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Estimation of nutrition profile of edible fishes is essential and thus a bio-monitoring study was carried out to find out the nutritional composition of commonly available fishes in Agatti Island water of Lakshadweep Sea. Protein, carbohydrate, lipid, ash, vitamin, amino acid and fatty acid composition in the muscle of ten edible fish species were studied. Proximate analysis revealed that the protein, carbohydrate, lipid and ash contents were high in Thunnus albacares (13.69%), Parupeneus bifasciatus (6.12%), Hyporhamphus dussumieri (6.97%) and T. albacares (1.65%), respectively. Major amino acids were lysine, leucine and methionine, registering 2.84–4.56%, 2.67–4.18% and 2.64–3.91%, respectively. Fatty acid compositions ranged from 31.63% to 38.97% saturated (SFA), 21.99–26.30% monounsaturated (MUFAs), 30.32–35.11% polyunsaturated acids (PUFAs) and 2.86–7.79% branched fatty acids of the total fatty acids. The ω-3 and ω-6 PUFAs were ranged 13.05–21.14% and 6.88–9.82% of the total fatty acids, respectively. Hence, the fishes of Lakshadweep Sea are highly recommended for consumption, since these fishes are highly enriched with nutrition. The results can be used as a baseline data for comparing the various nutritional profiles of fishes in future.

Breeding and rearing some of the clownfishes most commonly used in the aquarium trade actually represent an economical and ecological tool for broadening development. Culture of clownfish species in low-saline water is still in its infancy. Salinity of the culture environment is one of the more relevant parameters affecting fish physiology, modifying food intake and growth performance in many fish species. The objective of this study was to breed skunk clownfish (Amphiprion akallopisos) in aquarium condition, document the embryonic development, determine the upper and lower lethal salinities of juveniles, tolerance of five different salinities (20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 ppt) and their effect on the survival rate of larvae. Higher (53-55 ppt) and lower (3-6 ppt) salinities produced loss of appetite and movement, finally leading to mortality in juveniles. In a ninety six hour experiment, larvae showed 100% survival at the salinities of 30 (control) and 35 ppt and 88% survival in 40 ppt salinity and 76% survivals in 20 and 25 ppt. In conclusion juveniles of A. akallopisos exhibit satisfactory rates of survival and no signs of stress in high (up to 53 ppt) and low saline (up to 6 ppt) waters. These results demonstrate that using such salinities, which can reduce the incidence of diseases and mortality, does not produce significant physiological alterations in this species. In addition, descriptive studies on embryonic development and mass scale larval rearing were also carried out during the present study.

Breeding and mass scale larval rearing of clownfi sh Amphiprion percula is very limited in brackishwater. We designed an indoor program of A . percula culture in brackishwater with a salinity of 24±1, during which the impacts of feed type, water temperature, and light intensity, on the effi ciency of its reproduction, were revealed. The fi sh were accommodated along with sea anemones in fi bre glass tanks to determine the infl uence of brooder diet on breeding effi ciency. Higher reproductive effi ciency [number of eggs laid (276  22.3 eggs)] was observed when fi sh were fed live Acetes sp. rather than clam (204  16.4 eggs), trash fi sh (155  12 eggs) and formulated feed (110  10 eggs). The spawning rate was increased during September and October (water temperature, 28.74  0.55°C) on average of 2.4 spawning per month; and low spawning rate was in January (water temperature, 24.55  0.45°C) on average of 1 spawning per month. Among three light intensities (100, 500, and 900 lx) set to evaluate larval survival rate, larvae showed the highest survival rate (65.5%) at 900 lx. The breeding method specifi cally in brackishwater developed in the present study is a new approach, will help the people from the regions of estuary and backwater to enhance their livelihood and it will lead to reduce the exploitation from the wild habitat.

In this study, barcoding of 13 clownfish species of the Indian Ocean was carried out to infer the phylogenetic relationships among them by analyzing cytochrome oxidase 1 (CO1) and cytochrome