Artificial Rearing of Endemic Red‐tailed Barb Hypselobarbus kurali: A First Report

Hypselobarbus kurali, a freshwater ray‐finned fish (class Actinopterigii, order Cyprinidae), inhabits large streams and rivers of South Western Ghats of Kerala, India. The present work aims to create a breakthrough in the captive breeding technology of H. kurali and thereby successfully accomplish the goal of restocking resources. While both induced and artificial breeding were performed, the success rate for induced breeding was negligible when compared with that of artificial breeding. Artificial breeding was successfully carried out in the laboratory by dry stripping berried females (weight, 20–250 g; length, 25–28 cm) and matured milting males (weight, 180–200 g; length, 20–25 cm). Fertilized eggs were incubated in filtered source water (collected from the study site [Kulathupuzha region, Kallada River, Kollam district, Kerala]), at a temperature of 22–25°C and pH 7.5–7.8. The rate of fertilization was 92%, and the average hatching rate was 83.5%. The eggs hatched by 48 h after fertilization. After the yolk sac stage, the 7‐d‐old larvae were fed with cladocerans and rotifers.