The Effect of Soaking Eggs in Natural Plant Extracts on Embryogenesis, Hatching, and Survival of Pawas Fish Larvae (Osteochilus Hasselti CV)

The pawas fish (Osteochilus hasselti CV) is an economically important freshwater fish commodity, but the availability of quality fry remains a constraint in aquaculture activities. This study aims to analyze the effect of egg immersion using various natural plant extracts on embryogenesis development, hatching time, abnormalities, and pawas fish larvae survival. The study was conducted at the Fish Breeding and Breeding Laboratory, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, University of Riau, from August to October 2025 using a completely randomized design with five treatments and three replicates, namely control without soaking, pineapple extract, star fruit extract, cherry leaf extract, and papaya leaf extract. Fertilized eggs were soaked for 4 minutes and then incubated. The results showed that soaking the eggs in natural plant extracts affected the observed parameters. The best treatment was obtained by soaking the eggs in 4 mL/L cherry leaf extract for 20 hours and 14 minutes, which resulted in the lowest number of abnormal larvae and the highest survival rate of 64.03%.