2 EXPERT Tâ—?PIC
Feed and feeding practices for Catfish in India by B. Laxmappa, Fisheries Development Officer, Department of Fisheries, Mahabubnagar-509001. Telangana, India, e-mail: laxmappaboini@gmail.com
C
atfishes are the second major group of freshwater fishes. India, being a mega-diverse country, harbors 197 species of catfish. Catfishes, owing to their unique taste, are considered a delicacy for the fish consumers, but production of different indigenous catfishes through aquaculture is unexplored in India, although aquaculture contribution of some of the catfish varieties like Ictalurus, Silurus and Clarias spp. has been exemplary in the World scenario. Aquaculture in India has become an industry since late eighties with several entrepreneurs taking up aquaculture with carps, catfishes and prawns. Of late, the Government of India has also identified catfish farming as a National Priority and has placed emphasis on diversification of culture practices. The major chunk of catfish, however, comes from capture resources, which includes air-breathing as well as non-airbreathing varieties. Air-breathing catfishes have greater potentiality to utilise shallow, swampy, marshy and derelict water-bodies for aquaculture, whereas non-air-breathing catfishes can be well suited to normal pond environment.
Cultivable catfish species
There are six catfish species are cultured in India (Table 1). Among six, only two catfish species viz. Pangas and African catfish culture is intensified in the country due to its higher production rates by using various local as well as commercial feeding methods.
Table.1: Commercially cultured Catfish species in India. Sl. No.
Family
Common Name
Scientific Name
1
Clariidae
Magur
Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus)
2
Clariidae
African catfish or Thai magur
Clarias gariepinus (Burchell)
3
Heteropneustidae
Singhi or stinging catfish
Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch)
4
Siluridae
Butter catfish
Ompok bimaculatus
5
Pangasiidae
Pangas
Pangasius pangasius (Hamilton)
6
Pangasiidae
Sutchi catfish
Pangasianodon hypophthalmusÂ
Clarias batrachus: Amongst the catfishes, Clarias batrachus, an obligatory air-breathing catfish known as magur is the most preferred indigenous catfish in India. The culture of magur obtained impetus by the standardisation of its breeding and grow-out farming techniques at the Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA), an ICAR fishery research institute, Bhubaneswar. The fish is currently propagated on a large scale along the north-eastern regions, mainly the State of Assam. Heteropneustes fossilis: It is commonly known as singhi or stinging catfish, has a great potentiality as a candidate species for aquaculture. The presence of accessory respiratory organ helps this to thrive well in shallow and derelict waters with poor oxygen. It contributes to about 15 per cent of inland landings,
mostly from eastern regions and some few south Indian states. Ompok species: Ompok bimaculatus, O.pabda
38 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | November-December 2014