Captive Breeding of Threatened African Carp, Labeo victorianus, of Lake Victoria. Issue 6 (28th June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kembenya, Elijah M.; Marcial, Helen S.; Outa, Nicholas O.; Sakakura, Yoshitaka; Hagiwara, Atsushi
• Is Part Of: Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. Volume 48:Issue 6(2017)
• Page Start: 955
• Page End: 962
• Publication Date: 2016-06-28
• Subjects: Aquaculture -- Periodicals; 639.8
• DOI: 10.1111/jwas.12328
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0893-8849

Abstract

Abstract: African carp, Labeo victorianus, is one of the threatened endemic fishes of Lake Victoria which requires conservation and has potential for aquaculture. We conducted a series of experiments on L. victorianus aiming at producing juveniles for both human consumption and stock enhancement. A total of 79 broodstock (mean body weight = 227.06 g) were collected from the wild; packed at 200, 300, and 500 g/L; and transported by road for 7 h. All fish survived during transportation whereas dissolved oxygen decreased and total ammonia nitrogen increased significantly after transport. Females produced 46, 702–86, 712 eggs (mean = 68, 189 ± 2397) and fecundity was highly correlated with the fish body size (R 2 = 0.96). Only males re‐spawned in captivity while females did not. At 28 C, females spawned 11–12 h after pairing with males. Larvae can either be fed with formulated diet or natural zooplankton. Juveniles (mean length = 36.7 mm; mean body weight = 0.46 g) can be packed as high as 60 fish/L and transported by road for 12 h with low mortality (2.7–10.3%). These results show that captive breeding of L. victorianus can be a good strategy to produce juveniles to boost wild population as well as a source of seeds for culture.