Nursing duration and pond fertilization level affect polycultures of Indian major carp (rohu Labeo rohita and mrigal Cirrhina mrigala) with monosex Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of nursing duration on the subsequent performance of rohu (R) Labeo rohita and mrigal (M) Cirrhina mrigala in polyculture with monosex male Nile tilapia (T) Oreochromis niloticus at four levels of pond fertilization. Nile tilapia, rohu and mrigal were stocked at a ratio of 4:1:1 in a 90-day trial based on 40 20-m<sup>2</sup> pens fixed in four 400-m<sup>2</sup> earthen ponds. Growth of carp fingerlings during prolonged nursing (5 or 12 months) was stunted compared with fish nursed over a conventional duration of 3 months (3) but showed superior growth subsequently. Mean daily weight gain of stunted rohu (12) ranged from 2.2 to 2.8 g per fish day−1 compared with 1.1–1.6 g per fish day−1 for younger fish (3). The comparable ranges for mrigal were 1.9–2.8 and 1.4–2.1 g per fish day−1. Growth of Nile tilapia was inversely related to duration of carp nursing at the four levels of fertilization. Nile tilapia showed more response to increasing levels of fertilizer input (Y=−1.421+1.716X, where Y is the daily weight gain of Nile tilapia and X is the fertilizer level, r2=0.98, P0.05), but younger mrigal (M3) grew faster than rohu (2.1 g per fish day−1 and 1.6 g per fish day−1 respectively). Older rohu (12) appeared to perform particularly well, and Nile tilapia poorly at the lowest level of fertilization (1.5 N:0.75 kg P ha−1 day−1), suggesting the impact of age of seed on competition within polycultures. The net fish yield (NFY) of tilapia was not affected significantly (P&gt;0.05) by differential stocking age of carps; therefore, combined NFY of the three experimental fish species was not affected by the age of carp, as tilapia was the dominant species in polyculture. The highest combined NFY of all species in the most intensively fertilized pond (3.0 N:1.5 P kg ha−1 day−1) was calculated at 4.06±0.08 g•m−2 day−1, which was significantly higher (P

Citation

Bhujel, R.C.; Hossain, M.A.; Little, D.C. Nursing duration and pond fertilization level affect polycultures of Indian major carp (rohu Labeo rohita and mrigal Cirrhina mrigala) with monosex Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. Aquaculture Research (2003) 34 (9) 765-775. [DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2109.2003.00883.x]

Nursing duration and pond fertilization level affect polycultures of Indian major carp (rohu Labeo rohita and mrigal Cirrhina mrigala) with monosex Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus

Published 1 January 2003