Finding the suitable catfish species for cage aquaculture in a freshwater swamp

Abstract

The experiment was carried out for 94 days in the renowned Ratargul Freshwater Swamp Forest of Bangladesh in order to assess the production performance and economics among three locally high-demand catfish species with a view to selecting suitable species for cage culture. Magur (Clarias batrachus), pabda (Ompok pabda) and pangas (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) were stocked in Treatment-1 (T 1 ), Treatment-2 (T 2 ) and Treatment-3 (T 3 ), respectively at stocking densities of 40 fish/m 3 , 60 fish/m 3 and 40 fish/m 3 , respectively with three replications each. The mean initial weights of fish were 25.35±0.55 g in T 1 , 15.45±0.30 g in T 2 , and 18.16±0.55 g in T 3 . Fishes were supplied with commercial floating starter feed at the rates of 10-5% live body weight of fish for the first month, and grow-out feed at the rate of 4% body weight from the second month to till the end of the experiment. Species were sampled monthly. Results show that the average individual harvesting weight of fish was 141.93±9.86 g in T 1 , 53.22±3.07 g in T 2 and 363.75±12.09 g in T 3 at the end of the experiment which was significantly different among the treatments. Total yield was found significantly higher in pangas (13.20±0.69 kg/m 3 ) than magur (3.71±0.14 kg/m 3 ) and pabda (2.86±0.27 kg/m 3 ). Though there were no significant differences among the benefit-cost ratios for all the treatments, the highest was accounted for T 3 (1.25±0.08), followed by T 1 (1.22±0.05) and T 2 (1.19±0.11). The findings of the present experiment suggest that pangas could be a suitable species followed by magur and pabda for cage farming in freshwater swamps.

Production and economics of Gangetic mystus (Mystus cavasius) farming under different feed restriction periods in cages of floodplain ecosystem

“…The maximum NH 3 -N was recorded in T 2 whereas 0.03 mg L -1 was reported in T 1 , T 3 and T 4 . In another study of cage aquaculture, average values for water temperature, conductivity, TDS and transparency were measured in the floodplains of the Ratargul Swamp Forest and found within the acceptable range without any appreciable change (Kunda et al 2022). Ara et al (2020) recorded water temperature, pH, DO and NH 3 -N as 21.11 ± 0.33 -21.11 ± 0.33C, 7.41 ± 0.02 -7.54 ± 0.13, 7.09 ± 0.08 -7.19 ± 0.11 mg L -1 and 0.001 ± 0.001 -0.002 ± 0.000 mg L -1 respectively in a study on cage culture in a floodplain ecosystem.…”

Inclusion of near‐threatened micronutrient‐rich small indigenous species (SIS) dhela (Osteobrama cotio) in pond aquaculture

“…The following formulae were used to evaluate the different parameters of fish production (Kunda et al., 2021, 2022): $$$$\begin{equation}{\mathrm{Weight\ gain }}\left( {\mathrm{g}} \right)\ = \ {\mathrm{Final\ weight }}\left( {\mathrm{g}} \right)\ - \ {\mathrm{initial\ weight }}\left( {\mathrm{g}} \right)\end{equation}$$$$ $$$$\begin{equation}{\mathrm{Survival\ rate }}\left( \% \right) = \frac{{Number\,of\,fish\,harvested}}{{Initial\,number\,of\,fish stocked}}\ \times 100\end{equation}$$$$…”

Effect of Stocking Densities on Growth and Production Performance of Bheda (Nandus nandus) in Pond Aquaculture

“…The fish were then weighed in a computerised electronic scale with a 0.01 g precision before being immediately released into the ponds without inflicting any discernible harm to the fish. Following some previous research (Brett and Groves, 1979;Kunda et al, 2021Kunda et al, , 2022, the growth, survival, and production abilities of fish were examined as follows:…”