Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ ______________________________ ______ ____ __ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 1( ISC - 2011 ), 1 7 - 22 (201 2 ) Res.J. Recent .Sci. International Science Congress Association 17 Comparative age and growth of Indian major C arp (catla catla ham. 1822) in Selected water bodies of S outhern R ajasthan , I ndia Ujjania N.C. Dept of Aquatic Biology , Veer Narmad South Gujarat Uni . UM Road, Surat , Gujarat , INDIA Available online at: www.isca.in (Received 25 th September 2011, revised 10 th January 2012 , accepted 24 th January 2012 ) Abstract In present paper, growth performance of Indian major carp (Catla catla, Ham. 1822) was studied using key scales in three different sized water bodies namely Mahi Bajaj Sagar (MBS), Survania Dam (SD) and Aasan Pond (AP) situated in the tribal dominated Banswara distri ct of Rajasthan. The annual rings or annuli (+6 to +7) and growth data in samples were observed and used to estimate selected growth parameters. High value of correlation coefficient ‘r’ 0.946 (MBS), 0.912 (SD) and 0.911 (AP) evident and speak for strong c orrelation in total length of fish and scale radius. The growth parameters such as Index of species average size (Øh) 12.515, 11.557 and 11.000, Index of weight growth (ØC w ) 96.610, 103.126 and 87.554 for MBS, SD and AP respectively were computed. Growth p erformance estimation in this study on the basis of key scales exhibited that growth of carps in the water bodies of southern Rajasthan could be divided into two phases: the first, phase of sexual immaturity, which lasts up to two years an d second, phase o f sexual maturity. Keywords: I ndian major carp, catla, maturity, growth, scales and rajasthan . Introduction Catla catla is known as ‘Bhakur’ or ‘Catla’ in Hindi belongs to family Cyprinidae and constituting bulk in the commercial catch and is well known as the fastest growing species among carps 1 . Growth rate of a fish can be enumerated from the estimations of age and growth characteristics. Jhingran 2 provided a comparative account of growth of C. catla, L. rohita and C. mrigala. Chogunovas 3 has given a descriptive account of age and growth in fishes. Scales are frequently used to determine the age of fish 4 - 7 , Seshappa 8 reviewed the literature on age determination of Indian fishes using sca les and other hard parts. Ricker 9 considered the scale method as the most reliable method compared to others. Menon 10 has initially reviewed the literature on age and growth study of fishes from tropical and subtropical waters. Growth rate of C. catla and C. mrigala from various river systems of the country were estimated using scales 11 - 16 . Khandker and Haque 17 have determined age of L. rohita with the use of scales. Johal and Tandon 18 interpreted that riverine populations of C. catla have a better rate of growth than the population of reservoirs using the scales. Age and growth studies are the most important aspects of fish biology because such studies can give information on stock composition, age and maturity, life span, mortality, growth, production, management and conservation etc. Johal and Tandon 19 studied age and growth of C. catla and C. mrigala from Lake Sukhna, Chandigarh with the use of scales found that the growth rate of these fishes was the lowest as compared to the populations of other loc alities. Prakash and Gupta 20 studied the growth rate in C. catla, L. rohita and C. mrigala of Govindgarh Lake by means of scales and found that the growth rate in these species is relatively faster for the first five years of life after which growth increm ent is very little. Singh and Sharma 21 studied the age and growth of a Himalayan teleost Schizothorex richardsonii from the Garhwal hills. Ujjania 22 studied the similar aspects in the chichlid fish Tilapia from Jaisamand Lake using key scales. Singh 7 have studied the key scale of L. R ohita for finding information on age, growth and harvestable size from Lake Jaisamand. Jain 23 has studied the biology and fisheries of C. catla, L. rohita and C. mrigala of Siliser reservoir. Deepak 24 have studied the age and growth profile of catla using scales. Material and Methods Collection of scale samples : Scale samples of C. catla 25 were randomly collected from selected three sized water bodies of southern Rajasthan ( f igure - 1). From total 150 fish specimens, 5 - 10 scales were collected quarterly from commercial fish catch during the January, 2000 to June 2001 . These collected scales were preserved in paper envelops with key data such as Total Length, Standard Length, Body Weight, date of scal e collection and signature of scale collector. Analysis of scale samples : For the age and growth study, preserved scales were dipped in 1 % KOH solution for 5 minutes and washed with tap water 2 - 3 times with gentle Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ _ _ _______________________________ ___________________ __ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 1( ISC - 2011 ), 1 7 - 22 (201 2 ) Res.J. Recent .Sci. International Science Congress Association 18 rubbing by fingertips to remove mucus and other dust material. The scales measurements comprised of radius of scale and radius of all the annuli from the focal point and were studied in dry mountings using VEB microfilm reader with the magnification of 10.5 ‘X’ at the d epartment of z oology, Punjab University, Chandigarh. The back calculation of fish length at the time of formation of annuli could be estimated using following relationship given by Bagenal and Tesch 26 : S n (L - a) L n = a + - ------------ S Where: L n = Length of fish when the annulus ‘n’ was formed, L = Length of fish when scale sample was obtained, S n = Radius of annulus ‘n’ , S = Total scale radius , a = Correction factor (intersecting point between T L and Scale Radius) Growth parameters based on scale analysis : The length - weight relation was calculated using formulae 19 , 27 . The growth parameters such as growth characteristics (C th ), specific linear growth (C l ), growth constant (C lt ), specific rate of weight increase (C w ), index of species average size (Øh) and index of population weight growth intensity (ØC w ) were calculated as suggested 28 . W = aL b Log W = Log a + b Log L Log L n – Log L n - 1 C th = -------------------------- x L n - 1 0.4343 Log L n – Log L n - 1 t 2 + t 1 C lt = -------------------------- x ----------- 0.4343 2 L n – L n - 1 C l = ---------------- x 100 L n - 1 W n – W n - 1 C w = ------------------- x 100 W n - 1  h = 1 Øh = -------------- , h = n j + a 27 n j + a  C w = 1 ØC w = --------------- , C w = n j + a 27 n j + a Where: L n , L n - 1 = total length of fish at ultimate and penultimate age , W n , W n - 1 = Weight of fish at ultimate and penultimate age , j = juveniles , a = adult , h = absolute increase in length , t 1 , t 2 = time intervals between ultimate and penultimate age . Result s and Discussion Age and growth rates of C. catla from MBS, SD and AP were estimated on the basis of scale radius ( p lates 1, A to F). Correlation among total length of fish and scale radius was also determined for these species separately and highly significant correlation (P0.01) was observed ( t able - 1). C. catla attained maximum weight (17000 gm) in MBS as compared to (9800 gm) in SD and (6800 gm) in AP. Interestingly growth rate during first two years was observed higher in case of SD ( t able - 2). On the other hand Specific rate of linear growth (C l ) was observed to decrease with increasing age while, specific rate of weight increase (C w ) was observed to increase with age. Growth constant average (C lt(Av) ) was more at first year of age being 0.539, 0.600 and 0.499 i n MBS, SD and AP, respectively. Further, it was observed that g rowth constant average reduced in subsequent years of age. Annual length increment (h) did not show any regular pattern as it was observed in case of annual weight increment (w) increase. Inde x of species average size (  h ) of 11.577 (SD) was much closer to 11.000 (AP) as compared to 12.515 observed for MBS. Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ _ _ _______________________________ ___________________ __ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 1( ISC - 2011 ), 1 7 - 22 (201 2 ) Res.J. Recent .Sci. International Science Congress Association 19 Table - 1 Regression of scale radius on total length of Catla catla from Mahi Bajaj Sagar, Surwania dam and Aasan pond Waterbody N TL± SE Wt ± SE SR ± SE a ± SE b ± SE r * MBS 50 46.5 - 97.0 (71.700 ± 2.441) 1200 - 17000 (6492.335 ± 2.811) 7.4 - 18.7 (13.41 ± 0.5.5) - 1.419 ± 0.891 0.207 ± 0.013 0.946 SD 50 4 0 . 0 - 83 .0 (66.883 ± 2.230) 1000 - 9800 (4570.0 ± 448.484) 6.9 - 15.3 (11.393 ± 0.457) - 1.713 ± 1.283 0.205 ± 0.020 0.912 AP 50 39.0 - 75.0 (62.50 ± 1.704) 900 - 6800 (4096.0 ± 278.971) 6.7 - 14.1 (10.72 ± 0.316) - 0.894 ± 1.017 0.186 ± 0.016 0.911 MBS: Mahi Bajaj Sagar, SD: Surwania Dam and AP: Aasan pond, N: Number of fish scales, TL: Total length, Wt: Weight, SR: Scale radius * All the values of ‘r’ are significant at P< 0.01 Table - 2 (A) Growth rate of C. Catla of Mahi Bajaj Sagar, Surwania Dam and Aasan Pond Water bodies Parameters L 1 L 2 L 3 L 4 L 5 L 6 L 7 MBS L 25.485 36.504 47.380 56.985 64.999 77.187 87.603 H 25.485 11.019 10.876 9.605 8.014 12.187 10.416 Øh 12.515 C l 43.237 29.794 20.273 14.063 18.750 13.495 C th 9.157 9.519 8.746 7.498 11.170 9.771 C lt 0.539 0.391 0.277 0.197 0.258 0.190 C lt(av) 0.539 0.263 W 236.537 717.258 1549.614 2886.835 4397.420 7532.994 11333.575 w 236.537 480.720 832.357 1337.221 1510.584 3135.574 3800.581 Cw 203.232 116.047 86.294 52.327 71.305 50.452 ØCw 96.610 SD L 22.716 33.895 42.899 51.022 60.439 69.345 h 22.716 11.179 9.004 8.123 9.417 8.906 Øh 11.557 C l 49.214 26.565 18.934 18.457 14.735 C th 9.091 7.985 7.439 8.642 8.308 C lt 0.600 0.353 0.260 0.254 0.206 C lt(av) 0.600 0.268 W 190.318 629.554 1289.645 2110.128 3478.322 5270.614 w 190.318 439.236 660.092 820.482 1368.194 1792.292 Cw 230.790 104.851 63.621 64.839 51.527 ØCw 103.126 Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ _ _ _______________________________ ___________________ __ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 1( ISC - 2011 ), 1 7 - 22 (201 2 ) Res.J. Recent .Sci. International Science Congress Association 20 Table - 2 (B) Growth rate of C. Catla of Mahi Bajaj Sagar, Surwania Dam and Aasan Pond AP L 23.623 32.944 41.484 51.068 59.433 66.003 h 23.623 9.321 8.540 9.584 8.365 6.570 Øh 11.000 C l 39.458 25.922 23.104 16.380 11.054 C th 7.857 7.593 8.623 7.746 6.231 C lt 0.499 0.346 0.312 0.228 0.157 C lt(av) 0.499 0.261 W 214.592 566.251 1111.357 2077.054 3222.823 4369.334 w 214.592 351.659 545.106 965.697 1145.769 1146.512 Cw 163.873 96.266 86.894 55.163 35.575 ØCw 87.554 L : Back calculated length in cm ; W : Calculated weight in gm ; h : Annual length increment in cm ; w : Annual weight increase in gm ;  h : Index of species average size ; C w : Specific rate of weight increase ; C l : Specific rate of linear growth ;  C w : Index of weight growth intensity ; C th : Growth characteristics ; C lt(Av) : Growth constant average ; C lt : Growth constant Growth estimation of C. catla from these selected three water bodies suggest of population variability. Though all the growth related parameters in the present study were observed to follow standard trends true for Indian major carps, a high degree of correlation was found between total length and lateral scale radius. Johal and Tandon 18 also reported a high degree of corr elation between these two variables for C. catla of Gobind Sagar and Harike reservoirs. Gradual decrease in the values of the specific rate of linear growth and the specific rate of weight increase with the increase in age vividly suggests that growth rat e of carps is more at the early stage of life and gradually decreases as the age advances. Johal and Tandon 18 reported three growth phases for C. catla on the basis of observed growth constants and in the present study however, only two growth phases were observed for all the three stocks from these three water bodies. According to Chugunovas 3 majority of fish populations show only two growth phases of life corresponding to sexual immaturity and sexual maturity. Singh 7 observed that with increase in age there is decrease in the specific rate of linear growth and specific rate of weight increase. In present study, high values of annual length increment (h) of C. catla were observed at sixth year, fifth year and fourth year in the fish of MBS, SD and AP, re spectively. Tandon and Johal 28 also observed the phenomenon of growth compensation in C. M rigala and L. rohita from river Ghaghar at Rangmahal, in age classes six and five, in C. catla from Gobind Sagar Lake in the age class four and in L. rohita from riv er Satluj in the age classes six and eight years. Prakash and Gupta 20 in their study on the comparative growth rates of C. catla, L. rohita and C. mrigala of Govindgarh Lake reported that growth rates in these species were rapid at the first year after tha t it was very little. The growth increment was maximum in C. catla, less in L. rohita and the least in C. mrigala. However, in the present study varied results were obtained for the catla of these water bodies. The growth increments were higher in C. catla of SD, while it was moderate in case of SD and AP. Comparatively, high growth of C. C atla of SD amongst all the water bodies could be attributed to the higher standing crop of zooplankton, while in AP and MBS lower growth can be reasoned for low level of planktonic biomass. Conclusion The growth estimations on the basis of scale studies indicated that the growth rate of the Indian major carp ( Catla catla ) was very low in initial years but it was compensated by fast growth on an average by fourth year onwards. On the basis of age and growth studies the Indian major carp ( Catla catla ) of waterbodies situated in southern Rajasthan could be divided primarily into two phases, the first being the phase of sexual immaturity which lasts up to two years and fo llowed by the phase of sexual maturity. Acknowledgements The authors are thankful to the Director, CIFE, Mumbai, Dr. M.S. Johal, Professor, Zoology Department, Panjab University, Chandigarh, and General Manager of Rajasthan Tribal Area Development Coopera tive and Federation (RTADCF), Udaipur for their kind cooperation in various ways and for collecting the data for this research programme. Reference 1. Mitra G.N., Rate of growth in the first year of life of Labeo rohita and Catla catla in the different dist ricts of Orissa, Proc. Sci. Congr., 29(3), 159 (1942) 2. Jhingran V.G., General length - weight relationship of three major carps of India, Inst. Sci. India (B) , 18(5) , 449 – 460 ( 1952 ) Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ _ _ _______________________________ ___________________ __ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 1( ISC - 2011 ), 1 7 - 22 (201 2 ) Res.J. Recent .Sci. International Science Congress Association 21 3. 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Scale readings A = +1 year class and B = +7 year class of C. catla of Mahi Bajaj Sagar , C = +1 year class and D = +6 year class of C. catla of Surwania Dam , E = +1 year class and F = +6 year class of C. catla of Assan pond A B C D E F