Effect of short-term preservation of mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio) semen on motility, fertilization, and hatching rates

Abstract

Mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio) semen was collected by hand stripping for short-term preservation. Two groups of pooled semen were diluted with one of two extenders; a control group was undi- luted. The three groups were stored at 4oC for 72 h. During preservation, spermatozoa motility (%) and duration of spermatozoa movement (s) were determined every 12 h. Following preser- vation, fertilization was carried out using the dry fertilization technique at 1 x 105 spermato- zoa/egg. The highest fertilization rates were 21±3.60% in May and 16.67±2.08% in June, both significantly higher than in the control. The highest hatching rates, 69.60±11.86% in May and 89.13±10.75% in June, did not significantly differ from the control.