Semen characteristics of the amazonian jundiá (Leiarius marmoratus Gill, 1870)

Abstract

The study evaluated qualitative and quantitative characteristics of Amazonian jundiá semen. The experiment was carried out in February 2015 at Cia do Peixe, a company located in Goiás state, Brazil, that specialises in fish fry production. Three male L. marmoratus farmed in dugout ponds, weighing 1.34 ± 0.29 kg and measuring 39.33 ± 1.15 cm in length, were tested. The specimens were captured and transferred to a 1000-L tank at the Reproduction Laboratory of the abovementioned company. Water temperature was measured at 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., and the fish were fed twice daily. For semen collection, the fish were captured from the tank using a dip net and constrained with a wet cotton towel. Their eyes were covered and their urogenital papilla was cleaned and dried with paper towel. Semen was collected in microcentrifuge tubes that were immersed in ice and analysed immediately. On average, the sperm motility rate was 83.33%, motility duration was 5.33 min, sperm concentration was 1,795,833 cells/ mm³, and vigour was 4. The morphological analysis of the sperm revealed tail anomalies in 17.66%, midpiece anomalies in 20%, and head anomalies in 5.33%. Based on qualitative and quantitative characteristics, L. marmoratus semen was shown to be suitable for use in artificial reproduction procedures.