Vimba bream fish breeding in aquaculture

 

Vimba bream fish, called also the vimba bream, vimba, zanthe, or zarte, once an important object of industrial fishing, has high nutritional value and excellent taste, which makes it interesting for amateur zanthe, but currently has limited supplies. Vimba bream is a fish that can be successfully bred in pasture, pond and intensive aquaculture, grown in cages and RAS. This article will be about fish breeding in aquaculture. There will also be a lot of other useful material. Read to the end it will be interesting.

 

 Content

• Distribution of vimba fish
• Zanthe, what kind of fish is there?
• Kuban zanthe
• Donskoy vimba bream
• Caspian zanthe
• Vimbe fish description, characteristic external signs
• Nutrition, size and growth rate of fish zanthe
• Fish food
• Vimbe fish sizes
• Spawning and growing method of breeding fish zanthe
• Procurement of producers, production and incubation of fish eggs
• Harvesting of fish producers
• Factory method of breeding vimba
• Experimental technology for breeding fish zanthe in RAS

 

 

 

Distribution of vimba fish

Zanthe, what kind of fish is there?

 

Where is the vimba fish found in Russia and neighboring countries? The vimba fish, Latin name Vimba vimba, or raw fish, lives in the river basins of the Black, Azov, Caspian and Baltic seas. Currently, three subspecies of vimba are known: V. vimba vimba (L innaeus, 1758) - common vimba, syrt; V. vimba persa (Pallas, 1814) - Caspian zanthe; V. vimba tenella (Nordman, 1840) - small fishfish. So vimba fish is vimba or raw fish. 

Where does the vimba bream fish live? The most important catches of vimba are in the Don, Dnieper, Kuban, as well as in the rivers of the Baltic states, where fish producers can also be caught. Historically, the vim fish breeding technology was developed for vim fish from the lower reaches of the Kuban and Don, when vim fish were raised only for reproduction purposes, i.e., producers were caught, sexual products were obtained from them, larvae were incubated and raised, and juveniles weighing 1 g were released into natural reservoirs. Currently, experiments have been carried out on new technologies for growing fish. 

In the Baltic rivers it is possible to successfully increase artificial spawning grounds for zanthe. Abroad, vimba is actively grown in Poland, Hungary and the Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia). 

Due to its high taste qualities, which are not inferior to such fish as carp, kutum, bream, vimba is considered a regional delicacy, so vimba is promising for introduction into other bodies of water. Anadromous, semi-anadromous and residential forms of vimba are known. Conventionally, zanthe can be divided into Don zanthe, Azov zanthe, Caspian zanthe, Baltic zanthe, and Dnieper zanthe.

 

Kuban zanthe

 

What kind of fish is Kuban zanthe? The Kuban zanthe forms two forms: an anadromous form, which in turn is divided into winter and spring and residential or water-bearing. The winter form of the Kuban zanthe begins to enter the Kuban River in the fall with immature reproductive products, and the height of the movement is recorded in October–November, and in the case of a mild winter, also in January. The zanthe overwinters in fresh waters; the zanthe spawns in the Kuban in the spring.

The spring fish race goes to spawn in March–April with almost mature reproductive products. The main spawning grounds for vimba are in the tributaries of the Kuban. Some reservoirs of the Kuban basin are inhabited by the tuwater, or residential, form of vimba. The Kuban part of the vimba population lost its commercial significance at the end of the 20th century.

 

Donskoy vimba bream

 

What kind of fish is Don zanthe? In the Don River basin, only the anadromous form of the Don fish is recorded, which feeds in the sea before reaching maturity and enters the river only to spawn. After the spawning of the fish, the spawners and juveniles at the age of one year roll into the sea. Spawning migrations of fish zanthe in the Don River take place in the autumn-winter-spring period. The bulk of the Don fish migrates to spawn in February, when there is still ice on the river. A significant number of Don fish go to spawning grounds in March and in the first ten days of April. The autumn spawning run of Don fish spawners is less intense than the winter-spring run.

The main natural spawning grounds for Don fish are located in the Seversky Donets River and its numerous tributaries, where there are many rocky rifts. It is difficult for fish spawners to enter these spawning grounds. This is due to the fact that the main spawning areas are located above low-pressure dams.

The condition of the spawning grounds of fish zanthe in the main tributaries of the Seversky Donets (the rivers Kundryuchya, Bystraya, Kalitva, Bolshoi Kalitvinets, Glubokaya, etc.) is currently unsatisfactory; the basins of these rivers are under powerful anthropogenic influence.

Under the current conditions, the spawning grounds of the Don fish are limited to the lower unregulated sections of rivers.

Caspian zanthe

 

What kind of fish is Caspian zanthe? The Caspian zanthe is found mainly in the Southern Caspian, in the area of the Kizilagach Bay, in the Agrakhan Bay, in the Arakum reservoirs, in the south-eastern part in the Hasan-Kuli region, as well as in the rivers of the western coast of the sea; in small numbers, the Caspian zanthe enters the Volga.

The Caspian zanthe differs from the typical form - the northern syrti - mainly in the smaller number of scales in the lateral line, larger scales and a smaller number of rays in the anal fin. The number of rays serves as a systematic difference between different forms of fish zanthe. Additionally, real differences are found when comparing fin length, head length, and head height.

  

Vimbe fish description, characteristic external signs

 

What does a vimba bream fish look like? The vimba differs from other carp fish in its moderately high body, the beginning of the anal fin is behind the vertical end of the dorsal fin, the tip of the snout protrudes above the lower lunate mouth. There are 51-60 scales in the lateral line. Individual fish coming to spawn have a dark back and fins.

Nutrition, size and growth rate of fish zanthe

Fish food

 

Is the fish a predator or not? The fisher is a benthophage, consuming insect larvae, amphipods, mollusks, and worms.

Vimbe fish sizes

 

The length of the fish, or syrtie, in the fishery is 30-35 cm, weight 350-400 g; fish from the mountain rivers of Crimea and the Caucasus are smaller: length - 15-20 cm, weight - up to 200 g. 

 

Vimbe breeding technology developed for vimba from the lower reaches of the Kuban and Don

Spawning and growing method of breeding fish zanthe

 

The spawning-growing method of breeding fish zanthe consists of provoking spawning on artificially created spawning grounds. From the wintering pond with an area of about 3 hectares, with the onset of spawning temperatures (18-21 °C), 100-300 pieces were collected along a designated channel. fish spawners enter the spawning channels. The width of the spawning channels is 1-3 m, length 35 m, depth 0.15-0.9 m on the rifts, 0.5-0.7 m on the reach, water flow speed 0.5-1 m/s, water transparency - to the dregs. At nightfall, the spawners rise up the channel and spawn on the rocky and pebble bottom. The proportion of fertilized fish eggs is usually high and is at least 95%. The break after the first spawning is 6-8 days. During this period, the fish zanthe larvae have time to hatch and roll downstream into a larval pond with an area of up to 5 hectares. To do this, bottom catchers are installed at the end of the spawning channel, from where the larvae are carried through a pipeline into the pond with a current of water. Growing vimbe to an average weight of 1 g lasts 30-40 days, the planting density of vimba is 300 thousand pcs/ha.

 

Procurement of producers, production and incubation of fish eggs

 

Maturation of the fish is observed in the 3-4th year of life. The spawning of small fish is carried out in portions 2-3 times a season. The fertility of a fish zanthe is 30-220 thousand eggs from one female, the working fertility of a female fish zanthe is 10-35 thousand eggs. The fish spawns at a water temperature of 15-20°C. Vimba bream fish migrate to rivers in the fall.

Harvesting of fish producers

 

With the spawning-rearing method, spawners are harvested in the fall, with the hatchery method, in the spring using a seine method of catching. Breeders are accumulated in slits in the sinks, and carp wintering cages are used for overexposure in the winter. During spring harvesting, fish zanthe are kept in earthen cages measuring 12x35 m, where a third of the fish mature.

Factory method of breeding vimba

In the factory method of reproduction, Yushchenko and Weiss incubation devices are used. For injection, fish, carp, bream or crucian carp pituitary glands are used. 

 

Vimbrella caviar is sticky, so de-sticking is required. The working fertility of one female fisher is 10 thousand eggs, since only the first portion of eggs is taken. The diameter of fish eggs is 1.4-2.1 mm, the maturity coefficient is 14%. In 1 g of fish caviar there are 700-800 pieces of mature eggs. Incubation of fish eggs lasts 3-5 days at a temperature of 18-20°C. The larvae are kept after hatching for 4-6 days. Fish can be raised in trays.

Commercial cultivation of vimba was carried out in the Bolshoy Reservoir in the upper reaches of the Kuban, with the average weight of four-year-old fish being 250-300 g with a body length of 32-34 cm. In the 5th year of life, the average weight of vimba reached 700 g, length - 34.5 cm.

Experimental technology for breeding fish zanthe in RAS

 

The experimental technology for breeding fish is described as follows. 

Harvesting of fish spawners was carried out in feeding areas in October, at a water temperature of 8-10 °C. To maintain and prepare fish spawners for spawning, a recirculating water supply (RAS) installation was used. 

After catching and transportation, the fish spawners were placed in a quarantine pool for 14 days in order to adapt to the temperature conditions of the installation for their further maintenance and preparation for spawning, for which a stepwise method was used, with a gradual rise in temperature to 15-18 °C. 

After full adaptation, the manufacturers were assessed. 

The period of artificial wintering was 60 days. Artificial wintering of the breeders was carried out in specially equipped RAS pools with gradual cooling of the water. At the end of the period, a control autopsy of the female and male fish was carried out to determine the quality of the eggs. It was found that as a result of artificial wintering, the maturity of the gonads increased and the fish were almost ready for artificial spawning. 

Injection of producers was carried out using acetonated pituitary gland of carp fish (carp). The dosage of the drug was 4 mg pituitary gland/kg body weight in females, 3 mg pituitary gland/kg body weight in males. 

Fertilization of fish eggs was carried out using the dry method according to generally accepted methods. Fertilized fish eggs were deglued using milk diluted with water 5 times, carefully stirring with a feather, and left to swell for 1 hour. 

The deglued eggs were placed for incubation in Weiss apparatus (in vitro). 

After receiving and fertilizing fish eggs, they were incubated in Weiss apparatus. Incubation, until the first appearance of larvae, lasted 72 hours at a temperature of 18 °C. The embryo yield was about 75% of the laid eggs. 

With the appearance of the first embryos, the eggs were transferred to a larval bath, which was a plastic container with a frame placed in it, covered with a mesh with a mesh of 1.5 mm.

In the bath, the eggs were distributed in an even layer on a net immersed in water to a depth of 3-4 cm. The larval baths were provided with running water with a complete water exchange once every 2 hours. The water flow was regulated from the water supply side, through a shut-off valve. 

The hatched embryos fell through the mesh to the bottom of the bath. At the end of hatching, the net was removed along with part of the shells, unhatched embryos, and dead eggs, which by this time are usually covered with saprolegnia. 

Next, the embryos are transferred with great care to a tray for growing. 

The hatched fish zanthe embryos (prelarvae) corresponded to the eighth stage of fish zanthe embryonic development; they were inactive and accumulated in a fairly thick layer in a shaded corner of the bath. The final transition of the fish zanthe larva to the fry period occurred after 55 days. 

The length of the larvae was 9.8-12.5 mm. The gill covers were completely ossified, and well-developed bony rays were observed in all fins. The embryonic and larval development of the fish, as well as the diet and feeding regime in the experiment are presented in Table. 2. 

At the end of the larval period, fish fry were transferred to the nursery tank. 

Thus, growing vim fish embryos and larvae in special equipment - baths with running water - makes it possible to obtain viable fry fish zanthe. In special baths with running water, after the embryo has passed into the larval stage, the larvae can be transferred to active external feeding. The total development of embryos and larvae to the juvenile stage was 55 days.