Effects of Fertilization Method and of Selection for Body Weight and Species on Fertilization Efficiency of Channel Catfish Eggs with Blue or Channel Catfish Sperm

Abstract Two experiments were conducted in an effort to optimize artificial fertilization of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. In one experiment, three fertilization procedures were compared to optimize artificial fertilization of channel catfish eggs with sperm from blue catfish I. furcatus. The drip method simulated the natural fertilization of catfish eggs. The mixed method was a wet method that used an extender, and the third procedure was a decanted method. The drip method of fertilization produced a significantly lower (P < 0.05) fertilization percentage (30%) than the mixed method (69%) or the decanted method (57%). The mixed method is recommended because it is the easiest and the most efficient of the three methods. In the second experiment, the effects of selection for body weight and species on efficiency of artificial fertilization were evaluated. The Kansas strain, the oldest domestic strain of channel catfish, was selected for increased body weight over three generations; this selection re...