Carp Breeding and Hatchery Management
Indian major carp viz., catla (Catla catla), rohu, (Labeo rohita) and mrigal
(Cirrhinus mrigala) and two exotic Chinese carps, silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and
grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) mature in confined water but fail to breed spontaneously in
confinement. They are known to breed spontaneously during south-west monsoon in rivers. The
first attempt to breed major carps in confined water was by bundh breeding technique. The use of
pituitary hormone in carp breeding in India was established in 1957. It was on 10 th July, 1957,
Cirrhinus reba, a medium carp induced to breed by administration of aqeous carp pituitary extract
at Angul, Orissa by Scientists of Pond Culture Sub-station of Central Inland Fisheries Research
Institute, Barrackpore, West Bengal. Within next fortnight, all three Indian major carps were
induced bred successfully. The technique was further refined in subsequent years and has been
widely practiced all over the country at farmers’ level. Besides pituitary extracts, in recent years
several other formulations of hypothalamic peptide hormones are also used effectively for
induced breeding of carps, which are commercially available in trade names of Ovaprim
(Manufactured by Syndel Laboratory, Canada and marketed by Glaxo India Ltd.), Ovatide
(Hemmo Pharma, Mumbai) and Wova-FH (Wokhardt, Mumbai).
The confined water induced breeding was the hapa breeding system during sixties and
seventies of 20th century. The system was open to environmental hazards, which lead to
invariably low recovery of spawn. This could be overcome during eighties when eco-carp
hatchery technology was introduced. Since then this has been subjected to several modifications
for increasing the efficiency.
Induced breeding
Augmentation of prospective brood decides the
success of induced breeding. Thus, maintenance of healthy
brood in broodstock ponds is the prime requisite for successful
breeding operation, which include stocking of adult fish @
1500 kg/ha; provision of formulated diet @ 1-2% of the body
weight daily; and water replenishment.
In case of hypophysation, generally female carp
receive pituitary extract in two split doses at an interval of 6
hrs. Male receives single dose at the time of 2nd dose to
female. There are several ways of hormone administration to
matured carp such as intracranial, intra-peritoneal and intramuscular. While intramuscular injection is given at the tail
peduncle, intra-peritoneal injection is given just below the
pectoral fin. The professional fish breeders prefer intra-peritoneal hormone administration
procedure. Dose of the pituitary extract depends on species, brood quality and breeding
environment. A dose of 3-6 mg/kg is administrated to the female followed by a second dose of 812 mg/kg after 6 hrs. Male receives 3-6 mg/kg, once at the time of second injection to female.
Brood generally ovulates within 4-6 hrs of second dose.
The development of hypothalamic hormone preparations has led to a more simpler and
easy to use breeding practice in carps. Formulated induced agents have gained wide acceptance
among fish seed producers mainly due to the following advantages: i) available are ready to use
sperm, ii) less species specificity and iii) single dose administration for spawning, which reduces
stress to fish. The doses of such hormonal preparations (Ovaprim/Ovatide/Wova-FH), in general,
ranges 0.3 - 0.5 ml/kg body weight of female and 0.2 - 0.3 ml/kg body weight of males in all the
three Indian major carps.
Hatchery management
Circular eco-hatchery is by far the most common hatchery systems adopted all over the
country. The hatchery possesses three principal components viz., spawning pool,
incubation/hatching chamber, and water storage and supply systems.
Spawning pool is also called as breeding
pool. Its purpose is to hold injected breeders for
natural spawning and fertilization.
The pool
essentially needs a continuous supply of filtered
well oxygenated running water of optimum
temperature. The depth of water in the breeding
pool is maintained up to 1.5 m based on the brood
density and 3-5 kg of brood per m 3 is
recommended. The breeding pool should have a
sloping bottom leading to the outlet at centre, so
that it can be completely drained when required
without leaving any eggs behind. It is essential to
View of an eco-hatchery
provide a simulative riverine environment in spawning pool. The centrifugal flow makes the
operation of inlet and outlet more effective. Automation has been incorporated to facilitate self
transfer of fertilized eggs into hatching pools.
The size and number of spawning
pool may vary based on the production
requirements and the size of the breeding
pool. The duck mouths direction and the
speed of water are well adjusted to assure
favourable circulation of eggs in the water
preventing them from mechanical injury. The
circulation keeps the fertilized eggs evenly
distributed in the water column and keeps
them rolling slowly. 0.7- 0.8 eggs per cubic
meter of waster is considered to be optimum
for incubation. The circular pool has the
Collection of spawn from hatching pool
advantage of holding a large volume of eggs, convenient to manage and higher hatching of
embryos which takes place within 14-18 hours in Indian major carps. The spawn are kept in the
hatching pool till 72 hours before transfer to nursery.
At present a large number of commercial eco-carp hatcheries are operating to produce
the carp seed for culture in India. Intensification of carp seed production is not limited with the
application of hatchery infrastructure. Now technology is available to breed the same fish 2-3
times in the season thereby resulting in 2-3 folds more production than the single breeding.
Points to be taken care:




Transport the brood by hamack (Canvas bags) filled with water to avoid stress
Circulate the water in the pool about an hour before the ovulation period and continue till
effective spawning (90-120 minutes)
Don’t allow the spent brood to be in the pool after breeding for more time
Brood fish should be used within the reproductive age group i.e., 2+ years to 5 years age
Economics of carp seed production in eco-carp hatchery (Capacity, 50 million spawn)
Sl.
no.
I.
A.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Items
Expenditure
Fixed capital
Bore well
Overhead tank (capacity 20,000 l)
Breeding pool 6 m diameter (1 no), Incubation chambers (1.5 m dia,
6 nos) & egg collection chamber (2.5 X 1 X 0.75 m, 1 no) and shed
Intake and refuse water ponds (0.3 ha, 2 nos)
Water pumps and accessories (Electric and diesel 5HP)
Sub-total
Amount
(In rupees)
50,000
50,000
1,00,000
80,000
40,000
3,20,000
B.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Variable cost
Prospective brood fish 1000 kg @Rs 50/kg
Fuel for diesel pump, electricity, etc.
Disinfectant, inducing agents, etc.
6 full time/part time workers @ Rs. 2000 per man-month
Miscellaneous expenditure
Sub-total
C.
1.
2.
3.
Total Costs
Total variable costs
Depreciation cost on fixed capital @ 10% yearly
Interest on fixed capital @15% per annum
Grand Total
1,31,000
32,000
48,000
2,11,000
II.
Gross Income
Sale of spent brood 1000 kg @ Rs. 40/kg
Sale of spawn @ Rs 500/lakh
Gross Return
40,000
2,25,000
2,65,000
Net Income (Gross income - Total costs)
54,000
III.
50,000
20,000
15,000
36,000
10,000
1,31,000