Embryonic and Larval Development of Stinging Catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, in Relation to Climatic and Water Quality Parameters

Abstract

In terms of hatchery-based seed production, one of the most important aquaculture species in Bangladesh is the stinging catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis). Scientific and evidence-based embryonic and larval development research on this fish species in the context of climate change is limited. This experimental study was conducted via induced breeding of stinging catfish using a conventional hatchery system, rearing the larvae in hapas placed in ponds. A series of microscopic observations using a trinocular digital microscope and an analysis of the relationship between larval growth and climate-driven water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, and ammonia were performed. During embryonic development, the first cleavage was observed between 30 and 35 min of post-fertilization. Embryonic development (ranging from the 2-cell to the pre-hatching stage) took 21:00 h. Hatching occurred at 22:30 to 23:00 h after fertilization, with an average larvae length of 2.78 ± 0.04 mm. In the post-hatching stage, four pairs of tiny barbels appeared at 36:00 h, and the larvae started feeding exogenously after 72:00 h. These larvae fully absorbed their yolk sacs on the 6th day and attained an average length of 6.44 ± 0.06 mm. Aerial respiration of the larvae was investigated through naked-eye observation on the 10th day of hatching. The average length of the larvae was 32.00 ± 2.0 mm at the end of the 30-day post-hatching observation period. Bivariate correlation analysis showed significant correlations between key climatic variables and water quality parameters under hapa-based larval-rearing conditions. According to canonical correlation analysis, the first canonical function revealed the highest significant correlation between the two sets of variables (r1 = 0.791). The response variable weight of larvae (6.607) was linked to two explanatory variables: pH (0.321) and dissolved oxygen (0.265). For the second canonical correlation function, a positive correlation (0.431) was observed between the two sets of variables. Larval weight (−18.304) was observed to be linked to climatic variables, including air temperature (−0.316) and surface pressure (0.338). Results of this study reveal the subtle correlation between larval growth and water quality driven by climatic variables.