Preliminary study of Notopterus notopterus gonadal maturation using several rearing systems as the base of domestication processes

Abstract

The populations of Notopterus notopterus or commonly known as Javan Belida, in some places are rarely found and their populations have decreased. Domestication is one strategy of fisheries resources management related to the rare condition, threatened extinction, or even disappearance of fish species. Domestication is also part of the initiative for developing the aquaculture effort of this species. The purpose of this study is to assess the adaptation of N. notopterus on gonad maturation in several rearing systems as a base of the initial domestication. Fish were collected from the Rawa Pening reservoir in Central Java, Indonesia. Gonad maturation assessment was carried out on different rearing system, namely semi-ground pond, square concrete pond, three units of the oval concrete pond and square concrete pond with closed recirculation system. As a comparison, another group of fish also reared in their natural habitat using cage system. Results showed that the maturity level of female fish is the highest in an oval tube, while the lowest was in a semi-ground pond. The square concrete pond is a potential container for gonadal maturation processes since it produces from low to high levels of gonad maturity and produces the largest value of high-level gonad maturation.