Synopsis
Eggs from a wild roach were artificially fertilized and then incubated on small pieces of nylon netting in flowing and aerated water. After hatching, the young were reared in laboratory aquaria at ambient temperatures and regularly sampled to determine weight and length over 70 days. The fish were satiated with suitably sized food (algae, rotifers, ground-up zooplankton. pelleted fish food). The morphology of eight developmental steps is described briefly. Wet weight (W-mg) and total length (L-mm) are related by: log10W = -3.325 + 3.995 log10L (L>19mm), log10W = -2.225 + 3.097 log10L (L<19mm). A logistic model described well the growth in wet weight with time (t days after hatching): \(W = \frac{{{W_{\max }}}}{{1 + {e^{a - bt}}}}.\) where Wmax = 547 mg (95% C.L. 435 mg to 686mg). a= 7.086 ± 0.069. b= 0.0117 ± 0.002. Size after the first growing season was similar to that of roach in natural waters.
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Heyi, T., Tong, H.Y. A qualitative and quantitative description of the early growth of roach, Rutilus rutilus, in the laboratory. Environ Biol Fish 15, 293–300 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03549799
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03549799