Effects of feeding regimes on maturation dynamics in zebra loach, Botia striata (Rao, 1920) under captivity

Botia striata (Rao, 1920) is high valued ornamental fish, endemic to the Western ghats of India. This fish requires standardized maturation diet following a feeding regime for it to breed in captivity. Therefore, a study was conducted over a period of 90 days, employed a 2 × 3 factorial design involving six different feeding regimes: T1 (formulated feed, twice daily), T2 (formulated feed, four times daily), T3 (frozen tubifex, twice daily), T4 (frozen tubifex, four times daily), T5 (mixed diet, twice daily), and T6 (mixed diet, four times daily). The provision of selected feeding regimes for 90 days assisted with sand substratum induced the gonadal maturation in the treated fishes (n = 360) and allowed to achieve best final maturation with the success rate of 95% in the T2 experimental group and a lower success rate of 65% in the mixed diet group. Parameters such as hepato-somatic index, gonado-somatic index, histology, and reproductive hormones (11-ketotestosterone, 17β-estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), leutinizing hormone (LH), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)) were analyzed to evaluate male and female gonadal maturation. The relative fecundity of the experimental fishes was studied and correlated with the findings of the experiment. The fish in the T2 had relative fecundity of 247 ± 8.00 no's compared to other treatments. The findings suggest that formulated feed administered four times daily significantly enhanced gonad weight, oocyte number and diameter, addressing the challenges faced in captive breeding of the zebra loach. This study provides valuable insights for optimizing captive maturation and breeding conditions for highly demanded indigenous ornamental fish facilitating its development on a commercial scale.