Fertility and Eggs’ size in Female Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) of Different Ages

Abstract

Reproduction is one of the most important function of organisms, after which arise descendants that inherit the parental characteristics. At fish, the reproduction is materialized following the occurrence a large number of gametes (Miclea and ZAƒhan, 2006). At the majority salmonids species, the breeders are procured from the natural environment, during the breeding. In rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) case, the breeding stock is reared in special ponds from the trout farms. In this case, the breeding stock is the results of a strict selection (Gjedrem, 2005), and the growth requires optimal environmental conditions. As the literature shows differences regarding the production performances of rainbow trout female according to their age (Fornshell, 2002), in the present study we aimed to determine the fertility and eggs quality in four age categories.