Introduction
The commonly cultivated six species – Catla (Catla catla) Rohu (Labeo rohita), Marigal (Cirrhinus
mrigala) Silver carp (Hypothalmichthys molitrix), Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and Common
carp (Cyprinus carpio) are considered to be the best culturable species of fishes in the inland water
system. These fishes originally belong to riverine environment and when cultured in standing water
bodies such as ponds and tanks, they attain maturity but normally do not breed under confined
conditions. Special attempts are therefore made to breed them by artificially creating riverine
conditions and stimulating there endocrine system. The technique of breeding fish by other than its
natural course is known as INDUCED BREEDING. Induced breeding techniques have been developed
for production of quality fish seed of culturable varieties. It is one of the most dependable methods of
producing pure seed of desired species of fish. Further this technique has helped to produce fish seed in
those areas where natural collection of fish seed was not possible.
