In some parts of southeast Asia and eastern Europe, growth hormones are used when spawning Puntius denisonii fish.
Puntius denisonii fish is a nice-looking, attractive, and agile creature from Southern India. Puntius denisonii is also popular as a red-line torpedo barb thanks to its striking red line from the head to the body. Although coming from the wild, this barb does well in captivity.
If you are curious about spawning Puntius denisonii fish, follow these steps.
Puntius Denisonii Characteristics
Puntius denisonii fish is an endemic species living in the nine rivers in Kerala, India. Due to over-harvesting because of their popularity, this barb is one of the endangered species. So, it is hard to know how they breed naturally. Puntius denisonii fish need rich oxygen water to live.
They also like to swim with a stony, silty, or sandy substrate, just like their original habitat. Their body’s color is gray olive. Black stripes are featured on the sides of their figure. Those stripes span from their eyes and mouth up to the tail.
Stunning red stripes, which become their main characteristic, are attached to the side of their body, right over the black stripes. They also have a red border on their dorsal fin. Compared to male Puntius denisonii, the female fish are a bit bigger, less colorful, and has thicker ventral parts.
Spawning Puntius Denisonii Fish
It is actually pretty difficult spawning Puntius denisonii fish. When you want to breed them in a tank, you need to set up a separate tank with soft water and a pH of around 5.5 to 6.0. Puntius denisonii generally breed in a group.
Make sure the separate tank for breeding is not less than 60 gallons. Set the water temperature to 60 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. The water hardness should be 5 to 20 dGH, and the alkalinity should be 4-8 dKH. The lighting can be set from medium to high.
Gender Difference
To differentiate the gender, you can look at their body size. As mentioned above, female fish has a bit larger body. They also have bulkier bodies with less bright colors, while the male fish have more vivid red stripes.
Another way to differentiate the gender is by squeezing their bodies gently. The female fish will release eggs, while male fish release sperms, which are liquid with cloudy color.
Growth Hormones
Because breeding is quite difficult, growth hormones are used during the spawning process in some parts of southeast Asia and eastern Europe. You can use growth hormones like Ovaprim.
As for the dose, give not more than 0.02 mg for one fish. Use tiny syringes and needles. When injecting the fish with hormone growth, place the fish inside anesthetic-induced water.
Within three to five seconds, Puntius denisonii will start fainting. Why do they need to be placed in anesthetic water? This way, they won’t be too aggressive when injected with the hormones.
Inject the hormones on the thickest part of the body, the lower part of the dorsal fin. Only female fish are injected with the hormones. After being injected, place them in a freshwater tank with good air filtration. In one to two minutes, they will be conscious again.
When breeding Puntius denisonii in an aquarium, you need at least ten or more males or females of Puntius denisonii. With the perfect tank and water set-up, they will accidentally breed.
Those are a few important steps when spawning Puntius denisonii fish. We hope you find this helpful article.