Studies on biology, seed production & rearing of Cyprinus carpio robrofuscus (Koi carp)

Abstract

Koi carp {Cyprinus carpio rubrofoscus (Linnaeus, 1758)} is a brightly coloured fish native to Asia and Europe. They are called living jewels and swimming flowers for their physical beauty. A detailed study was conducted emphasizing, the induced breeding techniques, breeding behavior and early life history of Koi carp (embryonic and larval stages) including nursery rearing etc. at National Freshwater Fish Brood Bank (20.18’.2” N 85.50’.59”E), Kausalyaganga, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. The fertilized eggs of Koi carp were found to be adhesive, demersal and spherical in nature. The diameter of the fertilized egg capsule ranged between 0.8 to1.0 mm while the yolk sphere ranged from 0.6 to 0.8 mm. The hatchlings ranged between 2.0 and 2.5 mm in length. A female weighing one kilogram will give approximate 23,985 nos of spawn in the happa breeding method. The survival of spawn in the nursery rearing was varying between 27% to 32% and the size also varies between 35 mm to 42 mm. The fry growth varies from 61-80 mm and the survival from fry to fingerling was varying from 57-62%. The successful induced breeding of Koi fish may reduce the uncertainty and unavailability of fish seed/fry, may increase the large scale production for export purpose and may be a potential sector for meeting the national demand and help to increase foreign exchange earnings. The present study will certainly paves the way for the start-ups to take up commercial production and marketing of Koi carp in the days to come.