Cyprinus Carpio

Experiment was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of varying water temperature and ration size on growth and body composition of fry of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio. Common carp fry with an initial body weight (BW) of 0.86 g were fed a diet (34.9% protein, 18.3 KJ/g diet) at four ration sizes 4%, 5%, 6% and 7% of their body weight per day and reared at two water temperatures 28 and 32 °C for 60 days. Fry fed with 6% ration showed the highest mean final body weight at 28 °C. Final body weight was significantly (P<0.05) affected by ration and temperature. Cyprinus carpio fry raised at 28 °C had higher feed efficiency (FE) (44.36%) than the fry reared at 32 °C (40.98%) with 4% ration. Further, feed efficiency decreased with increase in ration levels in both temperatures. Protein efficiency ratio (PER) was higher (1.26) at 28 °C than at 32 °C (1.17). At 6% ration, common carp fry showed highest specific growth rate (SGR) (3.82%/day) at 28 °C as compared with at 32 °C (3.57%/day). A linear increase in protein and lipid contents was evident with increasing ration levels up to 6% body weight at both temperatures 28 and 32 °C. Second-order polynomial regression analysis of weight gain and SGR indicated the breakpoints at ration level 6.04% and 6.08% body weight per day at 28 and 32 °C. Hepatosomatic index (HSI) not affected by temperature and ration size while, viscerosomatic index (VSI) influenced (P<0.05) by ration size and temperature. Based on the above results, it may be concluded that 6% BW/day ration is optimal for growth of Cyprinus carpio fry at both the temperatures 28 and 32 °C.

Two exotic fishes, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), were introduced more than 20 years ago into Xochimilco for aquaculture, and now dominate the system in terms of biomass and numbers. Over this same period, wild populations of the microendemic axolotl salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum) have been dramatically reduced, and it currently persists in isolated areas of this aquatic system, which is situated at the edge of Mexico City. In this study, we examine potential trophic interactions and niche overlap among two exotic fishes: carp and tilapia, and the native axolotl. Axolotl had more diverse diets and a higher trophic position compared to the exotics. Stable isotope analysis revealed substantial trophic niche overlap among axolotl and the exotics. The two exotics occupied a larger niche area than the axolotl, suggesting higher levels of omnivory and diet specialization. Current exotic fish removal efforts will further our understanding of interactions between the axolotl and exotic species, and are expected to benefit axolotl recovery efforts.

Many different physical characteristics of goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus), such as celestial and telescopic eyes, fancy but uncontrollable shapes of tail fin, an unfittingly fat body, and loss of dorsal fins, provide us with a unique opportunity of studying artificial selection on phenotypic changes on the basis of molecular evolution. The aim of the present study is to elucidate the evolutionary origin and history of goldfish, taking into account the different characteristics of goldfish and human culture. Collecting 44 samples of a variety of goldfish from Japan and China as well as common and Crucian carps, we determined the nucleotide sequences for a substantial portion of mitochondrial genome including eight gene regions (D-loop, 12SrRNA, 16SrRNA, ND1, ND2, COI, ND5 and Cyt b) of approximately 11,180 bps. We, then, constructed phylogenetic trees for a total of 78 fishes, adding the 19 sequence data available in the international DNA database DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank to our 59 sequence data determined. From the phylogenetic trees obtained, we found that Japanese goldfish are not relative to Japanese Crucian carp (Carassius auratus langsdorfi) and that all the goldfish examined were originated from one of the two groups of the Chinese Crucian carp &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;Gibelio&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; (Carassius auratus gibelio). Moreover, we found that the process of artificial selection began from losing the dorsal fin followed by diversification of other characters such as eyes. This is supported by our further observations that the improvement of celestial and telescope eyes took place independently at different times, implying that goldfish was imposed by strong artificial selection only to meet diversified needs of human preferences in a unsystematic way.

ABSTRACTGelatin was extracted from the skins of rohu and Common carp, and its physicochemical properties were studied. The yield of gelatin obtained from the skin of rohu and Common carp were 12.93 and 12%, respectively. The corresponding viscosity values were 6.06cP and 5.96cP. Rohu and Common carp skin gelatin had high content of imino acids i.e., 20.49 and 19.16%, respectively. Rohu gelatin had a significantly higher (P < 0.05) melting point than that of Common carp skin gelatin. The setting temperature observed for the gels from rohu and Common carp was 18.52 and 17.96C, respectively. Rohu and Common carp skin gelatins were found to have a mild but easily perceivable odor. The gelatins from the skin of rohu and common carp had a snowy white appearance and were light-textured. Rohu skin gelatin had significantly higher gel strength compared with Common carp skin gelatin. Foam formation ability and form stability of Common carp gelatin was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that of Rohu gelatin. Rohu skin gelatin had the high fat-binding capacity. In this study, the functional properties observed for gelatins from the skin of rohu and Common carp are similar, if not better than many of the gelatins from other fish sources, and can be used as potential substitutes for the same in many applications.Gelatin was extracted from the skins of rohu and Common carp, and its physicochemical properties were studied. The yield of gelatin obtained from the skin of rohu and Common carp were 12.93 and 12%, respectively. The corresponding viscosity values were 6.06cP and 5.96cP. Rohu and Common carp skin gelatin had high content of imino acids i.e., 20.49 and 19.16%, respectively. Rohu gelatin had a significantly higher (P < 0.05) melting point than that of Common carp skin gelatin. The setting temperature observed for the gels from rohu and Common carp was 18.52 and 17.96C, respectively. Rohu and Common carp skin gelatins were found to have a mild but easily perceivable odor. The gelatins from the skin of rohu and common carp had a snowy white appearance and were light-textured. Rohu skin gelatin had significantly higher gel strength compared with Common carp skin gelatin. Foam formation ability and form stability of Common carp gelatin was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that of Rohu gelatin. Rohu skin gelatin had the high fat-binding capacity. In this study, the functional properties observed for gelatins from the skin of rohu and Common carp are similar, if not better than many of the gelatins from other fish sources, and can be used as potential substitutes for the same in many applications.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSAmong the cultured carps, rohu (Labeo rohita) and Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) contribute significantly to the Aquaculture production in India. These species are presently being increasingly used for the preparation of mince and fillet-based value added products, with skin forming a major portion of the fishery waste thus generated. Hence, based on the availability and commercial importance and with the objective of efficient utilization of fish skin waste, these species were chosen for studies on gelatin extraction. It was observed that the physicochemical and functional properties for rohu and Common carp skin gelatins are similar, if not better than many of the gelatins from other fish sources and can be used as potential substitutes for the same in many applications. There is a future scope for developing binary blends of these gelatins with animal gelatins that are completely compatible and commercially useful in many applications.Among the cultured carps, rohu (Labeo rohita) and Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) contribute significantly to the Aquaculture production in India. These species are presently being increasingly used for the preparation of mince and fillet-based value added products, with skin forming a major portion of the fishery waste thus generated. Hence, based on the availability and commercial importance and with the objective of efficient utilization of fish skin waste, these species were chosen for studies on gelatin extraction. It was observed that the physicochemical and functional properties for rohu and Common carp skin gelatins are similar, if not better than many of the gelatins from other fish sources and can be used as potential substitutes for the same in many applications. There is a future scope for developing binary blends of these gelatins with animal gelatins that are completely compatible and commercially useful in many applications.

Early developmental stages of fish are particularly sensitive to water pollution. Heavy metals may affect various developmental processes during the embryonic period, which results in a reduction of offspring quantity and quality. Waterborne metals may accumulate in the gonads of spawners and adversely affect gamete production and viability, or exert direct toxic influence upon developing embryos. The egg shell does not fully protect the embryo against metal penetration, particularly during the swelling phase; thus, metals may accumulate in the egg. The results depend on metal concentration and range from developmental disturbances to death of the embryo. Metals disturb various processes of fish embryonic development and affect the development rate. Early stages just after fertilization are particularly sensitive to metal intoxication, when most disturbances and the highest embryonic mortality occur. Waterborne metals also promote developmental anomalies during organogenesis, including body malformations. Heavy metals often induce a delay in the hatching process, premature hatching, deformations and death of newly hatched larvae. All these disturbances result in reduced numbers and poor quality of the larvae, which show small body size, high frequency of malformations and reduced viability.

This thesis is a contribution to the field of stress ecology of farmed fish with focus on the behaviour of fish when subjected to anthropogenic stressors com-mon in aquaculture. The effects of five short-term stressors on the locomotor activity and spatial behaviour of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), one of the most commercially important and widely cultivated freshwater fish in the world,were investigated under controlled laboratory conditions. Using computer assisted motion tracking through video observations, the swimming velocity, spatial distri-bution and distance behaviour of two fish were monitored on a daily basis during the same time interval, for a course of nine days. The data recorded during the first three days and the last day of the experiment served as control data, whereby no stressors were applied. During the five days in-between, the fish were subjected to the following stressors in this successive order: “Noise”, “Light”, “Falling Ob- ject”, “Handling” and “Shadow”. Most of the stressors had a strong effect on spatial distribution, causing the fish to swim away from the area of the water tank where the stressors were applied. Most of the stressors had also an effect on the distance behaviour. Handling had the strongest influence on swimming ac-tivity, while the impact of a falling object on the water surface and the overhead moving shadow created, caused a short-term increase of swimming velocity. Theless obvious effects of the acoustic stimulus and the short-term changes in the lightregime, had on the examined parameters, are discussed. Finally, it is discussed whether or not there could be a cumulative effect of stress due to the successive manner the stressors were applied and if the contrasting swimming activity andspatial distribution data recorded for the two monitored fish during the follow-up fourth control day, could be a result of individual stress coping strategies. The degree of deviation of the data recorded during the days of stressor application,from the data recorded during the preceding control days, express the intensity of the effect the stressor under consideration had on the fish’s behaviour, attesting that behavioural changes could be used to assess welfare in farmed fish.

A 21 day feeding trial was carried out at 24 °C aiming to evaluate the effect of diets containing high levels of protein hydrolysates on growth, survival and body composition of common carp, Cyprinus carpio L., larvae since first feeding. Eight semipurified diets based on a fish protein hydrolysate (CPSP) with or without additional nitrogen sources, such as casein, casein hydrolysates or other hydrolysates from several origins, were tested, using a diet based on yeast as a reference. High survival rates of larvae were observed at the end of the trial for all experimental diets, ranging from 97% for the yeast diet to 71% when CPSP was used as the only nitrogen source. In terms of growth, the best results were achieved with the CPSP-casein diet (1:1) and the yeast-based diet (17.5 mm total length / 82.8 mg wet weight and 16.3 mm total length / 55.4 mg wet weight, respectively). Growth of larvae fed on diets with protein hydrolysates as the only nitrogen source was considerably lower than that of larvae fed a mixture of intact protein and protein hydrolysates.

It was shown that stimulation by food odor (aquatic extract of food organisms, 10−2 and 10−3 g/l) does not cause shifts in gustatory preferences in carp Cyprinus carpio and cod Gadus morhua but modifies gustatory behavior. The level of consumption by carp of control granules and granules with attractive, by taste, L-proline (0.1 M) or deterrent L-lysine (0.1 M) (item by item presentation of granules) and by cod of control granules and granules with indifferent, to it, L-asparagine (0.1 M) (presentation of 10 granules simultaneously) is similar prior to and during olfactory stimulation. In the presence of food odor, the duration of taste testing for most types of granules, as well as the number of repeated graspings of granules with an attractive taste do not change in fish. At the same time, granules with indifferent or repulsive gustatory properties are rejected and repeatedly grasped by fish against the background of food odor more frequently than in water without odor. Olfactory stimulation leads to a considerable increase in the average number of graspings per one grasped granule with an indifferent or repulsive taste. Such behavior manifested by fish in the presence of food odor in response to granules with unattractive gustatory properties is apparently caused by the contradiction between the information coming via different chemosensory canals—olfactory and gustatory. The obtained results indicate that food stimulation caused by food odor in nature can lead to an increase in the actual consumption of only those accessible food items that have an attractive taste for fish.

Herbivory is a fundamental process that controls primary producer abundance and regulates energy and nutrient flows to higher trophic levels. Despite the recent proliferation of small-scale studies on herbivore effects on aquatic plants, there remains limited understanding of the factors that control consumer regulation of vascular plants in aquatic ecosystems. Our current knowledge of the regulation of primary producers has hindered efforts to understand the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems, and to manage such ecosystems effectively. We conducted a global meta-analysis of the outcomes of plant–herbivore interactions using a data set comprised of 326 values from 163 studies, in order to test two mechanistic hypotheses: first, that greater negative changes in plant abundance would be associated with higher herbivore biomass densities; second, that the magnitude of changes in plant abundance would vary with herbivore taxonomic identity. We found evidence that plant abundance declined with increased herbivore density, with plants eliminated at high densities. Significant between-taxa differences in impact were detected, with insects associated with smaller reductions in plant abundance than all other taxa. Similarly, birds caused smaller reductions in plant abundance than echinoderms, fish, or molluscs. Furthermore, larger reductions in plant abundance were detected for fish relative to crustaceans. We found a positive relationship between herbivore species richness and change in plant abundance, with the strongest reductions in plant abundance reported for low herbivore species richness, suggesting that greater herbivore diversity may protect against large reductions in plant abundance. Finally, we found that herbivore–plant nativeness was a key factor affecting the magnitude of herbivore impacts on plant abundance across a wide range of species assemblages. Assemblages comprised of invasive herbivores and native plant assemblages were associated with greater reductions in plant abundance compared with invasive herbivores and invasive plants, native herbivores and invasive plants, native herbivores and mixed-nativeness plants, and native herbivores and native plants. By contrast, assemblages comprised of native herbivores and invasive plants were associated with lower reductions in plant abundance compared with both mixed-nativeness herbivores and native plants, and native herbivores and native plants. However, the effects of herbivore–plant nativeness on changes in plant abundance were reduced at high herbivore densities. Our mean reductions in aquatic plant abundance are greater than those reported in the literature for terrestrial plants, but lower than aquatic algae. Our findings highlight the need for a substantial shift in how biologists incorporate plant–herbivore interactions into theories of aquatic ecosystem structure and functioning. Currently, the failure to incorporate top-down effects continues to hinder our capacity to understand and manage the ecological dynamics of habitats that contain aquatic plants.

A study was conducted to determine whether changes in thyroid and vitamin A dynamics were induced in ranch mink exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons. Adult female mink were fed diets that contained 0% (control), 10%, 20%, or 30% wild carp (Cyprinus carpio) collected from the Saginaw River, Michigan, USA. Total polychlorinated biphenyls concentrations were 0.03, 0.83, 1.05, and 1.69 mg/kg feed, respectively; the 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-diozin toxic equivalents were 3.4, 27.9, 47.6, and 73.2 ng/kg, respectively. Diets were fed 3 weeks prior to breeding and throughout gestation and lactation. When the kits were weaned at 6 weeks of age, they were continued on their respective diets until 27 weeks of age. Plasma thyroid hormone concentrations, thyroid gland activity and structure, and vitamin A dynamics were assessed in young mink at 6 and 27 weeks of age. Plasma total T4 and free T4 in 6-week-old female and male kits fed the 10% carp diet were significantly higher than those of controls, while kits fed the 20% and 30% carp diet had nonsignificant decreases relative to the control mink. Plasma total T3 concentrations in 27-week-old juvenile males fed the 30% carp diet were significantly lower than those in individuals fed the 10% carp diet. No overt thyroid toxicity was apparent as thyroid weight, activity, and structure in kits and juveniles of both sexes were similar among diet groups. Plasma retinol and total ester concentrations in both kits and juveniles were reduced in mink fed the 30% carp diet relative to controls. The ratio of retinol to retinyl palmitate in livers of juveniles fed the 30% carp diet was two times higher than that in control mink. Significant reductions in kidney retinol and fatty acyl retinyl esters were observed in kits and juveniles fed the 30% carp diet relative to control values.

The chapter summarizes current knowledge on fish biology in Lake Kinneret. Nineteen native fish species belonging to six families populate the lake. Three of these species are endemic to the lake and four other species are endemic to the Jordan Valley system. Eight alien species are found in the lake. Four of them are breeding in nature, three can’t breed but are regularly stocked, and one is a hitchhiker that can’t breed. Growth rate equations and weight-length relationships are presented for the dominant cyprinids (Mirogrex terraesanctae, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Cyprinus carpio, Barbus longiceps, Capoeta damascina, Carasobarbus canis), cichlids (Oreochromis aureus, Sarotherodon galilaeus, Tilapia zillii, Tristramella simonis), grey mullets (Liza ramada, Mugil cephalus), and catfish (Clarias gariepinus).    The long-term changes in fish community composition in the lake were associated with introduction and invasion of fishes; changes in fishing intensity; modifications of the littoral, and changes of the lake ecological regime. Temporal dynamics, spatial distribution, total abundance and biomass of fish in the lake were studied based on long-term hydroacoustic monitoring. The size structure and abundance of fish in the pelagic zone of the lake display explicit seasonal changes associated with fish spawning migrations and winter-spring recruitment of the dominant bleak M. terraesanctae. Water level fluctuations beyond natural have modified the littoral habitats, which are of specific importance during different life stages of fish. Water level has an immense impact on fish reproduction, survival, recruitment, population dynamics, and eventually determines the catches of commercially important species.
See also chapter: "Fisheries Management"

In 1991 and 1992 we determined the levels of metals, arsenic, boron, and selenium in the Neosho River drainage in southeastern Kansas, the primary habitat for the threatened Neosho madtom (Noturus placidus). We evaluated concentrations in sediments, mussels (Quadrula pustulosa and Q. metanevra), and fish (Percina phoxocephala, Cyprinus carpio, and Ictiobus bubalus) from three sites on the Neosho River and one site on the Cottonwood River. We also evaluated contaminant concentrations in C. carpio composite samples collected by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) at two additional locations on the Neosho River in 1990-92. Sediments were contaminated by lead. Concentrations of selenium, boron, and most metals in mussels were low to normal for biota. Arsenic levels in mussels and fish suggest low-level contamination of biota. Aluminum, barium, manganese and strontium concentrations were much higher in mussels than in fish. Five fish composite samples had cadmium conce...