The Effect of Inland Saline Groundwater on Growth, Maturation, and Osmoregulation of Common Carp
Iffat Jahan, V. K. Tiwari, Annam Pavan‐Kumar, Ajit Kumar Verma, Vungarala Harikrishna, A.M. Babitha Rani, Narinder Kumar Chadha, Garima Anand
Abstract
Abstract A 90-day experiment was conducted on Common Carp Cyprinus carpio in eight rectangular earthen ponds (21 × 10 × 1.50 m) for testing the effect of four groundwater salinities (0, 5, 10, and 15‰). At the end of the experiment, 100% survival was observed in all of the treatment groups. Somatic growth and reproductive performance were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by salinity. Both males and females showed a significantly higher gonadosomatic index (24.46 ± 4.11% [mean ± SE]) at 5‰ (P < 0.05) compared with the fish that were kept in freshwater (15.92 ± 2.43%). The gonadal osmolality and osmolytes of the seminal and ovarian fluids increased in proportion to salinity. Ova diameter was inversely related to salinity. The incidence of spawning at 5‰ was significantly higher than at 0, 10, and 15‰. The gonadosomatic index was also significantly higher (30.15 ± 3.44%) at 5‰ followed by 0, 10, and 15‰, respectively. We concluded that the optimum salinity for the maturation of Common Carp is 5‰.