Effect of different broodstock diets on breeding performance of the critically endangered peninsular carp Hypselobarbus pulchellus (Day, 1870)

Effect of different broodstock diets on breeding performance of the critically endangered peninsular carp Hypselobarbus pulchellus (Day, 1870) was evaluated. Male and female fish were reared in earthen ponds and fed one of the following diets viz. (i) Control - Fishmeal based feed (crude protein, CP- 35%); (ii) Control feed supplemented at 2% with a commercial product used for lipid regulation in poultry (LC feed) and (iii) Specially formulated diet (CP 35%) with horse gram and black gram in addition to fishmeal (PB feed). Breeding trials were first conducted in 2019. No significant difference in fecundity was recorded among fish from different groups. The experiment was repeated in 2020, where, the Control feed was fed to fish maintained in a pond with aquatic weed Vallisneria spiralis (C+V treatment). Highest relative fecundity and spawn to fry survival was obtained with C+V treatment, there being no significant difference among other breeding performance parameters between treatments. The study indicated that the presence of submerged aquatic plants in the culture environment improves the breeding performance of H. pulchellus. Keywords: Broodstock diet, Fecundity, Induced breeding, Puntius pulchellus