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IV.—On the Biology of a herbivorous Fish, the White Amur or Grass Carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella Val

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2012

C. F. Hickling
Affiliation:
Tropical Fish Culture Research Institute, Malacca.
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Synopsis

The important macrophyte-feeding cyprinid fish Ctenopharyngodon idella Val., the White Amur or Grass Carp, is native to temperate climates. The present paper is concerned with its biology when transplanted to Malacca, a tropical research station in latitude 2° 17′ N.

At this station, the fish has a faster growth-rate, and may mature at an earlier age and smaller size, than in its native habitat. There are no marked seasonal changes at Malacca, and in these conditions the Grass Carp shows no spawning cycle, but some fish are ripe at any time of the year. While the testes of the males appear to develop normal milt, the ovaries in the fish examined seldom produced as many eggs as in their native habitat, and the eggs themselves have been shown to be mostly defective and to undergo early atresion.

Consequently, though the ovulation of eggs of normal size was induced by pituitary injection in nineteen out of forty-eight trials, no success was got in the artificial fertilization of the eggs, though elsewhere success has been got in 25 per cent and more of trials. It is suggested that this fish may need the external stimuli which are associated with its natural spawning season to develope normal fertile eggs.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1967

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