Abstract: We investigated various aspects of the reproduction process of the dark sleeper (Odontobutis potamophila), including nest selection, egg incubation, postnatal growth of parents and fry, as well as cannibalism. The results showed that O. potamophila parents preferred nests located in the middle regions of water bodies around ponds. The most effective method for hatching fry was found to be in hatchery tanks with males, which exhibited the lowest Saprolegniasis (29.13%). Through the annual monitoring of growth and fecundity in both parent and fry ponds of O. potamophila, we observed that the specific growth rate (SGR) of fry peaked in September, declined notably in October, approached 0 during winter, turned negative during the subsequent breeding period, and then rapidly rebounded post-breeding. The SGR trend in the parent pond mirrored that of the fry pond, with the exception that the peak SGR for the parent pond occurred in October. Fry reached maturity by the following year, exhibiting complete gonadal development and readiness for reproduction. Absolute fecundity was recorded at (1157±666) eggs, significantly lower than the (2570±943) eggs observed in the parental pond. However, relative fecundity (112.78±19.97) eggs/g was significantly higher than that of the parental pond (89.05±26.25) eggs/g. In addition, we developed a predictive model, TLprey=0.701TLcannibal –8.043, based on phenomenon of cannibalism within the species during the breeding process. Additionally, we proposed a hierarchical breeding technique for seedling cultivation, suggesting the separate breeding of individuals with a difference exceeding 1.55 times the total length ratio in intensive breeding setups. These findings contribute to the advancement of artificial breeding techniques for O. potamophila.