Fabrication and in-pond operation of a low-cost, semiautomated portable carp hatchery with a temperature-adjustability feature

ABSTRACTThe present study describes a simple, portable, and inexpensive in-pond hatchery model assembled from locally available materials for seed production of small and medium-sized carp at high efficiency. This light-weight hatchery requires minimal engineering skills for assembly and operation. Further, the hatchery water supply mechanism has built-in components to filter out sediments and zooplankton from the pond water besides maintaining the water temperature 5°C–7°C lower than the pond surface water by drawing water from a metalimnion layer without additional energy requirements. Spontaneous spawning, automatic transfer of eggs to the incubation tank, and 80% hatching rates at an egg-holding capacity of 2,000 eggs/L was recorded for Barbonymus gonionotus, Labeo bata, and Labeo rohita with minimal human intervention. The production capacity of 0.06 million fry per cycle and estimated benefit-cost ratio of 2.48 demonstrated the high efficiency and economic feasibility of this portable hatchery.