Captive breeding and Embryonic development of Endangered, Osteobrama belangeri (Val., 1844) under Mid-hill condition in North east India

Abstract

Osteobrama belangeri (Valenciennes) -an endangered indigenous medium carp of Northeast India was first introduced in the hill state of Meghalaya in 2011 to evaluate its performance under mid hill condition (900m above msl) in an effort to conserve this highly esteemed species through captive breeding and aquaculture. The species is endemic to the State of Manipur in the Northeast India bordering with Myanmar and is locally known as Pengba. In July 2014, Osteobrama belangeri - attained full maturity at the age of 30 months under pond condition and could be induced bred in captivity by means of an inducing agent, Gonopro-FH (Salmon GnRH). In this study, a maiden attempt has been made to describe different embryonic development stages of O. belangeri in controlled conditions. The paper also highlights a low-cost simple protocol for successful seed production of O. belangeri in an effort to conserve and promote the highly esteemed fish as a candidate species for mid hill aquaculture.