Suspending Mammalian LHRHa-injected Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, in Individual Soft Mesh Bags Reduces Stress and Improves Reproductive Performance

Hormone-induced spawning of channel catfish held communally in tanks is a reliable method to produce channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus ♀ × blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus ♂, F1 hybrid catfish fry. However, mature catfish are crowded, and repeatedly handled during the process of induced ovulation. Repeated handling of gravid females is stressful and may impair ovulation, egg quality, and reproductive performance. Three trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of two methods of confining post-hormone-injected female channel catfish on stress response (cortisol concentrations) and reproductive performance: fish were either held individually while suspended in soft, nylon-mesh bags or communally in a concrete tank. Percent of females ovulated to hormone treatment, relative fecundity, percent egg viability, and latency of channel catfish did not differ for fish in the two treatments. However, percent hatch and fry/kg of females was higher (P 0.05). Suspending hormone-injected broodfish individually in soft bags reduced stress response, improved egg hatching rate, and increased hybrid fry produced per kg weight of female broodfish. Using this simple technology, farmers can improve the efficiency of hatcheries producing hybrid catfish fry.