First report of two fish species: Chanda nama, and Hetropneustes fossilis from Begnas Lake

Abstract

This paper aims to report the two fish species appeared in the catches of Begnas Lake, which is new to this lake. Daily fish catch data and morphometric measurements were recorded for each species. Daily fish catch record from Begnas Lake showed that two fish species Chanda nama, and Hetropneustes fossilis were appeared in the catches of Begnas Lake. The first report of Hetropneustes fossilis was during June 2016 and Chanda nama was appeared in the catches from July 2018 from Begnas Lake. In the earlier studies, these two species have been already reported from water resources of Nepal. How these two fish species have been introduced in this lake is still unknown. The analysis of eight months catch data showed that both species catches has steadily increased from this lakes. It showed that these species have been self-recruiting in the Begnas Lake. The recorded weight (mean ± SD) of Chanda nama was 3.54 ± 1.18g, and Hetropneustes fossilis was 20.38 ±6.84g. At present both fish species have been used for food only. Since, Chanda nama has attributes for ornamental fish and if it is catch live, it could be sold as ornamental fish to the aquarium fish traders and shops with more worth.