Abstract
Breeding and mass scale larval rearing of clownfish Amphiprion percula is very limited in brackishwater. We designed an indoor program of A. percula culture in brackishwater with a salinity of 24±1, during which the impacts of feed type, water temperature, and light intensity, on the efficiency of its reproduction, were revealed. The fish were accommodated along with sea anemones in fibre glass tanks to determine the influence of brooder diet on breeding efficiency. Higher reproductive efficiency [number of eggs laid (276 ± 22.3 eggs)] was observed when fish were fed live Acetes sp. rather than clam (204 ± 16.4 eggs), trash fish (155 ± 12 eggs) and formulated feed (110 ± 10 eggs). The spawning rate was increased during September and October (water temperature, 28.74 ± 0.55°C) on average of 2.4 spawning per month; and low spawning rate was in January (water temperature, 24.55 ± 0.45°C) on average of 1 spawning per month. Among three light intensities (100, 500, and 900 lx) set to evaluate larval survival rate, larvae showed the highest survival rate (65.5%) at 900 lx. The breeding method specifically in brackishwater developed in the present study is a new approach, will help the people from the regions of estuary and backwater to enhance their livelihood and it will lead to reduce the exploitation from the wild habitat.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ajith Kumar T T, Balasubramanian T. 2009. Broodstock development, spawning and larval rearing of the false clown fish, Amphiprion ocellaris in captivity using estuarine water. Curr. Sci., 97 (10): 1 483–1 486.
Ajith Kumar T T, Subodh Kant Setu, Murugesan P, Balasubramanian T. 2010. Studies on captive breeding and larval rearing of clownfish Amphiprion sebae (Bleeker, 1853) using estuarine water. Indian J. Mar. Sci., 39 (1): 114–119.
Allen G R, Drew J, Kaufman L. 2008. Amphiprion barberi, a new species of anemonefish (Pomacentridae) from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Aquaculture, 14: 105–114.
Allen G R, Drew J, Fenner D. 2010. Amphiprion pacificus, a new species of anemonefish (Pomacentridae) from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and Wallis Island. Aquaculture, 16: 3–15.
Arvedlund M, Bundgard I, Nielson L E. 2000. Host imprinting in anemone fishes (Pisces: Pomacentridae): does it dictate spawning site preferences? Environ. Biol. Fishes, 58: 203–213.
Batty R S. 1987. Effects of light intensity on activity and food searching of larval herring, Clupea harengus: a laboratory study. Mar. Biol., 94: 323–327.
Blight E G, Dyer W J. 1959. A rapid method of lipid extraction and purification. Can. J. Biochem. Physiol., 37: 911–917.
Collette W, Taylor M, Green E, Razak T. 2003. From ocean to aquarium: a global trade in marine ornamental species. UNEP World Conservation and Monitoring Centre (WCMC).
Dhaneesh K V, Nanthini Devi K, Ajith Kumar T T, Balasubramanian T, Kapila Tissera. 2011. Breeding, embryonic development and salinity tolerance of Skunk clownfish Amphiprion akallopisos. Journal of King Saud University — Science (in Press).
Dubois M, Gilles K A, Hamilton J K, Robers P A, Smith F. 1956. Colorimetric method of determination of sugars and related substances. Anal. Chem., 28: 350–356.
Gopakumar G, George R M, Jasmine S. 2001. Hatchery production of the clownfish Amphiprion chrysogaster. In: Menon N G, Pillai P P eds. Perspective in Mariculture. The Marine Biological Association of India, India. p.305–310.
Hoff F H. 1996. Conditioning, Spawning and Rearing of Fish with Emphasis on Marine Clown Fish. Aquaculture Consultants.
Hoff F H. 1998. Conditioning, Spawning and rearing of fish with emphasis on marine clown fish. Aquarium Sciences and Conservation, 2: 43–44.
Holt G J. 2003. Research on culturing the early life history stages of marine ornamental species. In: Cato J C, Brown C L eds. Marine Ornamental Species: Collection, Culture and Conservation. Iowa State Press, Ames. p.251–254.
Ignatius B, Rathore G, Jagdis I, Kandasami D, Victor A C C. 2001. Spawning and larval rearing technique for tropical clownfish Amphiprion sebae under captive conditions. J. Aquacult. Trop., 16 (3): 241–249.
Job S, Arvedlund M, Marnane M. 1997. Culture of coral reef fishes. Austasia Aquaculture, 11 (3): 56–59.
Lowry O H, Rosenbrough N J, Farr A L, Randal R J. 1951. Protein measurement with Folin-phenol reagent. J. Biol. Chem., 193: 265–275.
Madhu K, Madhu R, Krishnan L, Sasidharan C S, Venugopalan K M. 2006a. Spawning and larval rearing of Amphiprion ocellaris under captive conditions. Mar. Fish. Inform. Serv. Tech. Ext., 188: 1–5.
Madhu K, Madhu R, Gopakumar G, Sasidharan C S, Venugopalan K M. 2006b. Breeding larval rearing and seed production of maroon clown Premnas biaculeatus under captive conditions. Mar. Fish. Inform. Serv. Tech. Ext., 190: 1–5.
Madhu K, Madhu R. 2007. Influence of lunar rhythm on spawning of clown anemone fish Amphiprion percula under captive condition in Andaman and Nicobar islands. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. India, 49(1): 58–64.
Madhu K, Madhu R, Gopakumar G. 2010. Breeding Technology Developed in Marine Ornamental Fishes under Captivity in India. Souvenir, Ornamentals Kerala-2010, Dept. of Fisheries, Govt. of Kerala. p.103–112.
Moyer J T. 1980. Influence of temperate waters on the behavior of the tropical anemone fish Amphiprion clarkii at Miyake jima, Japan. Jap. J. Icthyol., 25: 23–32.
Murugan A, Dhanya S, Sreepada R A, Rajagopal S, Balasubramanian T. 2009. Breeding and mass scale rearing of three spotted seahorse, Hippocampus trimaculatus Leach under captive condition. Aquaculture, 290: 87–96.
Richardson D L, Harrison P L, Harriott V J. 1997. Timing of spawning and fecundity of a tropical and sub tropical anemone fish (Pomacentridae: Amphiprion ) on a high latitude reef on the east coast of Australia. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Series, 156: 175–181.
Robertson D R, Green D G, Victor B C. 1988. Temporal coupling of production and recruitment of larvae of a Caribbean reef fish. Ecology, 69: 370–381.
Tarlochan Sing, Dey V K. 2006. Trends in World Ornamental Fish Trade. Souvenir, Ornamentals Kerala-2006, Dept. of Fisheries, Govt. of Kerala. p.3–8.
Yamamoto T. 1975. Stage in the development. http://www.bioll.bio.nagoya-u.ac.jp:8000/Stages.html. (Accessed on July 21, 2002)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dhaneesh, K.V., Ajith Kumar, T.T., Swagat, G. et al. Breeding and mass scale rearing of clownfish Amphiprion percula: feeding and rearing in brackishwater. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 30, 528–534 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-012-1184-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-012-1184-x