Effect of different salinities on breeding and larval development of Common carp, Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758) in inland saline groundwater.

Abstract

A 90 days experiment was conducted to study the effect of different salinities (0, 5, 10 and 15 ppt) on breeding and larvae development of Cyprinus carpio using inland saline groundwater (ISGW). At the end of the experi- ment, average weight of the matured brooders were 370 ± 20 g, 342 ± 26 g, 275 ± 15 g, 167.5 ± 17.50 g at the salinities of 0, 5, 10 and 15 ppt, respectively. Among different salinities, relatively high gonad weight, fecundity, sperm motility, fertilization rate, embryonic and larval development was observed at the salinities of 0 and 5 ppt. The results showed that the stripping response, latency period, fertilization, and hatching rate were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced at the salinity of 15 ppt. The percentage of larvae survival were 69.40 ± 1.76, 74.28 ± 2.22, 49.98 ± 2.04 and 28.78 ± 5.34 at the salinities of 0, 5, 10 and 15 ppt, respectively. Long hatching duration (68–70 h) and high levels of larvae deformity (71.21 ± 5.34%) was also observed at 15 ppt. Thus, it can be concluded that 5 ppt of ISGW can provide the best results for the production of C. carpio seed and could be useful in developing a hatchery technology for C. carpio.