UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

In fresh water aquaculture, fish was and still is the main component used in culture (Dabbadie and Lazard, 2010). Though culture of fishes in ponds is one of the age old professions of the world, it started gaining prominence only recently because of the realization that this source can supply rich and proteinaceous food for human consumption. However, even with a large diversity of fishes, the majority of fishes used for culture in fresh water belongs to carps, murrels, catfishes, climbing perch and giant gourami. Hence, the present study was attempted to cuture Red-bellied Pacu (Piaractus brachypomus-Cuvier 1818) which belongs to the order Characiformes and Family Serrasalmidae (Class: Actinopterygii). The aquatic system chosen for the present investigation is a fresh water pond situated in Swamimalai in Kumbakonam Taluk of Tanjore District, Tamilnadu. The details regarding the characteristics of this Pacu culture systems, stocking detail, details of feed given and growth rate are presented. As evident from the table, the size of fingerlings introduced into pond varied from 5.1 to 8.4 cm with an average length of 6.38 cm and an initial weight ranging from 4.7 to 7.2 g with an average weight of 5.41 g. In general, the feed consisted of a mixture of fish meal, Soya meal, rice bran, coconut oil cake, tapioca and mineral mix in different concentrations.  Initially they are given 1% of the body weight which gradually was increased to 3% of the body weight at the end of 3^rd month of culture. The growth of fish after a period of 6 months in terms of length was found range between 23.6 and 31.2 cm with an average length of 27.4 cm and the weight between 780.7 and 910.3 gms with an average weight of 895.4 gms. The survival rate at the end of culture was found to be 96%.  The total weight at the end of the culture was 578.62 kg. Thus, the culture of this fish fetched Rs.120447.60. The total expenses incurred for this culture was Rs. 39180.00. The total profit worked out to Rs. 81267.60. The result of the culture trial clearly reveals that it is profitable. Practicing this culture can increase the economic conditions of the fisher folk. Further, this type of culture can also be practiced by the village women using small ponds. With expertise from trained personnel, the profit can definitely be increased.