Freshwater aquaculture in India is mainly dominated by Indian major carps and Chinese carps, with exotic species such as pangasius catfish, pacu and Nile tilapia gaining popularity in recent years. The country is blessed with wealth of indigenous fish species which support capture fisheries and fetch high price in local market. Populations of many such indigenous species have declined in recent years due to various factors such as habitat modification, climate change and pollution. Developing captive breeding technologies for locally important species and bringing them into aquaculture has the potential to both aid in conservation and contribute to food and economic security of the farmer. Cauvery River which flows through Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is the second largest River in Peninsular India and is home to over 145 species of which over 20% are endemic to the river and over 60% are native to the Western Ghats. During the survey in last 3 years, we recorded 5 species of large growing fish, from upper and middle reaches of Cauvery, which are highly priced as food fish and have potential as candidates for aquaculture. Two of these species; the porthole catfish Hemibagrus punctatus and Wayanad mahseer, Neolissocheilus wynaadensis are listed as critically endangered, while the pink carp, Hypselobarbus micropogon is listed as endangered. Carnatic carp, Hypselobarbus carnaticus and shovel nose catfish, Sperata aor are listed as least concern. All of these species have the capacity to grow above one kilogram and are highly regarded as food fishes. Our observation in the field indicate that these species spawn in the wild between June and November. wild collected juveniles have proved amenable to captive conditions and suggest potential for culture. Developing captive breeding technologies for these species will prove beneficial for both conservation efforts and aquaculture.