The First Attempt to Artificially Reproduce the Endangered Cyprinid Lake Minnow Eupallasella Perenurus (Pallas)

Abstract

The standard artificial reproduction technique with the use of Ovopel (GnRH analogue) was evaluated for the critically endangered cyprinid species in Poland, the lake minnow Eupallasella perenurus. Wild spawners were angled at the beginning of the spawning season. Only females with a condition coefficient value higher than the mean were included in the experiment and then stimulated with Ovopel. Group A (n = 20) was given standard treatment (0.2 pellet kg−1 and 1.0 pellet kg−1 after 12 h), whereas group B (n = 8) was treated with a single dose of 2.0 pellets kg−1. After fertilisation with the dry method, the glutinous eggs attached to the bottom of flow-through aquaria were incubated at 17.1–18.4°C. Throughout incubation (85D°), dead eggs were removed and counted. The same was done with dead larvae, those with deformed bodies or those with empty alimentary tracts after 2 days of external feeding. Two injections of Ovopel resulted in a significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher ovulation rate in comparison with the single dose (70 and 25% in groups A and B, respectively). The individual hatching rates were very high (98.4–100%), as was the share of good quality larvae (91.1 and 96.5% of stripped eggs in groups A and B, respectively). These results indicate that the standard propagation method used with commercially important cyprinid species can also be used to successfully breed E. perenurus.