Food intake, conversion efficiency and growth of Hamilton’s pethia ticto (Ticto barb) from a Himalayan stream

Abstract

Garhwal Himalaya has a wide network of aquatic bodies in the form of rivers, lakes, tributaries, reservoirs, wetlands and ponds. These water bodies harbor very good fish diversity hence can be used for intensive fish culture. Pethia ticto was collected with the help of casting net and other local fishing methods from the Khanda Gad, a tributary of Alaknanda River that is also an important tributary of River Ganga. The study on food consumption was made by offering the food items of known weight and number to fishes and careful observations were made. The initial and the final weights of the fishes were taken and the growth was calculated. Among artificial feed, soya meal fed groups showed the highest conversion ratio (7.21:1) and semolina (suji) fed groups showed the lowest (6.95:1) conversion ratio. The present work is to develop a scientific approach for the management and conservation of the important fish (Pethia ticto) of Garhwal Himalaya.