Composite Fish Culture

Fish & Aquatic Ecology Unit

Department of Zoology
Rajiv Gandhi University

EATING 100g FISH A DAY KEEP THE

DOCTORS AWAY

World fish consumption -16.3Kg

Indian fish consumption 9.0Kg

Why fish culture?

Provides nutrition
Provides income
Provides employment

Where, fish culture?

Low lying areas

Perennial water source
Accessibility
Free from pollutants

Types of Culture
Monoculture
Polyculture

What is Composite fish culture?

Culture of different fast-growing and
compatible species having different feeding
habits, in the same pond is called composite
fish culture or polyculture or mixed
farming.

According to the depth, a pond can be

divided in to three distinct zones
I. Upper surface zone
II. Middle column zone
III. Bottom zone
A particular species exploits a particular zone

Surface

Catla

Rohu

Mrigal

Column

Silver carp

Grass carp

Bottom Common carp

In this multi-species culture system, the fishes

utilize all the ecological niches of the pond
1. Catla (Catla catla) surface feeder
2. Rohu (Labeo rohita) column feeder
3. Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) bottom feeder
4. Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) Feeds on macro-vegetation
5. Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
surface feeder
6. Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) bottom
feeder

Surface feeders

Catla

Silver carp

Column feeders

Rohu

Grass carp

Bottom feeders

Mrigal

Common carp

Management of Composite
Fish Culture Pond

Management practices
Pre-stocking
Stocking
Post-stocking

Pre-stocking management
a) Weed clearance
Why?
Aquatic weeds reduce the living space available
for fish
Prevents entry of sunlight into the pond
Consume nutrients from the pond affects the
production of fish food organisms (plankton)
Provides shelter to fish enemies
Causes obstruction for harvesting of fish
Excessive growth upsets oxygen balance

Unmanaged weed
infested pond

Managed pond

b) Eradication of unwanted fish

Why?
The unwanted fish compete for food, space and
oxygen with the fingerlings of cultivable carps
Some fishes may prey upon the carp fingerlings
How?
Dewatering ensures complete removal of
unwanted fish
In ponds, where dewatering is not possible,
mahua oil cake @ 2000-2500 kg/ha-m depth is
recommended

Dry the pond until the bottom gets

cracks. Help in eradication of
unwanted and harmful microorganisms, removal of some toxic
gases from pond bottom, kill the
parasites.

Unwanted fish for CFC

c) Manuring
Why?
Manuring ensures production of natural fish
food in the pond (phytoplankton &
zooplankton)
How?
If mahua is applied, Raw Cow Dung (RCD)
should be applied 7 days after mahua
application @ 5000 kg/ha
If mahua is not applied, RCD should be applied
@ 10,000 kg/ha, 15 days before the stocking of
fish seeds

RAW COW DUNG (RCD)

d) Liming
Liming is done after 7 days of RCD application
Why?
Liming is done to correct the acidity
It also helps to keep the pond hygienic

Dose of lime for different soil types

pH of soil

Type of soil

Dose of
(kg/ha)

4.5-5.0

Highly acidic

2000

5.0-6.0

Moderately acidic

1200

6.0-6.5

Mildly acidic

1000

6.5-7.0

Near neutral

400

7.0-7.5

Mildly alkaline

200

lime

Stocking
a) Stocking density
A stocking density of 7500
fingerlings/ha is recommended

nos.

of

A stocking density of 6000 fingerlings/ha

would be ideal when the rearing period is
limited to about 8-10 months

b) Species combination
In North Eastern Region, the species combination and
proportion depends on the altitude of the place
In lower altitudes (upto 2500 ft msl) with warm
temperature 20% Catla : 20% Rohu : 15% Mrigal :
20% Silver carp : 10% Grass carp : 15% Common carp
In medium altitudes (upto 3500 ft msl) - 20% Catla :
10% Rohu : 10% Mrigal : 30% Silver carp : 10% Grass
carp : 20% Common carp
In higher altitudes (above 3500 ft msl & below 4500 ft
msl) - 40% Silver carp : 25% Grass carp : 35% Common
carp

c) Stocking size
Fingerlings of 100-150 mm size are ideal
for stocking, particularly in the colder
climatic conditions of NEH Region

Post-stocking management
a) Supplementary feeding
Rice polish and mustard oil cake is fed to the
fishes in a ratio of 1:1 by weight @ 3% of their
body weight of fishes
The feed can be adjusted by regular monitoring
of food consumption from the feeding trays
Feed is administered twice daily morning and
evening

 The feed ingredients made a dough placed in feeding basket

For grass carp, chopped green vegetation
are provided on feeding trays made of
bamboo
10-15 trays will be required for a 1 ha. pond

 Aquatic and terrestrial vegetation including

fodder grasses and vegetable wastes can be
supplemented for grass carp
Grass carp is fed at least 1hr prior to the
feeding of rice polish+M.O.Cake
Feed for the grass carp can be provided on a
feeding tray (made of split bamboo in a
rectangular form)

A view of the feeding basket

Feeding in progress

b) Fertilization
Periodic organic and inorganic manuring is
essential for production of fish food organisms
in the pond
Cow dung is applied as organic manure @ 1000
kg/ha/month.
Urea @ 25 kg/ha/month and single
superphosphate @ 30 kg/ha/month are applied
as inorganic fertilizers
The inorganic manure should be applied by
mixing with mud to facilitate slow leaching

Mode of application of
inorganic fertilizer

 Inorganic manure is normally applied after

15 days of application of organic manure
Fertilization should not be done during
cloudy weather and when algal blooms
appears

c) Liming
Liming is done once in a month @ 25 kg/ha
(300 kg/ha/yr), two days after the
application of organic manure

Mixing of lime

Application of lime

d) Raking
Raking of pond bottom is done, a day after
liming
Raking can be done by netting or by
dragging branches of tree or by a rope tied
with bricks
Raking helps in proper mixing of lime with
the bottom sediment and also helps in the
release of obnoxious gases trapped at the
bottom

Growth and health care

The growth and health of fish is to be regularly
monitored by periodic netting, atleast once in two
months
If feed provided is not consumed, either the fish are
suffering from some disease or the water quality is
deteriorated
Quantity of feed needs to be adjusted based on the
growth increment of fish
A bath in potassium permanganate solution is necessary
for the netted fishes, before releasing back into the pond

Checking the growth of fish

Potassium permanganate
bath for netted fish

Harvesting and Production

If managed properly, a fish production of
2000-3000 kg/ha/yr can be obtained, with a
net profit of Rs.40,000-45,000/- can be
expected

Generally practiced for 12 months

Catla
Rohu
Mrigal
Silver carp
Grass carp
Common carp

800gm-1kg
600-800gm
400-600gm
1.0-1.2kg
1.0-1.5kg
800gm-1.0kg

N
o

Economics (12 months culture period in a 1ha pond)

A.Expenditure
1

Weed clearance

1,000.00

Mahua Oil Cake (2500kg @

Rs.4.50/kg)

11,250.00

Lime (1500kg@ Rs.6.00.kg)

9,000.00

Cow dung (20,000kg @ Rs.

30.00/Quintal)

6,000.00

Urea (250kg @ Rs.6.00/kg)

1,500.00

SSP (300kg @ Rs.5.00/kg)

1,500.00

Fingerlings (@7500 nos./ha)

15,000.00

Feed i) Rice bran (2625kg @

Rs.4.00/kg)

10,500.00

ii) M.O.C (2625kg @

Rs.7.00/kg)

18,375.00

Netting

2,000.00

1
0

Miscellaneous

5,000.00

Total Expenditure

81,125.00

B.Return

Fish for health

Fish for income
Fish for enjoyment
Fish for hobby
FISH FOR ALL
GROW MORE FISH FOR A HEALTHY TOMORROW