Finfish Breeding and Hatchery Management

Unit 3 - Breeding of major carps

3.1.1. Wet bundh

A typical wet bundh of Midnapore (West Bengal) is a perennial pond or tank, situated in the slope of a vast catchment area of undulating terrain, with proper embankments having an inlet towards the upland and an outlet towards the opposite lower end.

• During summer, only the deeper portion of the bundh retains water where carp breeders are released for spawning.
• The remaining portion is dry and is many times used for agricultural purposes.
• After a heavy shower, a major portion of the bundh gets submerged with water from catchment area (catchment area: bundh, 20-100: 1), coming into it in the form of streamlets.
• The depth of water where breeding takes place has been stated to vary from 8 cm to 1.2 m.
• Though the fish breeds at any spot in the bundh, it may be advantageous to prepare `spawning grounds’ at different levels which could get flooded at different water levels in bundhs.
• The bundhs can also be filled with water as and when desired and breeding operations undertaken without waiting for the fresh rainwater.

Method of breeding carps in a wet bundh

• With the onset of monsoon the rain water from the catchment area gushes into the bundh, creating an artificial current.
• The breeders, already present in the deeper area of the bundh, migrate to the shallower areas and start breeding.
• After the breeding is over, egg/spawn collection is done.