INTRODUCTION

Ornamental fish keeping is one of the most popular hobbies in the world today. The growing interest in aquarium fishes has resulted in steady increase in aquarium fish trade globally. The trade with a turnover of US $ 5 Billion and an annual growth rate of 8 percent offers a lot of scope for development.

The top exporting country is Singapore followed by Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Indonesia and India. The largest importer of Ornamental fish is the USA followed by Europe and Japan. The emerging markets are China and South Africa. Over US $ 500 million worth of ornamental fish are imported into the USA each year.

India's share in ornamental fish trade is estimated to be Rs 158.23 lakh which is only 0.008% of the global trade. The major part of the export trade is based on wild collection. There is very good domestic market too, which is mainly based on domestically bred exotic species. The overall domestic trade in this field cross 10 crores and is growing at the rate of 20 per cent annually.

The earning potential of this sector has hardly been understood and the same is not being exploited in a technology driven manner. Considering the relatively simple technique involved, this activity has the potential to create substantial job opportunities, besides helping export earnings.

Why breeding?

Ninety five per cent of our ornamental fish export is based on wild collection. Majority of the indigenous ornamental fish trade in India is from the North Eastern states and the rest is from Southern states which are the hot spots of fish bio diversity in India. This capture based export is not sustainable and it is a matter of concern for the industry.

In order to sustain the growth it is absolutely necessary to shift the focus from capture to culture based development. Moreover most of the fish species grown for their ornamental importance can be bred in India successfully. Organised trade in ornamental fish depends on assured and adequate supply of demand, which is possible only by mass breeding.

Technology

There are quite a large number of tropical aquarium fishes known to aquarists. While many of the fish are easy to breed, some of these are rare, difficult to breed and expensive. Most of the exotic species can be bred and reared easily since the technology is simple and well developed.

It is advisable to start with common, attractive, easily bred and less expensive species before attempting the more challenging ones. An ornamental fish project can be either
1) rearing only
2) breeding only
3) breeding and rearing depending upon the space available.

The technology involves the following activities

Culture/rearing : The culture/rearing of these fishes can be taken up normally in cement tanks. Cement tanks are easy to maintain and durable.

One species can be stocked in one tank. However in case of compatible species two or three species can occupy the same tank. Ground water from dug wells / deep tube wells are the best for rearing. The fishes reach the marketable size in around 4 to 6 months. Eight to ten crops can be taken in a year.

Feeding : Young fish are fed mainly with Infusoria, Artemia, Daphnia , Mosquito larvae Tubifex and Blood worms. For rearing, formulated artificial or prepared feed can be used. At present no indigenous prepared feed for aquarium fish is available. The amount and type of food to be given depends on the size of the fry. Feeding is generally done twice in a day or according to requirement. For rearing from fry stage dry/ prepared feed can be used.

Breeding: The method of breeding is based on the family characteristics of the fish. The success of breeding depend on the compatibility of pairs, the identification of which is a skill born out of experience.

Generally the breeders are selected from the standing crop or purchased and reared separately by feeding them with good live food. However, it is always better to buy good breeding stock. Otherwise, the original characteristic of the species keeps on getting diluted because of continuous inbreeding.

Breeders especially egg layers should be discarded after few spawnings. Health care Water exchange, is a must for maintaining water quality conducive for the fish health. Only healthy fish can withstand transportation and fetch good price.

Chemicals / antibiotics, Methylene Blue, Methylene Yellow, Malachite Green, Ampicilin, Vitamins, Potassium permanganate, Copper sulphate etc can also be used for preventing / treating diseases.

Market

At present the market is mainly domestic. There is a good domestic market which is increasing. The export market for indigenously bred exotic species is also increasing.

Ornamental Fishes

Aquarium fishes are mainly grouped into two categories, viz., Oviparous (egg - layers) and Viviparous (live-bearers). Further, the fresh water ornamental fish varieties can be broadly grouped into Tropical and Cold water species also. Management of these two categories are different in nature. According to water tolerance fishes are hard water tolerant, soft water tolerant species and those with wide tolerance. The fishes and the details of grouping is given below.