Question

What is composite fish culture? What are the advantages of composite fish culture?

Answer 1

Hint: The culture forms a market perspective that is competitive, economical, and efficient. Compared to the monoculture it yields about 8-9 times more volume. They live within the pond in various zones and they have distinct feeding habits.

Complete answer:
Composite Fish Culture or Polyculture or Mixed Fish Farming is called stocking of cultivable fish of different species that vary in feeding habits in the same pond. In other words, polyculture or composite fish culture is called the combined or mixed farming of compatible fish species.

Example: Catla feeds on the surface of the water, Rohu feeds on the center area, Mrigal and customary Carp prey on rock bottom , and Grass carp feeds on weeds.

All species use the food available in the pond without competing with each other thereby enhancing the survival of various species within the same region.

The benefits of composite fish production are set out below. They are as follows:
- It increases the fish population.
- Mortality rates are marginal for the composite fish community.
- The farmers get better returns.
- Fish survival rates are rising.
- Compared to monoculture, the variety of fish produced is much greater

Additional Information:
- Fish are chosen from various food ecosystems so they don't compete for food with each other. This ensures the full use of the food resources in the pond. Such a device increases fish yields.
- One problem with such composite fish cultivation is that many of these fish only breed during monsoon. While fish seed is collected from the wild, it can also be mixed with that of other animals. But the lack of availability of good- quality seed is a big problem in fish farming.
- To solve this issue, ways have now been worked out using hormonal stimulation to breed these fish in the ponds. This has ensured that pure fish seed is supplied in sufficient amounts.

Note: Several fast- growing compatible fish species are grown together in a pond inside the composite fish community. It accounts for the best use of food in the pond. In 1971, ICAR launched the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Indian and exotic fish composite culture under various agro- climatic conditions in the region. A full- fledged, organized I.C.A.R (CIFRI) research project on composite fish cultivation was initiated in (1971) with one center in six major fish cultivation states. They are present in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.