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Case Study: Ornamental Fish (Egg bearers)

● Koi Fish (Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758)
● Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens)
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What are ornamental fishes?
Ornamental fishes are attractive colourful fishes that are often kept in
aquarium systems or garden pools for their aesthetic purposes. This includes over
2500 species of fish which encompass a wide variety of marine or freshwater species.
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The art of fish keeping became a popular hobby as early as 1500s in Japan and then
by 1920-30s, ornamental fishes were exported from South Asia and Sri Lanka. Over
the past decades, the value of fish trade has grown significantly (Food and Agriculture
Organization of United Nations, 2017).

As shown in figure 1 since 2000, global exports of ornamental fish rose steadily from
US$177.7 million to a peak of US$364.9 million in 2011, then declining slightly to
US$347.5 million in 2014 (Dey, 2016).
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Figure 2 shows the major producers and suppliers of ornamental fish in the world
trade wherein most of them are identified as developing countries (Raja et al., 2019).

Most of the market supplies originate from Asia, with Singapore dominating as the top
exporting country in the world. In 2014, Singapore became the ornamental fish capital
of the world by contributing almost 20% of the world’s total supply of ornamental fish
and then followed by Japan due to their stable production of Koi carp.
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Based on the published article of Chapman et al. (2007), the worth retail value of fish
trade is approximately 1 billion US dollar. In this trade over 60% are of freshwater
origin while the marine species constitutes more than 15% of world’s ornamental fish
market wherein 98% are collected from the wild 2% are bred in captivity.
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Fish may reproduce by laying eggs or by bearing live young. Fish laying eggs may
spawn in different ways such as egg scattering, egg depositing, egg burying, building
nests and mouth brooding but in all cases, eggs are laid and fertilized outside the
body (KAU Agri-Infotech Portal, 2020). Examples of fish egg layers are Siamese
fighting fish (Betta splendens), Koi carp (Cyprinus carpio), and Goldfish (Carassius
auratus).
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Koi fish is basically a domesticated variety of common carp that have been produced
through selective breeding. It was traditionally reared in the mountainous regions in
the North-west of Tokyo, Japan but due to its popularity, it is being produced now
throughout the world. Their long and robust bodies resembles those of a wild carp but
Koi fish has two barbs at the bottom of its mouth.
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Gosanke refers to the 3 most popular koi variety namely as Kohaku, Sanke and
Showa. They can be easily identified based on the colors and the way these colors
are patterned in the slender bodies of the koi.
Kohaku - striking, unblemished snowy- or milky-white body coloration
- tail and fins should be red-less, red should be consistent in hue and evenly
distributed, but above the lateral line
Sanke - solid snowy or milky-white, blemish- and scar-free body
- red is dark, bold and even toned, black is deep & lustrous
Showa - black originating at the base or knuckle of the fin and fanning out
- sharp edges between the three colors, all three colors on the head
(Kodama Koi Farm, 2019)
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In feeding the Koi, deciding factors based on temperature, koi size and water quality
should be considered in order to ensure maximized Koi growth.
Jha et al. (2005), showed that there is a significant difference in the survival of koi
when produced under different management regimes in earthen ponds and concrete
tanks wherein large number of marketable fish was produced when fed with live
zooplankton.
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In stocking Koi, there are several varying recommendations by the experts but it
should be kept in mind that the mentioned factors should be considered but as a
general rule, overcrowding should be avoided and there should be continuous
filtration.
*Every time a Koi doubles in length it has about 8 times more body mass.
8 times the body mass = 8 times more oxygen consumed + 8 times more ammonia
added to the pond (Neaves, 2018).
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Breeding stock should begin with a good, sexually mature pair of Koi fish.
In pond setting, koi breeds as a group, males becomes extremely aggressive during
spawning.
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In general, food should small enough to match the size of the mouth of the fry. At
colder temperatures, feeding them once would be enough but during warmer seasons
they should be fed no more than three times per day.
*Any food which is very high in carbohydrates should be avoided as they are hard for
koi to digest.
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In general, food should small enough to match the size of the mouth of the fish. Some
of the food that can be beneficial for Koi are spirulina which enhances the color of koi
as well as improving their immune system and wheat germ oil which aids in the
overall health of the fish and help it grow to its maximum size.
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Spawning ropes also provide protection to the fry as it increases survival rates when
eggs hatch in the pond.
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Drain and Scoop
- one of the easiest method by draining pond to a few inches left then collect fish
using any tight preferably smaller mesh to avoid the fins and scales of the koi from
being caught in the net
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Seines are popular in harvesting large number of fish from ponds. It involves two
people, one on each end of the net pulling it towards one corner to trap the fishes
between the seine and pond bank.
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This particular method should be done calmly while providing support both the head
and belly of the Koi. If not properly handled, the Koi will break free from your hands by
doing a big jerk using their tail and would end up falling to the ground.
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Most professional koi breeders use this as it provides less damage on the fins of the
koi since the fish only slides on way through the sock net.
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Koi fish is one of the most expensive fish in the ornamental fish market.
Small koi fish are quite cheap but when bred and was taken care of properly, it can be
sold for thousands or even millions.

Even though produced widely, Japan remains the biggest producer of Koi, attributing
90% to the worldwide production which brings huge revenue of over $34 million .
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Koi is a hardy and robust fish that do not often becomes sick once they are settled in
their placed habitat but occasionally diseases may occur when parasites, bacteria or
fungi.

Causes of Koi disease:

• Poor water quality
• Stress
• Spawning
• Overcrowding
• Introduction of sick fish
• Pesticides
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Using a microscope, one can properly identify the disease present in the fish but most
people do not have an access to such technology so next thing that they can do is to
look at their fish and compare the symptoms to such diagram above.
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Using a microscope, one can properly identify the disease present in the fish but most
people do not have an access to such technology so next thing that they can do is to
look at their fish and compare the symptoms to such diagram above.
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Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens)
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Traditionally, bettas are bred that would allow them to have higher chance of survival
when sparred with another betta but their production is now more emphasized on
their color intensity, color patterns, body shape and fin size since it produces higher
profit margins.
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The diet of Siamese fighting fish is meat based, mainly composed of insects, brine
shrimp and daphnia. The fishes found in pet stores are known to have colourful and
long tails which may come in variety.
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Labyrinth is an extension of the gill plates (bone that anchors the gills) and is made of
many folds of bone. This organ permits bettas to take extra oxygen from air and
also allows bettas to build bubble nests
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Aggression of bettas dates back hundreds of years ago. Male bettas are highly
territorial but in their habitat in the wild, they have miles of streams and rice paddies to
swim through so when one male enters another’s territory, the two may show
aggression, but a fight may not even happen if there is enough space to retreat.
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Bettas should be fed regularly with only enough amount as they have a habit of
overeating. As the food mentioned above are not all nutritious, there should be a
variety when feeding Siamese fighting fish to ensure good health.
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Lifespan of bettas in the wild is shorter than those in captivity due to higher chances
of their habitat becoming polluted, affecting their food sources and in the wild they are
more frequently exposed to other males which increases chances of fighting.
However if given proper management in tanks, bettas can reach up 4-5 years.
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Determining the gender of a betta fish is an easy task if specific traits will be
compared. Male are more vividly colored, have more slender, elongated bodies, with
larger fins and has a visible membrane beneath the gill plane called the “beard”.
Female has shorter & wider bodies, shorter caudal fins, less visible beard, has an egg
spot between ventral and anal fins, and during mating female bettas will display
visible vertical stripes on their bodies (Sharpe, 2019).
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If tank is less than 10 gallons, Betta should not be house with any other fish specially
when they have bright colours, large fin and is bigger than bettas. Bettas coming from
pet stores are accustomed to food pellets and flakes which are readily available in the
market but it should be accompanied with the mentioned live food.
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Pollution from farming and cities has also threatened the fish, and their population in
the wild is declining. Most of the bettas sold in the market do not have enough tank
space, are not fed with the proper food and nutrition and during transportation, they
are stacked in cubes closely together which causes stress.

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