CAPTIVE BREEDING OF THE RECENTLY DISCOVERED SNAKEHEAD SPECIES Channa andrao BRITZ, 2013 BY HABITAT MANIPULATION

Captive breeding is considered as one of the most important aspects of the conservation of fish species. The breeding operation of many snakehead species is done using synthetic hormones, but no report is available on breeding by habitat manipulation without using hormones. Pairing among brooders is a common phenomenon in snakehead species. This article thus focuses on the captive breeding of Channa andrao following the pairing technique. Two pairs of brooders successfully bred in our experimental trial with the highest fertilization rate (85%) and hatching rate (86%) of fish of length-weight 10.33 cm and 11.05 cm in males and 11.23 g and 11.33 g in females. Suitable water parameters were maintained during the breeding period.