Artificial reproduction of rare specialty fish in the Central Highlands

On January 22, Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Nhut Long, senior lecturer at the Department of Aquaculture Technology, School of Fisheries (Can Tho University), said that the spawning of tea squirrel fish is the result of a research project conducted by a single applicant. Coordinated with the Department of Science and Technology of Kon Tum province and businesses, implementing it from 2023 to present.

The goal of the project is to develop breeding technology and commercial farming of native squirrel tea fish in the ecological basin of Kon Tum province to preserve rare fish genetic resources with high economic value. The research team also built a technological process to regenerate seed sources to serve commercial farming of this fish species for economic development for people and businesses.

According to Dr. Long, in 2023 the group will begin to select parent fish from the wild through fishermen and traders in the Central Highlands. About 40 parent fish were then raised, each reaching a weight of 12-16 kg. The research team used stimulants to help the fish reproduce.

Currently, two female fish have just been stimulated to lay eggs in quite large numbers, equivalent to about 5,000 eggs per kilogram of weight. This is a sinking egg, 1.4 – 1.5mm in diameter; The fertilization rate is quite high, about 90%. Dr. Nhut Long and his colleagues are taking care so that after two months there will be the first batch of fingerlings.

“The most important step is for the parent fish to reproduce and fertilize at a high rate. This is a huge success,” Dr. Long said, adding that the remaining problem is taking care of and developing the fry into fingerlings and commercial farming.

In fact, Dr. Long and his colleagues have experimentally raised squirrel tea fish from natural seed sources (40-50/kg). After 10 months of farming in Kon Tum province, the commercial fish weight reaches about 1-1.4 kg each. After this time, fish weight grows faster.

Currently, the project team continues to breed the remaining brood fish and research to perfect the commercial farming process. Successful artificial reproduction will be of great significance in contributing to the conservation of genetic resources, regenerating rare and precious tea fish breeds with high economic value, contributing to economic development.

Squirrel tea fish (scientific name is Probarbus julienialso known as striped melon fish) has an elongated body, flattened on both sides with 6-7 black stripes running from behind the gill cover to the base of the tail fin; can reach a size of nearly 1.7 m, weigh 70 kg, and have a lifespan of 50 years. Squirrel tea fish is distributed in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand. This type of fish mainly lives in river basins and large lakes with deep bottoms, fast-flowing water, many rapids, and rocky and sandy bottoms.

In Vietnam, they reside mainly in the Se San and Serepok river basins in the Central Highlands. In the West, this fish species has been recorded, but the quantity is not high due to the influence of sandy river bottom.

In 2008, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development decided to recognize the species of barb fish, catfish, sea bass, snakehead fish, pompano fish, striped melon fish… as all aquatic species. rare and highly endangered in Vietnam, need to be protected, restored and developed.