Evaluation of hormonal treatments on bioreproductive and physiological parameters of striped wallago catfish Wallago leerii during domestication

Striped wallago catfish (Wallago leerii), a freshwater catfish species with high economic value, has been extensively exploited in Indonesia. Therefore, domestication is necessary to ensure the sustainability of this species through a hormonal approach. This research aimed to evaluate hormonal treatments on the bioreproductive and physiological parameters of broodstocks during domestication. Collected broodstocks from Kampar River, Indonesia, were adapted in semiconcrete ponds and fed daily with live tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and bonylip barb (Osteochilus vittatus) fingerlings at a rate of 5% weight of biomass per day. Selected broodstocks (length:55.59 ± 5.21 cm; weight:1.60 ± 0.53 kg) were randomly divided into three experimental grdoups with four replicates each. Each group was injected with human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), Spawnprime™, and Ovaprim™ hormones (0.1 mL/kg body weight). Egg sizes, fecundity, fertility rate, hatching rate, embryo development, and estradiol, glucose, hemoglobin, and cortisol levels were analyzed. HCG and Ovaprim™ treatment led to significant improvements in egg diameter compared to Spawnprime™ (p < 0.05). This finding was supported by an increase in estradiol levels (p < 0.05). However, HCG and Ovaprim™ did not reach optimal performance, as shown by the low fertility rates (9.83–12.33%), hatching rates (24.06–34.17%), and larval abnormalities. Hormone injection did not significantly impact the glucose level for all treatments (p > 0.05). On the other hand, hemoglobin was significantly lower in the HCG- and Ovaprim-treated broodstocks at the end of the experiment (p < 0.05), while the other treatments did not show significant differences (p > 0.05). Significant differences in cortisol levels were identified in all treatments (p < 0.05), except for the HCG-treated broodstocks (p > 0.05). In conclusion, HCG and Ovaprim™ improved striped wallago catfish gonadal maturation up to artificial spawning, whereas Spawnprime™ had a weak effect. The usage of hormones on gonadal maturation impacted some of their physiological parameters.