Pabda (Ompok pabda), a native catfish once plentiful in the rivers, canals and beels of Bangladesh, is now raised by many farmers in ponds. In May 2025 The Agro News's staff correspondent set out a method for growing pabda together with shing and five carps: catla, rui, mrigel, silver carp and grass carp. This guide keeps those steps on pond selection, liming and manuring, stocking, feeding and harvest, and adds background on the fish and the research behind its culture.
The fish and why it matters
Pabda, also called madhu pabda in Bangladesh, is found in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Afghanistan and grows to a maximum of about 30 cm. It lives in beels, ponds, rivers, streams and flooded fields. It is an omnivore that feeds on algae, protozoa, crustaceans and small fish, and it breeds from May to July.
When IUCN Bangladesh assessed 253 freshwater fishes in 2015, it listed 30 as Endangered, pabda among them, citing loss of habitat and lack of awareness. Globally the species is classed as Near Threatened. The Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) has developed a breeding and fry production technology for pabda, as well as fry production and culture management for pabda and gulsha. Hatcheries in Jashore produce fry by induced breeding, and the fish is farmed in Mymensingh and Jashore.
Choosing and preparing the pond
Choose a pond that holds water for at least seven to eight months a year; an older pond that holds water all year and is already used for other fish is better still. Repair the banks of a new pond and clear aquatic weeds. Apply lime at 1 kg per decimal, then two to three days later apply cow dung at 5 kg per decimal so that natural food grows in the water. Remove predatory and unwanted fish before stocking.
How many fingerlings to stock
Stock when the water is 4 to 5 feet deep on average and has turned light green. For mixed culture, release healthy fingerlings at these rates per decimal:
- Pabda, 2 to 3 inches: 50
- Shing, 2 to 3 inches: 100
- Catla, 4 to 5 inches: 5
- Rui, 4 to 5 inches: 10
- Mrigel, 4 to 5 inches: 10
- Silver carp, 4 to 5 inches: 2
- Grass carp, 4 to 5 inches: 2
The carps are combined because they feed in different parts of the pond. According to the FAO manual on polyculture in Bangladesh, silver carp and catla feed near the surface on phytoplankton and zooplankton respectively, rui feeds in the water column on plankton and organic debris, grass carp eats aquatic plants and mrigel feeds on detritus at the bottom, so together they use the whole pond.
Feeding, care and harvest
Give supplementary feed regularly at 3 to 8 per cent of the fish's body weight. In infertile ponds, apply 2 to 5 kg of rotted cow dung per decimal every 15 days to increase natural food. If the water turns dark green, stop the dung and test the pH.
Pabda eat relatively small fish, so make sure the other species are stocked at a larger size than the pabda. By eating unwanted small fish, pabda keep the pond fit for culture and grow faster themselves.
Pabda can be sold once they reach 60 to 70 grams. All the fish can be harvested seven to eight months after stocking, although fish kept for more than a year have been seen to reach more than twice that weight.
Photo: JIBON / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sources: The Agro News (staff correspondent), Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), bdfish.org (IUCN Bangladesh 2015 Red List), Wikipedia
Comments
(0)