Male Betta Fish Reproduction under different Routine Photoperiods

Abstract

Betta fish production is increasing yearly due to the utilization of synthetic hormones by farmers to speed up the gonad maturation process. This poses a significant risk by leaving behind residue that pollutes the water. To address the issue, photoperiod manipulation was explored as a potential solution to accelerate gonad maturation in betta fish. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the reproductive performance of betta fish subjected to different photoperiod regimes based on morphoanatomical and histological aspects. The method applied was a completely randomized design, where male Betta fish were kept for 45 days under different photoperiod treatments, namely P1 (10 h Light:14 h Dark), P2 (14L:10D) and P3 (Control). Morphoanatomical aspects were observed using indices such as GSI, VSI and HSI, while histological analysis was conducted to assess spermatogenesis stages. The results showed that the highest morphoanatomical index was detected in P2 (GSI 43.88%; VSI 32.93%; HSI 29.69%). Following closely were the P1 (GSI 27.92%; VSI 15.14%; HSI 13.57%) and P3 (GSI 15.53%; VSI 10.40%; HSI 14.37%) groups, which also had a positive correlation (significant 0.05) between GSI, VSI and HSI. Additionally, P2 showed the preeminent spermatogenesis stage, with spermatozoa dominating (34.71%), followed by P1 (23.96%) and P3 (18.89%). The spermatogenesis stages in this study were positively correlated with GSI (99.99%), HSI (94.39%) and VSI (78.35%). Considering these results, the P2 regime (14L:10D) provided an optimal photoperiod for the maturation of Betta fish testes.