Introduction to Catla catla

Dr Anukriti Nigam
Fergusson College (Auto.)
Pune
Prepared by: Dr Anukriti Nigam

INTRODUCTION
 Catla catla is commonly known as catla.
 There are several local names of Catla fish in India – They are bhakur, boassa,
chepti, katla, tambra (Hindi, marathi),botcha (Telgu), katla, thoppu meen
(Tamil), katla (Kannada), Karnatka, katla (Malyalam), pla kra ho (Bengali),
thambra (Gujarati).

Systematic Classification :-
 Kingdom -Animalia (Linnaeus, 1758)
 Phylum - Chordata (Bateson, 1885)
 Sub-phylum - Vertebrata (Cuvier, 1812 )
 Class - Pisces
 Sub-class - Actinopterygii (Ray finned fishes)
 Family- Cyprinidae (Minnows & carp)
 Genus - Catla (Hamilton &Buchanan, 1849)
 Species - catla (Hamilton,1822)
 Scientific name - Catla catla(Hamilton, 1822)

* Catla was first Recorded in 1822 as
Cyprinus catla by Hamilton Buchanan.
Habit and Habitat
Catla catla is a planktivorous carp.
Preferably feeding on zooplankton.
It is fresh water surface feeder.
Distribution
It is predominant in Asia: Pakistan, India,
Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar.

Catla - Natural food and feeding habits
Catla is a surface feeder.
Feeding preferences and nutritional requirements change
according to the developemental stage.
 Maximum feeding activity is seen during the morning
hours (6.00 to 9.00)
Larvae of Catla show positive selection for cladocerans,
copepods and nauplii.
Larvae starts feeding after 4 days of hatching on
Brachionus sp., Ceriodaphnia sp..
 Feeds on large sized prey once the mouth gap increases.
 Fingerlings feeds on planktonic algae, vegetable debris
along with larger size zooplankton.
Adults predominantly feeds on the surface and in mid-water.
They are planktivorous and show a preference for
zooplankton Prepared by: Dr Anukriti Nigam

Catla – Growth(Fastest growing fish)
The average size of freshly hatched catla larvae is
4.7 mm .
After 5, 10 and 15 days may reach an average size
of 9, 15.6 and 27 mm, respectively
Growth dependents on the density of the fishes
stalked.
It is rapid (7 to 10 cm per month) and allometric (W
= 0.0069 L3.201, r = 0.999; length range: 23–91 cm,
weight range: 175–12, 000 g) (Ahmed et al., 2003).

Prominent/Identifying characters
 Lips prominent and thick.
 Lower jaw with a movable articulation at the symphysis but
without a prominent knob
 Brbles absent .
 Dorsal fin is long inserted above tip of pectoral fin with 17-19
rays and without any spine, (Jayaram, 1981).

External caracters
 Body Colouration -grayish on the dorsal side and silvery on the
lateral and ventral side.
 Fins colour –blackish over all but pectoral, ventral and anal fins have
orange tings at the base.
 Body shape - deeply notched,dorsal profile more convex than that of
ventral , stout .
 Scales – cycloid ,except on mouth and head present through out.
 Eyes –large , placed in front half of head with three orbital margins.
 Mouth -wide, upturned with prominent protruding lower jaw.
 Snout - bluntly rounded. Some pores are visible on the snout.
 Lips- thick, fringed.
 Head -large and broad. Length of head ranges from 4.1cms to 4.7cms
and height of body from 3cms to 3.5cms in total length.

Other features
Catla is fleshy and noted for its delicacy and valued very
high in the market.
It is one of the most productive food fish in India.
It is one of the fastest growing fish in the country it grows
up to 182 cm in total length.
Barbells absent.
Dorsal fin is long commences slightly in advance of the
ventral fin, it is inserted above the tip of pectoral fin with
1-19 rays.
Pectoral fin is located slightly behind the ventral fin.
Caudal fin is forked. Simple rays non-osseous.

Fin formula of Catla catla
D.18 ,P.19 ; V.9; A.8; C.19; L.I. 40-42;
L.tr.7.5-5, (Gupta and Gupta, 2006).

Breeding
Catla attains sexual maturity at an average age of two
years and an average weight of 2 kg.
 Catla breed during the monsoon season in rivers.
It responds well to hypophysation.
Under captive conditions during the breeding season the
dorsal surface of the pectoral fin of the males becomes
rough and on applying gentle pressure on the belly milt
oozes freely from the genital papilla.
Female has a soft, round, bulging belly and a swollen,
pinkish genital opening.

Other Details:-
 In India, mostly three different types of ponds are used for
carp culture , they are nursery ponds (0.02–0.05 ha, water
depth 1.0–1.5 m), rearing ponds (0.05–0.1 ha, water depth
1.5–2.0 m) and stalking pond (0.1–2.0 ha, water depth 2–3 m).
 To enhance the production of fish food organisms , liming and
fertilization of rearing ponds at regular intervals is essential .
 Lime is applied at the rate of 250-300 kg/ha in three equal
monthly instalments. The first dose is applied one week prior
to stocking of fry (Jhingran 1991).
 Both organic and inorganic fertilizers can be used.
 Cattle-dung is used at a rate of 2 500 kg/ha in four equal
instalments.
 The initial dose is applied 14 days prior to stocking of fry.

Continued……
 Inorganic fertilizers like urea (100 kg/ha) or ammonium
sulphate (200 kg/ha) and single super phosphate (100
kg/ha) or triple super phosphate are applied at a rate of 35
kg/ha in 3 equal instalments during the rearing period.
 On second day after stocking the first instalment of
inorganic fertilizers is applied and thereafter at monthly
intervals, alternating with organic fertilizers (CIFRI,
1985).
 It is important to avoid fertilization during algal blooms in
the pond.
 The application of Azolla in fish ponds at the rate of 40
tonnes/ha/year fulfils all nutrient requirements for
intensive carp culture.

Catla - Supplemental feeds & feeding
 Catla is fed supplementary diets using combinations rice
bran, various de-oiled seed cakes, fishmeal, etc.
 Other alternative feeds are mixtures of powdered aquatic
insects, prawn and cow peas, fishmeal and groundnut
oilcake. Feed is normally spread once a day over the pond
in the morning .
 Once the fish attains the desired characters t is stocked and
then sold in the market.

THANK YOU

Introduction to Catla catla

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