Effects of stocking density and a low-cost conventional diet on the growth, yield and profitability in the cage culture of Sutchi catfish, Pangasius sutchi

摘要

The sutchi catfish, Pangasius sutchi, is a fast growing, omnivorous fish that is highly popular as a food fish and a valuable species in Asian aquaculture. It is extensively cultured by commercial fish farms in Thailand, India and Myanmar. The fish was introduced to Bangladesh from Thailand in 1990s and, since then, has been popular among fish farmers and consumers. Immediately after introduction the fish proved a boon in aquaculture and, at present, the only catfish species used for commercial aquaculture in Bangladesh. Sutchi catfish is suitable for cage aquaculture because it responds well to prepared feeds (Hung et al. 2001), is tolerant of high stocking densities and can be reproduced in captivity (Chattopadhyay et al. 2002). However, culture of this fish has been largely restricted to land-based pond aquaculture systems; cage culture of the fish has remained largely undeveloped.