Short communication:Effects of stocking density on growth performance and profitability of Labeo bata fry reared in earthen ponds

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of stocking density on growth, production and profitability of farming Labeo bata fry in earthen rearing ponds for a period of 60 days. Labeo bata, fry (mean initial length, 3.42 ± 0.07cm and weight,  1.02 ± 0.06 g) were stocked at 750, 1000 and 1250 decimal-1 in treatment-1(T1), treatment-2 (T2) and treatment-3 (T3) respectively, each with two replicates. Growth performance in term of final length and weight, net length and weight gain, specific growth rate were significantly higher (P<0.05) in T1 than those of T2 and T3. Feed Conversion Ratio followed the opposite trends as specific growth rate. Production in terms of weight was found to be higher in T2 followed by T3 and T1, because of higher stocking density compare to T1 and higher weight gain in comparison to fish reared under T3 as well as insignificance variation in survival rate between T1 and T2. Consistently higher net benefits were found from treatment T2, which could be recommended to adopt. Moreover, further studies are also required to find out suitable culture technique that could enhance the production experimenting with different feeding frequencies as well as by manipulating culture systems.