LAUSR

Abstract Present study was undertaken to explore the possibilities of inducing maturity and spawning of T. putitora under captivity through manipulation of environmental cues i.e. photoperiod and temperature. In experiment I, adult T. putitora were subjected to three photoperiod (8L:16D, 12L:12D and 16L:12D) regimes for 100 days. In females, darker photoperiod (8L:16D) significantly decreased the plasma estradiol levels compared to 12L:12D and 16L:8D photoperiods. Plasma 17α, 20β-diOH-P was significantly (p   .05) effect of temperature was observed on plasma levels of 11-KT of both sexes. Experiment III was meant to explore the possibility of achieving captive spawning by simulating natural spawning ground using a gravel bed bio-filter. Natural spawning occurred after four months of rearing in the simulated facility. Subsequently, fishes further spawned seven times in a period of 4 months on an interval of 15–20 days. Overall, our results suggested that captive maturity and spawning of golden mahseer can be achieved by manipulating the environmental cues. The results solved the prevailing decadal issue of captive maturation of golden mahseer which otherwise has been a major bottleneck for its wide spread rehabilitation and conservation programmes.