EVALUATION OF COLOUR DEVELOPMENT OF ROSY BARB, PUN-TWS CONCHONIUS (HAMILTON) DURING ONTOGENY

摘要

Wide variety of colour and colour patterns are the characteristics of ornamental fish species. The commercial value of these fish depends on the vibrant colour along with the size and shape of body and fins. Rosy barb (Puntins conchonius) is one of the prospective indigenous ornamental fish species of India having considerable high commercial importance (Felix et al., 2012; Kurup et al., 2012). The bright orange and yellow colour of the fish is the consequences of ingestion and metabolism of the pigment carotenoids, which the fish cannot synthesize de novo but acquires from the food. However, a few studies have tracked carotenoid status and colour development in rosy barb during ontogeny. Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate thedevelopmental pattern of colour and their relation with tissue carotenoid content in rosy barb during ontogeny, from hatching to 39 days post-hatch (dph).