Preparing for ICAR-ASRB NET, JRF, BFSc/MFSc entrances, or state fisheries officer exams? The Indian Major Carps — Catla, Rohu and Mrigal — plus their exotic cousins are the single most-tested topic in every fisheries exam. Here are 20 practice MCQs covering species identity, feeding zones, composite fish culture, and the history of induced breeding in India. Attempt the questions first, then check the answer key below. Every answer is backed by official or authoritative sources (FAO lecture notes, NIScPR, ICAR publications).
Practice Questions
Q1. The three Indian Major Carps (IMCs) are:
- (a) Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cyprinus carpio
- (b) Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus mrigala
- (c) Catla catla, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Cirrhinus mrigala
- (d) Labeo rohita, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Puntius sarana
Q2. Which Indian Major Carp is a surface feeder, inhabiting the surface layer of the pond and feeding predominantly on plankton?
- (a) Rohu
- (b) Mrigal
- (c) Catla
- (d) Calbasu
Q3. In composite fish culture, the column/middle-zone feeder is:
- (a) Catla
- (b) Rohu
- (c) Mrigal
- (d) Silver carp
Q4. Which of the following is a bottom feeder that consumes detritus and organic matter at the pond bottom?
- (a) Catla
- (b) Grass carp
- (c) Rohu
- (d) Mrigal
Q5. Which Indian Major Carp is considered the fastest-growing of the three?
- (a) Mrigal
- (b) Rohu
- (c) Catla
- (d) Calbasu
Q6. Composite fish culture is also popularly known as:
- (a) Monoculture
- (b) Polyculture
- (c) Cage culture
- (d) Raceway culture
Q7. In composite fish culture, how many different species of compatible carps can typically be cultured together in a single pond?
- (a) Two to three
- (b) Five to six
- (c) Eight to ten
- (d) Only one species at a time
Q8. According to Alikunhi (1957), the recommended stocking ratio of Catla : Rohu : Mrigal in a pond for good yield is:
- (a) 1 : 1 : 1
- (b) 2 : 2 : 1
- (c) 3 : 3 : 4
- (d) 4 : 3 : 3
Q9. The first successful induced breeding of Indian Major Carps in India was achieved in the year:
- (a) 1930
- (b) 1947
- (c) 1957
- (d) 1962
Q10. The historic first success in induced breeding of carps in India (10 July 1957, at Angul, Odisha) was achieved by:
- (a) Hiralal Chaudhuri and K. H. Alikunhi
- (b) K. H. Alikunhi alone
- (c) The FAO inland fisheries team
- (d) The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute
Q11. Induced breeding of fish by injecting pituitary gland extract is technically known as:
- (a) Hypophysation
- (b) Cryopreservation
- (c) Gynogenesis
- (d) Triploidy induction
Q12. In traditional induced breeding, pituitary gland extract is injected because the gland secretes:
- (a) Insulin and glucagon
- (b) Gonadotrophins (FSH and LH)
- (c) Thyroxine and calcitonin
- (d) Adrenaline and noradrenaline
Q13. The silver carp and grass carp — now standard components of composite fish culture in India — were introduced into the country in:
- (a) 1949
- (b) 1959
- (c) 1969
- (d) 1979
Q14. Which exotic carp is specifically stocked to control aquatic weeds in composite fish culture ponds?
- (a) Silver carp
- (b) Common carp
- (c) Grass carp
- (d) Bighead carp
Q15. The scientific name of the silver carp is:
- (a) Ctenopharyngodon idella
- (b) Cyprinus carpio
- (c) Hypophthalmichthys molitrix
- (d) Aristichthys nobilis
Q16. The scientific name of the grass carp is:
- (a) Hypophthalmichthys molitrix
- (b) Ctenopharyngodon idella
- (c) Mylopharyngodon piceus
- (d) Cirrhinus molitorella
Q17. Indian Major Carps do not breed in confined stagnant waters mainly because:
- (a) The water is too deep for them
- (b) They lack the needed ecological stimuli to secrete the required quantity of gonadotrophic hormones
- (c) They are sterile in captivity
- (d) Their eggs cannot survive in pond water
Q18. In nature, Indian Major Carps spawn in:
- (a) Deep ocean trenches during winter
- (b) Flooded shallow areas along river courses during the monsoon, or in special bundh ponds
- (c) Underground aquifers
- (d) Estuarine mudflats throughout the year
Q19. Which of the following is a surface feeder commonly stocked along with Catla in composite fish culture?
- (a) Silver carp
- (b) Mrigal
- (c) Common carp
- (d) Rohu
Q20. To commemorate the historic first induced breeding success of 10 July 1957, the Government of India declared 10 July as:
- (a) World Fisheries Day
- (b) National Fish Farmers’ Day
- (c) Blue Revolution Day
- (d) Inland Fisheries Day
Answer Key
- (b) — The IMCs are Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Cirrhinus mrigala (FAO lecture notes on composite fish culture in India).
- (c) — Catla is the surface feeder, feeding predominantly on plankton.
- (b) — Rohu is the column/middle-zone feeder.
- (d) — Mrigal is the bottom feeder, consuming detritus and organic matter.
- (c) — Catla is one of the fastest-growing Indian major carp species.
- (b) — Composite fish culture is also called polyculture.
- (b) — Five to six compatible species can be cultured together in one pond.
- (c) — Alikunhi (1957) recommended a 3:3:4 ratio of Catla : Rohu : Mrigal.
- (c) — First success in inducing the Indian Major Carps: 1957 (Chaudhuri & Alikunhi).
- (a) — Hiralal Chaudhuri and K. H. Alikunhi achieved the first success on 10 July 1957 at Angul, Odisha.
- (a) — Injection of pituitary extract to induce breeding is called hypophysation.
- (b) — The pituitary secretes gonadotrophins — FSH (follicle maturation/spermatogenesis) and LH (spawning).
- (b) — Silver carp and grass carp were introduced in India in 1959 (FAO).
- (c) — Grass carp feeds on aquatic weeds/macrovegetation.
- (c) — Silver carp: Hypophthalmichthys molitrix.
- (b) — Grass carp: Ctenopharyngodon idella.
- (b) — IMCs mature in confined waters but do not breed there, owing to the lack of the ecological stimuli needed for gonadotrophin secretion (FAO).
- (b) — They breed in flooded shallow areas along river courses during the monsoon, or in specialised bundh ponds.
- (a) — Silver carp is a surface feeder stocked alongside Catla.
- (b) — 10 July is observed as National Fish Farmers’ Day, declared by the Government of India in 2001.
Quick Revision Notes
- Feeding zones: Catla = surface, Rohu = column, Mrigal = bottom, Grass carp = weeds, Silver carp = surface (phytoplankton).
- Composite culture formula: surface + column + bottom feeders together = maximum use of pond food resources (polyculture).
- Landmark date: 10 July 1957 — first induced breeding of carps in India (hypophysation), celebrated as National Fish Farmers’ Day.
- Exotic trio: Silver carp, grass carp, common carp — silver and grass carp introduced in 1959.
Sources: FAO “Lecture Notes on Composite Fish Culture and its Extension in India” (K.K. Sukumaran, CIFRI); NIScPR biography of Dr. Hiralal Chaudhuri (“Father of Induced Breeding”); ICAR-CIFRI/CIFA publications on composite fish culture. Facts verified 23 October 2026.