Preface It is well known that aquaculture is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. Even as growth in agriculture sector remains a challenge due to fluctuating growth in sectors like crop, livestock and forestry from 2014-15 to 2017-18, fisheries sector has grown rapidly from 4.9 per cent in 2012-13 to 11.9 per cent in 2017-18. Considering the fast growth of the sector, the target of fish production in India is fixed to be 20.00 million ton by 2022-23. Fish and fish product exports emerged as the largest group in agricultural exports and in value terms accounted for Rs. 47,620 crore in 2018-19. For economy of the country to grow to US$ 5.0 trillion by 2025, the fisheries sector has to play a very important role. In aquaculture, apart from food fishes, a substantial contribution has to come from ornamental fisheries, which has a great potential to increase the income of the farmers as well as in terms of earning foreign exchange. The world trade of ornamental fish industry is of the tune of US$ million 348 but the contribution of India is only 1%, which is very meager, considering large number of ornamental fish species available in the country, having very attractive coloration, bands, pattern of color and demand in national as well as in international market. There are several indigenous fish species where an individual fish fetches several lakh rupees in the international market. That speaks volumes about the potentiality, scope and role of the sector. It can play as a growth engine of the economy. The bulk of the ornamental fish, involved in the trade, are collected from wild, raising the concerns about their sustainability and conservation in the nature. At the same time, small countries like Singapore have developed the breeding and rearing technology for many ornamental fishes and therefore, exporting it successfully to many countries of the world and capturing a lion share of the trade. Keeping above points in the mind, this book has been written based on over three decades of experience of the author in the field of fisheries and aquaculture, especially in the field of ornamental fisheries. The book emphasizes on breeding, rearing, health management, water quality management and marketing strategy for ornamental fish. Apart from these it also addresses the issues of fish conservation, genetic improvements and related ancillary activities of the sector.

The culture of colored and attractive fish in glass aquariums for aesthetic use is called ornamental fish culture. The beautiful, tiny fishes or ornamental fishes are peaceful in nature and suitable for keeping in captivity. These lovely fishes are usually kept in a glass made aquarium and decorated with toys, plants, ceramic structures etc. for beautification. It displays the attractive fish that live in a natural environment decorated with accessories while maintaining environmental parameters in tanks/aquariums by using aerators, heaters, filters, lights to control water movement, temperature, suspended organic matter, illumination etc. besides feeding. Keeping ornamental fish in a glass tank is a very old and popular hobby. More and more people are getting attracted to this hobby and due to growing interest in aquarium keeping; it has resulted in a steady expansion in its trade in more than 125 countries. Household aquariums are more popular; therefore, less than 1% of the global market for ornamental fishes belongs to the public aquaria sector. Most of the ornamental fish is available from developing countries in the tropical and sub-tropical regions. The international trade in ornamental fish breeding and culture provides employment opportunities for thousands of rural people in developing countries. Ornamental fish is becoming an important component in Indian fisheries too, along with food fishes, for both income and employment generation. As a result of advancements in breeding, transport and rearing technology, more and more fish species are being recognized as ornamental fish almost every year. The ornamental fishery is recognized by many developing countries for employment generation and livelihoods. Ecologically suitable culture systems must be developed by evolving micro, small and medium enterprises for sustainable growth.

India is one among the top ten mega-diverse countries of the world in terms of fish diversity (Dudgeon 2003). FishBase (Froese & Pauly 2016) has listed around 917 freshwater fish species (out of 2465 total fish species) as occurring in India. According to National Fisheries Development Board, Hyderabad, inland and marine waters in India possess a rich diversity of ornamental fish, with over 195 indigenous varieties reported from North-East Region and Western Ghats, and nearly 400 fish species from marine ecosystems. There are several other fish species which qualify to be called as ornamental fish. Considering enormous and diverse indigenous fish resources of the country, there is immense scope for India to become a potential candidate and a strong competitor in the international ornamental fish trade. Government of India has recognized ornamental fish sector as one of the thrust areas for generating employment opportunities and augmenting our foreign exchange earnings. It is estimated that the sector is directly and indirectly supporting about 50,000 of house-holds mainly in rural India. Large number of freshwater ornamental fish species is recorded from Indian waters and the majority of the global trade is based on freshwater exotic ornamental fishes including both classified and non-classified types.

Design and construction of farm including management is important with the advancement of cultural practices and increased involment of people. These are some common resources for breeding, rearing and display of ornamental fish. Small scale commercial farms Mazla/earthen vats These are baked earthen containers and usually round in shape. These are used to keep the gravid female of livebearer fish for breeding. Its water holding capacity is 7.5-10.0 litre.

Ornamental Plants are a real attraction to the aquarium tank. While some plants are both ornamental and functional, people usually use the term “ornamental plants” to refer to plants which have no value beyond being attractive, although many people feel that the attractive value itself is quite enough. They provide optimal habitat for the fishes especially for the fry (baby fishes). It maintains the ecosystem of the aquarium tanks by providing good oxygen, food and also acts as a good hiding place for the baby fish. Mostly all aquatic plants are very easy to grow and care. They are always good for gold fish and other similar fishes. There is a huge variety of plants. Ornamental plants are grown for decoration, rather than food or raw materials. They are most often intentionally planted for aesthetic appeal. However, ornamental plants also serve some less obvious uses such as for the purpose of fragrance, for attracting wildlife and for cleaning the air. Ornamentals encompass a wide array of plants. Commonly, ornamental plants are grown for the display of aesthetic features including: flowers, leaves, scent, overall foliage texture, fruit, stem and bark, and aesthetic form. The concept of ornamental plants is used for decorative purposes in aquariums, gardens, home gardens, landscape design projects, squares, parks etc. Aquatic plants predominantly grow in water. They vary greatly in type, with some being quite similar to common land plants while others are quite different. Aquatic plants can be commonly classified into four types: algae, floating plants, submerged plants and emerged plants. Aquatic plants live in water. This means that they require being submersed to survive or that they can only grow and thrive in water. Many aquatic plants can tolerate being emerged, meaning they’re out of the water for short periods of time, but require immersion in water for long-term survival. There are some plants that simply can’t tolerate being emerged at all, but this is rare. These plants can only live when fully immersed in water. Most macro- algae require total submersion in water for the span of its entire life. Most aquatic plants, however, have roots underwater but can only grow or flower in a partially emerged state. All plants, aquatic and otherwise, require sunlight, soil, gases and water to survive. Plants make their own food via the process of photosynthesis; this means that they need a source of energy to drive this biochemical process, and the sun provides a perfect one. Plants can carry on for periods without sunlight, just as animals can live on stored fuel for a while in times of need. The soil offers a place for the plant’s roots to take hold. Air contains large amounts of the carbon dioxide gas (CO2), plants need to power photosynthesis, but aquatic plants have evolved to draw in CO2 that is dissolved in water in relatively small amounts. Finally, plants need water to combine with the CO2 to complete photosynthesis by generating oxygen and glucose.

Feed plays a vital role not only in growth but it also enhances the market value of ornamental fish. In natural waters, fish has access to a variety of natural food items, but their overall wellbeing depends upon the availability of their favorite food. However, in a confined system, nutritionally balanced supplementary feed is indispensable due to limitation on availability of natural live fish food organisms. In general, ornamental fish are fed with a variety of commercially available pelleted feeds, imported from countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea and Thailand etc. Although they are very popular among ornamental fish hobbyists, the high cost of these feeds is not economical for commercial-scale application at farmer’s level. Further, in contrast to food fish in a pond, feeding ornamental fish in smaller culture units need high precision. Therefore, it is essential for an ornamental fish producer to possess technical know-how regarding nutritional requirements and feeding behaviour of different species in order to formulate farm-made feeds by using locally available low- cost ingredients. Formulation of low cost and nutritionally balanced supplementary feed, using locally available ingredients, is the key to the success of ornamental fish culture in India. To reduce the cost of feed and make the ornamental fish production venture more profitable, the feed can be prepared at farm by using cost-effective and locally available quality ingredients (plant/animal-based). Identification and selection of the feed ingredients are essential and it should be according to the fish species to be cultured. A number of feed ingredients may be locally available which can be used for feed formulation. Fish culturists have to identify and choose the best ingredients, depending upon its easy availability, nutrient status and cost, keeping in mind the nutritional requirement of ornamental fish (size, feeding habits, etc.) to be cultured.

Learning about water chemistry is often neglected by most of the aquarium owners. By understanding the concepts of water chemistry, they can considerably improve success rate in rearing healthy fishes. It is well known that the quality of water has a direct impact on the health of the fish. But many aquarium owners do not understand the basic internal chemistry of the water, nor do they understand how to correct it or safely adjust it. Until the basics of water chemistry is understood and some common water maintenance techniques are learnt, it will be difficult to maintain a healthy and safe environment for the fish in tank. The water quality is by far the single most important factor for the healthy fish, and the more is known, the better management is expected. Fish depends for their basic necessities on the water in which they live. The most characteristic feature of an aquarium system is, therefore, the quality of the water available in tanks/aquarium. This water must be obtained from some source, pre-treated to make it suitable for the fish, delivered to the fish in sufficient quantities and maintained in good condition. The water supplied to an aquarium is not pure, but it contains dissolved and particulate materials, some are necessary for up keep of the fish and rests are harmful. Contamination may occur not only at source or from the animals, but often takes place within the aquarium from the materials used for its construction. The number of fish that can be maintained within the aquarium is said to be according to the quality and quantity of the water supplied to an aquarium. However, it is rarely the quantity of water per unit which limits the carrying capacity. The capacity is usually set by the requirement of dissolved oxygen and the accumulation of toxic metabolic products in the aquarium.

One of the attractions of ornamental fish keeping is to multiply the fishes in captivity. Although techniques used for ornamental fish breeding are not much difficult, the breeding methods for specific ornamental fish species are closely guarded secrets. Farmers have operated almost entirely on their own, developing their own methods and rely on many years of experimentation. In India, the most important breeding centres for ornamental species are located in Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Kochi. Ornamental fishes are broadly classified into two groups based on their breeding methods- Egg layer or oviparous and live bearer or viviparous species. Oviparous fishes lay floating, adhesive or non-adhesive eggs that may be scattered, laid in bubble nests or deposited on substrates or in shallow pits. The breeding and rearing of live bearers are easier than egg layers, which begin with handling the live bearers.

The indigenous ornamental fish which are very popular overseas, are being harvested from the wild and exported. This in the long run, may lead to depletion of stock due to over harvesting of our valued native fish species. Hence, breeding of native fish species is also equally important for a sustainable trade of ornamental fishery and to conserve the natural stock. Some fishes breed naturally with ease, whereas others are bred by artificial techniques like hand stripping and hypophysation. In nature, the fishes are stimulated by changes in environmental factors. These conditions can be simulated to some extent in the aquaria by providing specific biological requirements for spawning. I. Breeding of Zebra danio (Brachydanio rerio) Brachydanio rerio is commonly known as zebra danio. The zebra danio, as the name implies, is characterized by a number of bright blue or purple horizontal lines, which run from the head to the caudal fin. This pattern is repeated in the anal and caudal fins too. The flanks have prussian blue colouration and operculum has golden blotches. The dorsal fin of this species has an olive yellow base and there are blue gold markings on the anal fin.

As the ornamental fish industry expands throughout the world, genetic considerations have become more important in terms of production, sustainability and conservation. Genetic technologies are now being applied to increase food production in aquaculture through traditional and modern breeding programmes. Genetic markers can help to manage capture fisheries and distinguish farmed from wild stocks in mixed fisheries. Genetic technologies are also now finding application in post-harvest and trade to assist in product identification and traceability. Genetic improvement of fish has considerably increased the fish production from aquaculture. It includes selective breeding, hybridization, polyploidy, gene and nuclear engineering. For any genetic selection programme, induced breeding is the basic and initial step. Intensive selective breeding is practiced with various species of fish in perfecting appearance, shape and color so that new strains are produced. Domestication Most of the fish being widely grown in captivity are domesticated to some extent, but there are very few which have undergone genetic improvement. Just as terrestrial livestock and crops are bred to be not only productive, but productive in convenient proximity to humans, aquatic plants and animals are now undergoing these same pressures. In comparison to agriculture crops, fruit plants and animals, aquaculture is much behind with regard to the domestication of the fish, especially ornamental fish. Never the less, a good number of ornamental fish have been domesticated which can be considered for selective breeding to improve their traits. The available technologies and tools could be used to remarkably speed up domestication and genetic improvement process. Domestication implies much more than merely keeping wild animals in farms or homes. Domestication is a very long process, during which captive individuals become more adapted to captive environments. Domestication leads to permanent genetic modifications of a bred lin-eage, while taming or keeping wild fish in captive conditions is only conditioned behavioral modification of individuals. The entire life cycle of the domesticated fish species must be fully closed in captivity. Once full life cycle is completed in captivity, the process of domestication can proceed further. The first truly domesticated fish species was certainly the goldfish, for which the domestication was initiated by the Chinese about 1500-2000 years ago.

Ornamental fishes are very prone to diseases due to their captive habitat. Fish health management is an important issue of concern at all the ornamental fish production facility. Proper water quality is required to be maintained in the aquarium for the good health of the fish. However, the chance of infection in these fishes is very high. Many limiting factors viz. water quality, over crowding, nutritionally imbalance food, rapid fluctuation in water temperature, lack of oxygen or poor husbandry practices influence the health status of the stock. The symptoms/signs indicate whether the fish is suffering from a particular disease or not. If the fish are observed to be swimming actively and there is no noticeable abnormality in the behaviour, it means there is nothing to worry about the health of the fish in the aquarium. On the other hand, diseased fish may look off colour, restless and/or behave erratically. In such a situation, the fish should be closely observed for visible infection and remedial measures should be taken immediately. Stock improvement in terms of disease prevention must be a top priority issue. In order to achieve healthy fish species, it is necessary to have a health management protocols in every farming practices.

Ornamental fish breeding and trade provide excellent opportunities for employment and income generation. One of the most critical determinants of the success of the trade is the problem of delivering a quality product to the market. The know-how of collection, critical handling, packaging methods are essential for serving the successful transport of live tropical fish to their final destination. However, a major impediment in expanding the trade of indigenous fishes is the poor roads/communication from most of the collection/landing centres to the town, non-availability of oxygen packaging at remote collection centres, difficulties in transportation of the collected fishes to the agent/stockist. Transportation of live fish and shellfish from areas of collection to destination or from areas of farming to the destination is an important activity of ornamental fish industry. Proper collection, packing and transportation may help in increasing trade to a greater extent. Ornamental fishes destined for marketing, both domestic and export, have to use modern post-harvest technology or modifications of the current post-harvest technology to improve the post-harvest and post-shipment survival that is critical to the industry. It is in this context that the significance of packing and transport come into the picture. To overcome the problem of high mortality of fish species at different stages during transportation, it becomes essential to evaluate the most suitable and ideal condition for transportation. At present, the mortality rate during fish catching, collection, transportation is very high. The claim by the importers due to DOA (Death on Arrival) from India is on the higher side compared to the consignments from other developing countries. This is due to the lack of appropriate technology for fish packing & transportation/ shipment. Similarly, since the airfreight charges are very high, the exporters have no idea of the optimum number of a particular live fish to be packed in a container to reduce transportation cost. Such information is lacking for Indian fishes. The success of ornamental fish transportation depends on the following steps:

The purpose of managing a fishery is to maintain the resource so that it is renewable and therefore sustainable. Responsible aquaculture practices rely on sustainable production systems, to minimize impacts on the natural environment, and support resource conservation. In other words, the harvest of fish from the wild or their domestic culture, if performed with sound foundations of ecological and economic principles, can be sustainable and self-reliant commercial industry. In traditional subsistence fisheries, fishermen use primitive and inefficient gear to capture most ornamental fish. However, the supply of aquarium fish is not inexhaustible, and signs of over-fishing are becoming apparent in localized areas. With high demand and pricing of many beautiful species, ornamental fish are being harvested at greater volumes and higher rates, threatening the viability or sustainability of the fishery. Most endemic and sensitive species are restricted to very narrow specific habitats. Their survival, affected by physical over-exploitation for the aquarium trade, may be further hit by habitat alteration. No comprehensive studies have been carried out on the requirements of these endemic or sensitive exported species. In the absence of suitable impact studies, it is not possible to predict the impact of habitat alteration on these species. Exporters target more colorful varieties and since their ecological significance has not been studied, what long-term effect such selective exploitation will have on genetic diversity cannot yet be defined. Apart from legislation that can be effectively implemented, eco-physiological and population studies of a quantitative nature are urgently needed to advise on the collection, maintenance and transport conditions that need to be followed by exporters to safeguard collected stocks from unnecessary mortality. Exporters are eager to learn and would be receptive to receiving appropriate, scientifically formulated, well-meaning practical advice. Studies should be targeted towards this end since it seems unlikely that the export trade can at present be voluntarily modulated on the basis of conservation requirements. Such a strategy could only become feasible after an adequately robust ecological database has been compiled, which would necessarily require time. An effective management strategy needs to address not only aquarium-trade related matters but also policy and other matters in an integrated approach if we are to be hopeful of sustaining the ornamental fish industry in the long-term.

Ornamental fish culture has made giant strides in many countries in recent years. The industry is growing in leaps and bounds with involvement of even increasing number of aquarium hobbyists. A lucrative export market and high domestic demand have made ornamental fish industry a potential source for income generation. The range of species of ornamental fish available to the hobbyists is very large, with estimates of up to 1,500 species. As popularity of ornamental fish keeping has gained momentum, the need to transfer ornamental fishes from the resource abundant places to resource deficient places resulted in the marketing of ornamental fishes. In order to assess the marketing opportunities for ornamental fish, it can be classified as:

1. Choose the most appropriate option with a tick mark i) Floating plants are required for breeding a) Guppies b) Angel fish c) Swordtail d) Gourami ii) Breeding traps are generally used for a) Egg-scatters b) Egg-depositors c) Livebearers d) Nest-builders

Suggested Readings Abraham, T. J., Sasmal, D. and Banerjee, T., 2004. Bacterial flora associated with diseased fish and their antibiogram. Journal of Indian Fisheries Association31: 177-180. Ahilan, B. and Jeyaseelan, P., 2001. Effects of different pigment sources on colour changes and growth of juvenile Carassiusaurtatus. J. Aqua. Trop. 16(1): 29-36. Alagappan, M., Vijula, K. and Sinha, A., 2004. Utilization of spirulina algae as a source of carotenoid pigment for blue gouramis (Trichogastertrichpterus Pallas). Journal of Aquariculture and Aquatic Sciences, X(1): 1-11. Ali, M., Raizada, S., Maheshwari, U.K., Chadha, N.K., Javed, H. and Kumar, S., 2004. Effect of salinity on broodstock development and the spawning of blue gourami (Trichogastertrichopterus). In: National Seminar on Prospects of Ornamental Fish Breeding and Culture in Eastern and North-Eastern India, 16-17 February, 2004. pp. CA-42. Bijukumar, A., 2000. Exotic fishes and freshwater fish diversity. Zoos’ Print J., 15(11), 363-367. Dafni A, Lev E, Beckmann S, Eichberger C. 2006. Ritual plants of Muslim graveyards in northern Israel. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2:38. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-2-38 Das R.C. and Sinha A., 2003. Ornamental fish trade in India. Fishing Chimes, 23(2) 16-18.