Abstract
For evaluation of growth rate of any aquatic organism, weight is the most reliable variable along with number of organisms stocked in confined space. The present study was focused on the suitable ratio (organism/sq.feet) of Cirrhinus mrigala at which they were exhibit best growth. The neonatal of Cirrhinus mrigala (0.5±0.15 g.) were stocked under two different systems i.e. raceways (8’x55’= 440 sq.ft) 5 in numbers and glass aquaria (1’x3 = 3 sq.ft) also 5 in numbers. They were fed with a mixed diet containing rice protein 40%, rice polish 30%, rice bran 20% and rice flour 10 %. All raceways were stocked @ 2.27, 9.09, 33.36, 40.90 and 45.45 neonatal/ sq.ft and all aquaria were stocked @ 3.00, 9.09, 33.33, 41.00 and 45.33 neonatal/ sq.ft. The specific growth rate (SGR) was observed to be the best in raceway # 4 (17.0) compared to other raceways 7,8,14 & 15 with sequence of raceways # 1,2,3,5 as well as to the aquarium (5,3,2,2,1). The weight gain was also found to be significant in raceways 3,4 and 5 (4.6,5.3 and 4.3 g. respectively). The computed neonatal production per year was significantly increased from 84 to 204g when optimal ratio existed between space and stocking rate.
