A. testudineus

Transmission electron microscopic observation showed deformation in nucleus and mitochondria (Figure 1.7), damage in rough endoplasmic reticulum, and vacuolations in stomach of A. testudineus (Figure 1.8), but only deformed mitochondria and vacuolations were observed under field condition and damages were less than laboratory condition (Figure 1.9).

Present study is reporting first time the toxicity of the sulfonylurea-based commercial agrochemical, Almix with regard to histological and ultrastructural observations through scanning and transmission electron microscopy in A. testudineus under field and laboratory conditions on comparative basis, although Senapati reported histopathological alterations under laboratory condition in oesophagus, buccopharynx, stomach and intestine of A.

Banerji and Prasad (1974) reported that reproduction and fecundity of A. testudineus in Indian waters but information about reproductive potential of this species in Malaysia is still scarce.

Considering the scarcity of published information on the reproductive biology and economic importance of climbing perch an investigation on the fecundity of A. testudineus was undertaken.

A. testudineus breeds in paddy fields and seasonal ponds with at least 10-25 cm depth.

[31] developed a viable induced breeding technique for A. testudineus, and showed that its culture could be highly profitable[44] no detailed data on other important aspects of climbing perch culture are available[57,51,3,4].