4 - Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture

National Workshop-cum-Tralnlng on Bioinfornutia and InfomIatiOII Management In *qwcUltUr8
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The breeding and rearing unit may be established preferably nearer to air
port/railway station, bus stand etc. for easy transportation for export and
domestic market
The breeders should develop market relations with pet/ retail shops, potential
farmers, vendors dealing with ornamental fish, marketing network, etc. to
facilitate the process of selling/procuring new brood stocks.
A committed entrepreneur should always ensure regular contact with the
recent research developments in the field and attend training and exposure
visits.
All new incoming fishes should be quarantined from resident stock. Movement
of fishes should be restricted from a suspected or unknown disease status
area.
Few quarantine tanks are required little away from the unit so that a proper
observation can be made on heath aspects.
If any abnormal behaviour is observed in any culture tanks then the fishes
needs to be isolated immediately. If mass mortality occurs in the farm then
experts needs to be consulted before application of any treatment.
3. Important aspect of water quality
The degrees of hardness have several biological effects upon aquatic life.
Bicarbonates tend to prevent a solution from changing acidity. Soft water,
lacking this protection, may become particularly acidic when much carbon
dioxide is present; such a change creates stress for organisms. For soft water
species excessive hardness causes an organism problem in absorbing substances
through its delicate membranes. This is most true of the sensitive naked cells of
eggs and milt, so that soft water has been found to play a vital role in the
successful reproduction of many species of freshwater fishes. Thus, at least for
purposes such as fish breeding, a soft solution is desirable.
To maintain soft water, all sources of calcium carbonate such as,calcareous
rocks, gravels, coral, broken shell and algae must be kept out of the aquarium
system whilst using only soft water initially and during exchange. Conversely,
presence of such sources will preserve the water hardness. Some of the
important water quality parameters and their optimum ranges for tropical
aquarium fish are presented in the table below:
Table-1 water quality parameters for ornamental fish
Temperature
24-2B°C
P H 7.0-8.5
< 5 PPm
co2
Alkalinity
Hardness
Dissolved oxygen
Free ammonia
75-120 ppm as CaC03
60-100 ppm as CaC03
6.0-8.0 ppm