Q.What is composite fish farming?

Composite fish farming is the practice of stocking multiple, ecologically compatible fish species together in a single pond so that different species exploit different feeding niches, increasing the pond's overall productivity.

In a natural or artificial pond, food and space resources are distributed across different zones — the water surface, the middle water column, and the bottom (benthic zone) — and different fish species naturally prefer to feed in different zones. Composite fish culture (a form of polyculture) takes advantage of this by stocking, in the same pond, a carefully chosen combination of local (Indian) and sometimes exotic fish species that:

• Have different feeding habits (e.g., surface feeders, column feeders, bottom feeders), so they do not compete directly for the same food.
• Are non-predatory towards one another, and grow well together.

A classic Indian example combines catla (surface feeder), rohu (column feeder) and mrigal or common carp (bottom feeder), sometimes along with exotic carps such as silver carp (surface) and grass carp (a weed-eater).

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