There are over 1200 different marine and freshwater

catfish, of which only a few freshwater species are important to the commercial farmer In Europe (Hungary and Yugoslavia), culture of European catfish, sheatfish or wels (Silurus glanis) is well developed In Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia), Clarias batrachus (walking catfish), Clarias macrocephalus (Asian catfish) and Pangasiodon hypophthalmus (=Pangasius sutchi) (Stripped catfish) are cultured In USA, Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is most widely cultured. Other cultured species are Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) and White catfish (Ictalurus catus) In Africa, African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) is widely cultured species

Low market value specis- low in food chain

(herbivorous, planktivorous, omnivorous) - Carps,

tilapia, milk fish
High market value species- high in food chain

(carnivorous)-High income group countriesYellowtail, seabream/seabass, salmonids

Middle and low income group countries- catfishes,

snakeheads

Silurus glanis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818)

Ictalurus punctatus

Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)

Clarias gariepinus

Pangasiodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage, 1878)

Pangasiodon hypophthalmus

There are 32 valid species of Clarias in Africa. Of these C. gariepinus is

most important for aquaculture. It is synonymus with Clarias lazera

Has an almost pan-African distribution, fron Nile to west Africa and

from Algeria to Southern Africa

Has been introduced to other countries outside Africa Inhabits calm waters from lakes, streams and rivers to swamps, some

of which are subject to seasonal drying

Body elongated cylindrical; dorsal and anal fins are extremely long,

nearly reaching the caudal fin; both fins contain only soft fin rays
The outer pectoral ray is a spine. Pelvic fin normally has six soft rays Head is flattened, highly ossified Has four pairs of unbranched barbels- one nasal, one maxillar (longest)

and two mandibular

Has scaleless skin which is darkly pigmented in the dorsal and lateral

parts of the body

Colour uniform, ranges from greyish olive to blackish according to

substrate
The accessory breathing organ allows the fish to survive for mabny

hours out of water or few weeks in muddy marshes

Feeds mainly on aquatic insects, fish and debris of higher plants.

Also feeds on terrestrial insects, molluscs, fruits

May be considered as omnivorous with a high tendency to

predation
There is no prominent sexual dimorphism except the males have a

more pointed uro-genital papilla whereas this papilla has the form of a longitudinal groove
In natural subtropical climate, first maturity reaches after one year

of age (200-300 g)
Under artificial conditions, C. gariepinus matures after about six

months when they have attained weight of about 200 g.

In nature, fecundity ranges from 10,000 to 2,00,000 eggs/female

(250-2000 g). Eggs are slightly oblong and have a yellowish-green

colour. Size of egg is 1.2-1.6 mm.

One gram of stripped eggs contain 600-900 eggs Peak maturity occurs during July-September in tropical areas Spawning takes place mostly at night in recently inundated

marginal areas of a lake, stream or river

No parental care except careful choice of a suitable site Development of eggs and larvae is rapid and larvae are able to

swim within 48-72 hrs of fertilization

As spawning does not occur spontaneously in captivity, artificial

methods are required to produce large numbers of fry and fingerlings for culture

Normally grown to market size in earthen ponds, either in

monoculture or in polyculture, especially with tilapia

Semi-intensive polyculture and intensive monoculture are

carried out in ststic ponds, using double crop system in a year

Optimum size of grow-out ponds is 0.04-0.10 ha Rectangular pond Average water depth 1.0 m

Based on fertilization and supplementary feeding

In such system, catfish will thrive on zooplankton,

benthos, tilapia offspring and supplementary feed whereas tilapia will consume phytoplankton, benthos and supplementary feed
Pond is prepared in usual way In addition, pond should be equipped with atleast one

compost crib placed in a corner near the inlet and made of bamboo or wooden stakes. Radius of crib ranges from 1.5 to 3.0 m for 400 to 1000 sq m pond respectively
A square floating bamboo frame (2-3 m per side) is fixed at

the feeding place in pond

Fingerlings are stocked as soon as ponds are filled with water

Stocking rate depends on the marketable size of fish

If higher marketable size is desired, catfish may be stocked at

a lower rate, but not less than 0.5 fingerling/sq m

In polyculture with monosex tilapia (1-2/ sq m), a stocking rate

of 0.5-1.0 fingerling catfish/ sq m is recommended, depending on the quality of supplementary feed Species Catfish Tilapia Marketable size 200 g 100 g Weight of fingerling 1-5 g 5-20 g Stocking rate 2 fingerling/cu m 2 fingerling/cu m

After stocking, the natural production of pond should be

regularly maintained by addingg mainly organic fertilizers

Prior to water filling, each compost crib is filled up with

layers of organic material such as animal waste, agricultural waste(grass, vegetable waste, brewery waste

etc) household waste (spoiled fruits, kitchen waste, ashes)

or ready-made compost
After stocking of fish, compost crib should be maintained

by adding organic waste at regular intervals, according to

the degree of decomposition of compost and plankton

development (water colour, transparency)
Alternatively, ponds can be regularly fertilized by keeping

organic material ready at ponds edge

Day

Estimated Biomass (kg/100 sq m) 2.6 5.4 11.5 21.4 30.0 42.8 52.6

Feeding Rate (%/day) 8.5 5.5 3.5 2.5 2.0 1.6-2.0 -

Amount of Feed (g/100 sq m/day) 200 300 400 500 600 700-900 harvest

Stocking 30 50 90 120 150 180

Preparation of pond is similar to that of polyculture except

compost crib
Stocking: 2-10 fingerling/cu m corresponding to a

marketable size of 500 and 200 g respectively after 6 months

Feeding: feed of 40-45% crude protein level at the rate of 2

to 8% of body weigh daily in two instalements ( morning and evening)

Harvesting: after 6 months Harvested weight: 200-250 g at stocking rate of 10 fingerling/

sq m
Survival 50-70%