266 American-Eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 3(3): 266-274, 2009 ISSN 1995-0748 © 2009, American Eurasian Network for Scientific Information This is a refereed journal and all articles are professionally screened and reviewed

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Studies on the Fecundity of Native Fish Climbing Perch ( Testudineus, Bloch) in Malaysia

Kasi Marimuthu, Jeevanand Arumugam, Darshini Sandragasan and R Jegathambigai

Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, AIMST University Batu 3 1/2 Bukit Air Nasi, Jalan Bedong Semeling, 08100 Bedong Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia

Kasi Marimuthu, Jeevanand Arumugam, Darshini Sandragasan and R Jegathambigai.: Studies on the Fecundity of Native Fish Climbing Perch (Anabas Testudineus, Bloch) in Malaysia, Am.-Eurasian J. Sustain. Agric., 3(3): 266-274, 2009

ABSTRACT

The climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) is one among the highly priced native freshwater fish in Malaysia. An investigation was made to study the fecundity of this species. Seventy gravid females were collected from the waterbodies near Kedah state Malaysia from October 2007 – May 2008. The recorded fecundity (F) was found to vary from 3120 to 84,690, mean with deviation of 36,804+2,289 for the fishes with 12.4 – 19.2 cm in total length (TL) and mean with SD of 16.13±0.249cm and with 33.22 -137.19g in total body weight and mean 1181.85± 356.12g. The co-efficient of correlation for fecundity and total length (TL), fecundity and body weight (BW), fecundity and ovary weight (OW) and fecundity and gonadosomatic index (GSI) were 0.524, 0.473, 0.977 and 0.808 respectively. Relationship between ova diameter (OD) and total (TL) and body weight (BW) was also established. The regression line for the TL, BW, OW and GSI of the sample fishes were found to be linear when they were plotted against their fecundity. All the variables observed (P<0.05) where highly significant.

Key words: Fecundity, GSI, Climbing perch, Anabas testudineus

Introduction

The climbing perch, Anabas testudineus (Bloch, 1792) is a highly priced air breathing, freshwater food fish species belongs to the family Anabantidae and order Perciformes. They are also well known for their taste, high nutritive value, and recuperative and other medicinal qualities. This species naturally distributed in Bangladesh, , Pakistan, Ceylon, Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cochin-, Tongking, southern China, Philippines, Polynesia, and Malaysia (Axelrod et al, 1971; Jayaram, 1981; Sterba, 1983; Sen, 1985; Talwar and Jhingran, 1991, Kohinoor et al, 1991; Tay et al, 2006). It occurs mainly in low lying water bodies like swamps, marsh lands, lakes, canals, ponds, paddy fields, pools, small pits, and estuaries (Jayaram, 1981; Kohinoor et al, 1991; Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). It possesses a special accessory air breathing organ, situated just above the gills in a large extension on the upper part of each gill chamber, which facilitates the utilization of atmospheric air for their respiration (Graham, 1997). They are hardy and it can thrive in oxygen depleted water bodies (Pethiyagoda, 1991). They are well known for their ability to migrate between ponds over land (Sterba, 1983; Liem, 1987; Davenport and Abdul Matin, 1990; Sakurai et al, 1993). During the larval and juvenile stages they prefer plankton and in adult stages are omnivorous feeding nature and mainly feed on insects, invertebrates, fish and plants (Singh and Samuel, 1981; Riehl and Baensch, 1991). This species also been reported as one of the successful biological control organisms in controlling mosquitoes like Aedes sp., Culex sp. and Anopheles sp. in sewage waters (Chandra et.al. 2008). Climbing perch mature at approximately 70-100 mm in size and breeds in paddy fields and seasonal ponds with at least 10-25 cm depth. Unlike other

Corresponding Author: Kasi Marimuthu, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, AIMST University Batu 3 1/2 Bukit Air Nasi, Jalan Bedong Semeling, 08100 Bedong Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] Am.-Eurasian J. Sustain. Agric, 3(3): 266-274, 2009 267 anabantids species, they do not build bubble nests or care for their eggs, which float at the surface (Axelrod et al, 1971; Sakurai et al, 1993). The major constraint in the culture of this species in a large scale level is the non-availability of quality seeds from the wild and also scarcity of matured broodfish. Hence it is expedient to introduce an enduring system of producing seeds of climbing perch through induced breeding as an alternative to the present unreliable dependence on wild seed collections, for supply to fish farmers engaged in aquaculture. To utilize and manage this species judiciously in cultured system understanding of reproductive biology, seed production and larval rearing techniques are very essential. Numerous studies on the biology of this candidate species have been available, which includes features as feeding (Yakupitiyage et al, 1998; Singh and Samuel, 1981; Riehl and Baensch, 1991), embryonic, larval development and growth (Amornsakun et al, 2005) induced breeding (Sarkar et al, 2005). Banerji and Prasad (1974) reported that reproduction and fecundity of A. testudineus in Indian waters but information about reproductive potential of this species in Malaysia is still scarce. The term fecundity refers to the number of eggs present in the ovary of a fish (Nikolsky, 1963). Egg size, fecundity, and total ova mass are interrelated life history traits that have commonly been used to characterize different populations of fishes (Healey and Heard 1984; Beacham and Murray 1993). Fecundity is an important index of the biology of fishes and is used to evaluate the reproductive potential of particular fish species that must be understood to explain the variations in the level of fish population, as well as to make efforts to increase the aquaculture harvest and production. Further the knowledge about fecundity of a fish is essential for evaluating the commercial potentialities of its stock, life history, practical culture and actual management of the fishery (Lagler et al, 1956; Doha and Hye, 1970). Fecundity varies from one species to another, depending on the environmental conditions, length, age etc. Fecundity of a species is also known to vary with location (Gunderson 1977; Mann et al, 1984). Environmental factors were found to cause location-related differences in fecundity of the same species of salmon (Rounsefell, 1957). The studies on fecundity has been reported in several fish species Labeo boggut (Patil and Kulkarni, 1995); Mystus gulio (Rao, 1981) Mystus cavasius (Sharma, 1987) Monopterus cuchia (Nasar, 1989) Wallagu attu and Mystus armatus (Saxena, 1990) Ompok bimaculatus (Rao, 1993), Anabas testudineus (Azad 1993) Channa gachua (Routray and Nanda 1993). Very little information is available on the fecundity of climbing perch (Khan and Mukhopadhyay 1972). Considering the scarcity of published information on the reproductive biology and economic importance of climbing perch an investigation on the fecundity of A. testudineus was undertaken. The present study was carried out in order to estimate the average and range in the number of ova laid by individual female and to establish relationships between fecundity (F) with total length (TL), body weight (BW), ovary weight (OW) and gonadosomatic index (GSI%). It is expected that the present study information will be helpful in enhancing the further research on captive breeding and seed production and propagation of climbing perch A. testudineus.

Materials and Methods

The total numbers of 70 female fishes were obtained from the river Layar Tengah near Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia from October 2007 – May 2008 for the determination of fecundity and ovary weight. External morphological features were used to distinguish the matured females. Bulged abdomen of the female fish was easily distinguished as matured conditions. In the laboratory the selected fishes were clearly washed with tap water. For each fish, total length (TL, cm) was measured with a measuring scale to the nearest millimeter and body weight (BW, g) were measured by an electronic balance. Excess water from fishes was removed with blotting paper before weighing the fishes. The gonads were dissected out and weighed to the nearest 0.01 g. Gonadosomatic index (GSI %) was calculated as gonad weight divided by total weight multiplied by hundred. After ranging weight, the ovary was fixed in 4% formalin for enumeration of fecundity. To estimate the fecundity, gravimetric method was followed (Hunter et al, 1989). Three cross sectional samples were taken from anterior, middle and posterior portion of the two lobes of each ovary. The eggs in each of the three sections were counted and then the mean number of eggs was calculated (Lagler, 1956; Doha and Hye, 1970; Das, 1977; Hossain et al, 1992). The total number of eggs for each individual was calculated from the sample mean and the total weight of the ovaries. The ova size was determined by measuring the diameter of 20 randomly selected eggs per female fish. Measurement of egg diameter was done with a phase contrast LEICA microscope. To establish the relationship between fecundity (F) and total length (TL), body weight (BW) and ovary weight (OW) regression coefficients were calculated. Relationship between ova diameter (OD) and total (TL) and body weight (BW) was also established. The point of interception and coefficients of correlation (r) were estimated by the least square method (Jhingran, 1961; Swarup, 1961). Am.-Eurasian J. Sustain. Agric, 3(3): 266-274, 2009 268

Results and Discussion

The ovary of A. testudineus is a bilobed organ lying just ventral to the air bladder and is attached to the body cavity by a thin membrane mesovarium. The spindle shaped ovary on the left side is slightly greater in length than that of the right side and they remain separated from one another throughout their length. At about two third of their length, both the ovaries fuse to form a thin walled oviduct which opens outside through the genital pore. The last one-third part of the ovary of each side behind the oviduct remains as a posteriorly extended sac. The matured ovary is orange yellow in colour with distinct granular appearance. Ova are visible through the ovarian wall, to naked eyes. In the present study there are 70 female fish was observed for determination of fecundity and it was found that the individual fecundity of fish varied from 3120 to 84,690, mean with a deviation of 36,804+2,289 for the fishes with 12.4 – 19.2 cm in total length with a mean and deviation of (16.13±0.249cm) and the body weight ranged from 33.22 -137.19g with a mean and deviation of (78.596± 3.275g) (Table 1). The relationship between the total fecundity and the body length is expressed by an equation Y= a+bx, where, Y= Fecundity (TF), X= total length (TL), the values of intercept (a), regression co-efficient (b) and correlation co-efficient (r) are presented in fig 1. The regression equation was calculated as TF= - 40813+4810.8TL. A linear relationship was observed between fecundity and total body length of fishes. Co efficient of correlation is positive, as the value of ‘r’ is 0.524. When the body length reaches 12.7cm, the number of eggs is 3120 (Table.1). The maximum number of eggs in the ovary is calculated as 84,690 with the body length of 17.24cm. The relationship between fecundity (TF) and total body weight of fish (BW) was computed and expressed by the equation F= 10844+ 330.31BW. A positive and linear correlation was observed and the r value is = 0.473 (Table1 and Fig 2). The minimum and maximum number of eggs are calculated as 3120 and 84690 for corresponding body weight of fish is 35.54 and 94.70 respectively. The relationship between fecundity (TF) and ovary weight (OW) is presented in Fig 3 and the mean value of ovary weight was 7.978± 0.51g. The relationship between the number of eggs and the weight of ovary is linear and expressed by the formula F = 2109.6 + 4348.4OW. The minimum number of eggs is calculated as 3120 for 0.60 g ovary weight and maximum number of eggs 84690 for 16.70g ovary weight. The coefficient correlation is highly positive and significant as its value ‘r’ is 0.977. The relationship between the fecundity and the gonadosomatic index (%) is also linear and expressed by equation TF= -2427.3+3878.3GSI (Fig. 4). The coefficient of correlation between the numbers of eggs with GSI (%) is found to be positive as the value of ‘r’ is 0.808. All the relationships drawn in the present study for the different variables based on the values of co-efficient of correlations (r) showed that a linear and positive relationship. Egg diameter was found to vary from 0.54 mm to 0.80 mm. The relationship between the total length and ova diameter is also linear and expressed by equation OD = 0.4744+0.0126TL (Fig. 5). The coefficient of correlation between the total length of fish and ova diameter is found to be positive as the value of ‘r’ is 0.334. The relationship between ova diameter and body weight of fish is presented in Fig. 6 and expressed by the equation OD = 0.6154+ 0008BW. A positive correlation was observed in the present study and the r value is 0.278. In the present study the smallest gravid fish, with total length =12.4cm and body weight 36.84 g had eggs with a mean diameter of 0.65mm, whereas the biggest fish, with total length= 19.2 cm and body weight = 137.19 g, had a mean egg diameter of 0.57mm. Eggs with the greatest mean diameter of 0.80mm were found in fish of intermediate size of total length = 17.90 cm and body weight of 105.26g.

Fig. 1: Relationship between fecundity and total length of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) Am.-Eurasian J. Sustain. Agric, 3(3): 266-274, 2009 269

Fig. 2: Relationship between fecundity and body weight of Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus)

Fig. 3: Relationship between fecundity and ovary weight of Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus)

Fig. 4: Relationship between fecundity and GSI (%) of Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) Am.-Eurasian J. Sustain. Agric, 3(3): 266-274, 2009 270

Fig. 5: Relationship between total length and ova diameter of Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus)

Fig. 6: Relationship between body weight and ova diameter of Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus)

Table 1: Total length (TL), body weight (BW), ovary weight (OW), gonadosomatic index (GSI %) and total fecundity (TF) of 70 gravid females of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) SL NO Total length of Total weight of Total weight of Gonadosomatic Fecundity Mean oocyte the fish (cm) the fish (g) the ovaries (g) index (GSI %) diameter (mm) 1 13.2 38.46 5.99 15.57 31148 0.69 2 12.5 35.71 4.77 13.36 24327 0.64 3 13.2 40.9 5.41 13.23 33001 0.58 4 12.4 36.84 5.74 15.58 35014 0.65 5 13 40.73 3.11 7.64 19904 0.66 6 12.8 38.9 4.35 11.18 23925 0.54 7 12.7 39.5 3.93 9.95 27117 0.64 8 13.6 49.56 4.54 9.16 25424 0.68 8 13.3 50.8 3.52 6.93 21120 0.64 10 12.9 37.37 4.83 12.92 29946 0.65 11 13.1 38.89 3.67 9.44 17983 0.59 12 12.9 34.03 4.56 13.4 22800 0.63 13 13 35.27 3.07 8.7 14429 0.65 14 13.7 41.55 3.97 9.55 19850 0.58 15 12.8 36.38 1.27 3.49 6477 0.67 16 13 36.1 2.54 7.04 13462 0.62 17 12.7 33.22 1.26 3.79 6426 0.61 18 13.5 46.67 5.47 11.72 26803 0.63 19 13 35.65 1.36 3.81 7208 0.58 20 12.7 35.54 0.6 1.69 3120 0.66 21 18.3 121.91 5.02 4.12 30120 0.64 22 18.2 111.93 3.29 2.94 19082 0.59 23 19.2 137.19 1.76 1.28 9504 0.57 24 17.7 113.71 3 2.64 16800 0.62 25 17.30 92.08 9.42 10.23 41460 0.61 26 17.60 89.83 6.74 7.50 30116 0.56 Am.-Eurasian J. Sustain. Agric, 3(3): 266-274, 2009 271

Table 1: Continue 27 17.50 99.10 7.45 7.52 33404 0.58 28 16.70 81.80 7.20 8.80 34432 0.59 29 17.60 86.74 5.68 6.55 24998 0.59 30 16.50 83.60 5.89 7.05 26600 0.60 31 18.20 111.39 6.80 6.10 23728 0.60 32 17.90 96.61 6.10 6.31 24674 0.60 33 17.00 92.10 9.72 10.55 33708 0.60 34 17.00 91.67 11.66 12.72 49478 0.60 35 17.80 101.80 9.21 9.05 38998 0.60 36 17.40 102.04 7.07 6.93 33058 0.58 37 17.50 88.80 10.91 12.29 40214 0.60 38 18.40 105.99 5.48 5.17 22692 0.60 39 16.00 79.06 5.40 6.83 17556 0.60 40 17.30 89.53 8.72 9.74 37980 0.75 41 16.70 90.21 7.51 8.33 33352 0.74 42 18.00 105.45 9.50 9.00 43472 0.76 43 16.50 80.30 7.20 8.97 31976 0.73 44 16.60 79.74 10.48 13.14 45200 0.73 45 16.80 84.07 11.44 13.61 47994 0.75 46 17.60 92.84 12.51 13.47 51060 0.74 47 18.20 100.44 11.96 11.91 49718 0.73 48 18.80 115.38 13.11 11.36 50030 0.75 49 16.90 87.55 7.37 8.42 28582 0.75 50 16.00 81.20 9.50 11.70 42014 0.73 51 16.40 78.30 5.71 7.29 21802 0.77 52 16.90 77.12 9.90 12.84 38928 0.74 53 17.90 105.26 11.79 11.20 45144 0.80 54 17.40 90.08 10.58 11.75 42128 0.74 55 18.45 117.27 17.24 14.68 79614 0.79 56 17.31 94.53 12.44 13.12 57912 0.75 57 17.07 88.20 8.40 9.52 44248 0.76 58 17.21 94.00 10.61 11.28 56276 0.76 59 17.90 96.28 15.10 15.70 79266 0.77 60 16.90 85.79 12.74 13.20 61020 0.77 61 17.55 92.84 16.50 17.78 79674 0.76 62 17.69 89.64 9.41 10.49 43418 0.78 63 17.52 94.60 17.30 18.29 78386 0.78 64 17.47 91.77 12.65 13.74 54878 0.77 65 17.50 94.50 13.00 13.76 59700 0.78 66 17.38 93.81 14.53 15.46 69050 0.77 67 17.30 85.50 13.60 15.90 61350 0.77 68 16.60 76.63 6.51 8.49 35340 0.76 69 17.24 94.70 16.70 17.63 84690 0.79 70 16.50 84.79 12.74 13.60 62015 0.79 Mean 16.134 78.596 7.978 10.115 36804 0.678 SD 0.249 3.275 0.510 0.477 2289 0.009

Discussion:

In the present study the range of fecundity of A testudineus varied from 3120 – 84690 for a corresponding length and weight 12.7 cm – 17.24 cm, and 35.54- 94.70g. Doha and Hye (1970) reported that the variation of fecundity is very common and observed in fishes and the number of eggs produced by an individual female is dependent on several factors like size, age, environmental conditions. Reproductive potential of the fishes is also influenced by availability of space and food (Mookeerjee and Mazumder, 1946). The largest individual fish with total length 19.2cm and body weight 137.19g was observed to carry 9504 eggs and the smallest sized fish with total length of 12.4cm and body weight 36.84g was found to carry 35,014 eggs. But the variation of fecundity was found even in the similar size female with equal length and body weight. In the present study a fish measuring 17 cm in total length, 92.10g in body weight and 9.72g in ovary weight produced 33708 eggs, whereas another fish of the same total length produced 49478 eggs. Similarly this kind variation also observed in other two fishes with the total length of 17.30 and 17.31 cm produced 57912 and 61350 eggs respectively (Table1). The same type of variation was also reported by Marimuthu et al, (2006) in spotted snakehead Channa punctatus, Akter et al (2007) in Hilsa ilisha and Musa and Bhuiyan (2007) in Mystus bleekeri. The variation in fish fecundity is believed to be not only due to fish length and weight but also due to nutritional diet, running water and influence of vitamins (Dube, 1993). Further, environmental condition in the water bodies and food availability and supply might affect the fecundity of fish (Bagenal, 1957). It is possible that the variation in fecundity of the A. testudineus may be due to environmental conditions of the river and water bodies. From the statistical analysis it was revealed that the linear relationship Am.-Eurasian J. Sustain. Agric, 3(3): 266-274, 2009 272 was observed between fecundity- fish length and fecundity-body weight in the candidate species. It was revealed from the study that the fecundity increases linearly with the increase of total length, total weight and gonadal weight (Table.1). The relationships observed in the present study correspond well with earlier reports by (Khan and Mukhopadhyay 1972) for this species. The values of correlation co-efficient between fecundity and other parameters show that variation in fecundity can be explained very clearly in terms of body weight of a fish. Similarly a linear relationship between fecundity and weight have been reported in different teleost fish species like Mystus gulio (Rao, 1981); Mystus cavasius (Sharma, 1987); Etroplus suratensis (Jeyaprakas et al, 1990); Channa. gachua (Mishra, 1991); Labeo boggut (Patil and Kulkarni, 1995); Ompok bimaculatus (Rao and Karamchandani, 1986); and Heteropneustes fossilis (Reddy and Rao, 1991); Channa punctatus (Marimuthu et al, 2006); Hilsa ilisha (Akter et al, 2007) and Mystus bleekeri (Musa and Bhuiyan 2007). The present study also found variations in egg size even in individuals of the same length and body weight. Similar observations were reported by Ezenwa et al, (1986). The variations are probably due to differences in individual ovulation time and the stage of egg development, Ezenwa (1981). In the present study on fecundity revealed that, A. testudineus is a low fecund fish when compared to carps, other catfish species and other air breathing fishes. Khan and Mukhopadhyay (1972) reported the similar observations. It is possible to suggest that the lower number of eggs is also correlated with shorter development time and reduced mortality rate of fry and fingerlings, which means higher survival rate during the juvenile period. Further studies are essential in order to determine the annual reproductive biology, including histological examinations, embryo and larval development, age and size at first maturity etc.

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