can hold 4,000-5,000 fertilized eggs.
 Nursery tanks:
The nursery tanks are another important component of
the hatchery, which are used for rearing early fry of
mahseer during their initial feeding stage. These tanks can
be of many shapes and sizes but depth must be less.
 Fry ponds/tanks:
The advanced fry reared in the nursery are transferred to
earthen ponds for raising mahseer fingerlings.

32. Flow-Through Hatchery

33. conclusion
 Coldwater fishes have a huge potential of
contributing towards the fisheries sector.
 For this reason coldwater fisheries has also been
termed as “The Sleeping Giant”.
 Coldwater fishes forms both the ornamental and
consumable product and hence its protection,
enhancement and maintenance is a must.

34. References
 Handbook of Aquaculture-S. Ayyappan
 Breeding of Finfish and Shellfish- P.C. Thomas
 http://www.fishweb.com/recreation/fishing/fishfacts/
fish/rainbow/rainbow.html.
 http://www.ets.uidaho.edu/4-
h/sportfishing/fish_id_anserws.htm.
 http://www.wild-trout.co.uk/rainbow.htm
 www.wikipedia.com
 www.googlesearch.com
 Class notes