Detailed Explanation of Key Points for Artificial Breeding Techniques of the Chinese Sucker

The Chinese sucker, also known as huangpai, xuepai, fenpai, huoshaobian, muyepan, hongyu, zibian, yanqueyu, huopai, Chinese sailfin sucker, and so on, grows in the Yangtze River system of China and is an oviparous animal; there has been no successful breeding in aquarium environments. Its body shape is peculiar and its colors are vivid; especially the juvenile fish has a unique body shape, brilliant colors, and swims quietly. It is honorably called "smooth sailing" and enjoys the reputation of "Asian mermaid" in Southeast Asia. It is a rare freshwater species endemic to China.

Living Habits of the Chinese Sucker

The Chinese sucker prefers to move in the middle and bottom layers of the water and cannot tolerate low oxygen. Its body shape is peculiar; especially the juvenile fish has a unique body shape and swims quietly, and it will change body color with emotional changes. It feeds frequently and is an omnivore, able to eat regardless of the state of the food; its food includes brine shrimp, red earthworms, and vegetables. The Chinese sucker is an oviparous animal, but there has been no successful breeding in aquarium environments. When the male fish approaches the female fish, nodules appear on the head and fins.

The Chinese sucker lives in lakes and rivers. Juveniles and adults have different forms, habitats, and biological habits. Juvenile fish like to gather among gravel in slower-flowing water and mostly move in the upper layer of the water body, while subadults are in the middle and lower layers, and adults prefer open water areas of rivers and move quickly and agilely. It can coexist peacefully with rasboras, mackerel, and Siamese algae eaters, but cannot be mixed with croakers and loaches.

Adult Chinese suckers can reach a maximum body length of 1 m. Because of their slow growth, they can live to 25 years old in a closed environment. Generally, sexual maturity is reached at 6 years of age, with a body weight of about 10 kg. Every year in mid-February (around the Rain Water solar term), parent fish whose gonads are close to maturity all swim upstream, and breed in rapids from March to May. The spawning grounds in the Yangtze River are in the Jinsha River, Min River, Jialing River, and other places. After spawning, the parent fish still linger near the spawning grounds until the water recedes in autumn, and only then return to the deep water of the main stream to overwinter. The Chinese sucker grows relatively quickly; 1-year-old fish can reach a body length of about 200 mm, mature individuals generally can reach a body weight of 15-20 kg, and the largest individual can weigh up to 30 kg.

Selection and Cultivation of Parent Fish

1. Selection of Parent Fish

According to the breeding habits of the Chinese sucker, select mature parent fish in their natural spawning grounds. Every year around "Start of Spring," the Chinese sucker begins to migrate back to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and successively enters the Min River and other tributaries. At the beginning of the breeding season, not many fish enter the spawning grounds, mainly males. As the water temperature rises, the fish schools gradually concentrate and expand. In mid-to-late March, most parent fish have already swum upstream, and females increase. When the water temperature rises above 13°C and other external conditions are suitable, most parent fish spawn and fertilize on gravel shoals with swift currents. At this time, mature parent fish can be caught. The smallest sexually mature parent fish caught in the Yangtze River: female fish body length 82 cm, body weight 9.2 kg, 7 years old; male fish body length 76.5 cm, body weight 8 kg, 5 years old.

Parent fish used for breeding can also be cultivated in ponds from first-generation or second-generation fry and fingerlings, and high-quality individuals can then be selected from them and cultivated into parent fish. However, the selected parent fish should be: male fish 5 years old, female fish 6 years old or older, with a plump and robust body shape, smooth and glossy body surface, no disease or injury, and a body weight preferably above 7-8 kg.

2. Cultivation of Parent Fish

Cultivating excellent parent fish is an important task in artificial breeding. Only with mature and excellent brood fish can spawning be induced smoothly and successfully, the fertilization rate and hatching rate be improved, and mortality during the fry-rearing process be reduced. First, it is necessary to provide parent fish with sufficient, palatable, high-quality bait to meet the nutritional needs of gonadal development. Generally, pellet feed containing more than 35% crude protein, chilled fish paste, or chilled fish paste mixed with eel feed is fed in lumps. However, practice shows that the Chinese sucker likes to eat aquatic earthworms most, so parent fish cultivation should correctly control the daily feeding amount according to seasonal changes and the characteristics of gonadal development of parent fish. Generally, the feeding rate is 3% in April-May, 4%-5% in June-August, 3%-4% in September-October, 1%-2% daily feeding in November-December, and a small amount in January-March. Pay special attention to controlling the feeding amount about 30 days before spawning to avoid parent fish becoming too fat, and adopt flowing water or flushing water once every 5 days to stimulate gonadal development and maturation. In addition, during parent fish cultivation, strengthen pond water quality management and disease prevention and control to create an excellent ecological environment for parent fish cultivation.