GROWTH POTENTIAL, BODY COMPOSITION AND STRESS RESPONSES IN Pangasius hypophthalmus WHEN CULTURED WITH INDIAN AND CHINESE CARPS

Present study was focused to record the growth, body composition and stress responses in pangas (Pangasius hypophthalmus) when cultured with Indian major carps (Labeo rohita and Cirrhinus mrigala), Chinese carps (Hypophthalmicthys molitrix, Ctenopharyngodon idella) and Cyprinus carpio. The experiment was carried out in earthen ponds with an area of 0.03 ha each, for 90 days. There were three treatments and control groups, each having two replicates. Total 400 fish were stocked in polyculture system of different species at different ratios with P. hypophthalmus. The fish were weighed, measured at the time of stocking and after every fortnight 10 fish of each species were captured randomly by drag net for monitoring growth indices. The results indicated highest final weight, net weight gain and final length of P. hypophthalmus in T₁ compared to other species and higher than T₂, T₃ and control. The FCR and % SGR values of all species in T₃ were found comparatively better than T₁ and T₂ while among species the better FCR was recorded for P. hypophthalmus. In case of T₃, the highest % weight gain was observed for P. hypophthalmus (39.2%) and common carp (49.2%). Proximate analysis showed non-significant differences among different treatments. Similarly, stress responses were found in polyculture and monoculture with minimum variation. It is concluded that polyculture of pangasius with only Indian or with mixed culture of Indian and Chinese carp proved best combination with reference to weight gain and overall fish production.