Reproductive biology of blue tang fish (Paracanthurus hepatus Linnaeus, 1776) in Khanh Hoa seawater, Viet Nam

Abstract

Blue tang fish (Paracanthurus hepatus Linnaeus, 1776) is one of the most popular fish caught in Khanh Hoa seawaters for aquarium. A study on reproductive biology was conducted to evaluated the reproductive parameters including gonadal development stages, sex ratio, spawning season, fecundity and size at first sexual maturity. Results showed that, number of male and female in the nature was not significantly different. Gonadal of the fish passed through five stages of maturation. The histological screening of gonad, percentage of maturation stage and gonadal somatic index value of the fish showed all year round spawning with a peak of spawning female from April to September. Length at first sexual maturity of the fish was 149.2 mm. Fecundity ranged from 1.527 – to 20.618 ovaries/ and strongly related to weight and length.