Ponds and water bodies in our country are very suitable for pangas farming. For commercial fish farming, various species can be raised profitably alongside Thai pangas, including tilapia, koi, galda prawn, shing and magur. Here is how integrated pangas farming in ponds works.

Pangas is very suitable for pond culture and can easily be raised in water bodies or ponds that hold water for 5-6 months. Choose a pond that can be dried easily, has a water supply when needed, allows easy transport of fish and feed to the bank and, above all, gets enough sunlight.

In Bangladesh, by using balanced pelleted feed, it is possible to produce 8-10 tonnes of fish per acre in one year by raising tilapia, koi, galda prawn, shing and magur with pangas.

The pond must be dried thoroughly. After drying, apply lime at one kg per decimal. If mud remains on the bottom, mix the lime well into it. Add water 4-5 days after liming.

Collect good-quality pangas, tilapia and shing fingerlings from a known fish farm, and release carp fingerlings too. The success of farming depends largely on good-quality fingerlings of the right size. Per acre, a pond can be stocked together with 9,000 to 10,000 pangas, 5,000 to 7,000 tilapia, 100 to 200 rui, 100-200 mrigel and 3,000 to 4,000 shing fingerlings.

Give each day exactly as much feed as the fish can eat, and provide protein feed. If necessary, give poultry feed in the right amount. Fish in ponds where the water is changed regularly eat more, so they must be fed more.

Change part of the water as needed to keep conditions good. Every 15 days apply lime and table salt together at 250 grams per decimal. Never give more feed than needed. If oxygen runs short, arrange to add water to the pond. If the water turns too green, reduce feeding. When a pond is densely stocked, the fish come up to the surface at feeding time and birds of prey can catch them, so a net can be put over the pond.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.