Observation of Embryonic and Postembryonic Development of Great White Catfish Wallago attu
YANG Yang1, ZHONG Tian2, DING Huiping2, PENG Li3, WANG Yuesong1, GAN Xing1, CHEN Rui1, SONG Rulin4, ZHANG Zhiming1,5
1. Key Laboratory of Ecological Impacts of Hydraulic Projects and Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystem, Ministry of Water Resources, Institute of Hydroecology, Ministry of Water Resources and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430079, China; 2. Hubei Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, School of Animal Science and Nutritional Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan 430023, China; 3. Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower INC, Kunming 650000, China; 4. China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, Beijing 100120, China; 5. Innovation Team of the Changjiang Water Resources Commission for River and Lake Ecosystem Restoration Key Technology, Wuhan 430079, China
Abstract：In order to investigate the embryonic and post-embryonic development of great white catfish Wallago attu, the domesticated wild great white catfish with body weight of more than 5 kg was firstly injected with luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone A2 (LHRH-A2) 3 g/kg and secondly injected with LHRH-A2 9 μg/kg + dioxone maleate (DOM) 6 mg/kg + human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) 200 IU/kg. The fertilized eggs obtained by dry insemination were incubated in incubation box with small flowing water, and the development characteristics of embryos, larvae, and juvenile were observed, with the developmental timeline recorded. The results showed that great white catfish had spherical golden-yellow adhesive eggs. The mature eggs had diameter of (1.5±0.1) mm, and expanded to (1.7±0.1) mm upon water absorption. The entire embryonic development progresses were divided into nine stages, including fertilized egg stage, blastoderm disk stage, cleavage stage, blastula stage, gastrula stage, neurula stage, closure of blastopore stage, organogenesis stage, and hatching stage. The hatching thermal accumulation was found to be (651.51±15.00) ℃·h at water temperature from 26 to 28 ℃, with the tail being the first to break through the egg membrane. The newly hatched larvae had average total length of (4.4±0.5) mm, began “swimming” at 20 hours post-hatching, and initial feeding at 24 hours. Inadequate feeding often led to cannibalism, and the fish developed into the juvenile stage at 5 days post-hatching, and reached the young fish stage by 10 days, with total length of (52.0±4.3) mm, when the fin rays were fully developed, body coloration resembled that of adult fish, and the lateral bands were clearly visible. Great white catfish had good growth, with total length of (160.0±28.0) mm by day 30 post-hatching. The findings indicated that the mature artificial breeding technology led to great potential for aquaculture development.
杨洋, 钟天, 丁慧萍, 彭李, 王岳松, 甘星, 程睿, 宋儒霖, 张志明. 叉尾鲇早期生活史研究[J]. 水产科学, 2025, 44(6): 997-1005.
YANG Yang, ZHONG Tian, DING Huiping, PENG Li, WANG Yuesong, GAN Xing, CHEN Rui, SONG Rulin, ZHANG Zhiming. Observation of Embryonic and Postembryonic Development of Great White Catfish Wallago attu. Fisheries Science, 2025, 44(6): 997-1005.
2025, Vol. 44 
