INDUCED SPAWNING OF MOGGEL, LABEO UMBRATUS (SMITH) (PISCES: CYPRINIDAE)

Abstract

Ripe female Labeo umbratus, captured in Lake Mentz on the Sundays River, were artificially spawned following a series of injections with human chorionic gonadotrophin and homogenized L. umbratue pituitaries. The eggs were stripped and fertiUzed with milt from untreated male fish using the dry method. They started hatching 39 hours after fertilization at water temperatures of 20,0 − 26,5 °c. The possible ecological significance of aspects of the egg and larval development is discussed. The potential importance of the artificial propagation of this commercially important species is also outlined.