Fish culture is classified based on the number of fish species as monoculture and polyculture. This is the culture of single species of fish in a pond or tank. The culture of trout, tilapia, catfish , carps are typical examples of monoculture.

1. Dr. K. Rama Rao, Asst Professor of Zoolgy, Govt. Degree & PG College Page 1
Dr. Karri Rama Rao
CONCEPT OF CULTURES IN FISHERIES
I. Monoculture
Monoculture of aquatic animals is involving to raising or breeding of such as Fin fish,
shell fish, oysters, clams , cockles , shrimps , crayfish , in a controlled water body to marketable
size. Monoculture’ refers to the culture and breeding of a single fish species in a farm. Breeding
performance of a single species can be easily observed and recorded in a monoculture system.
Additionally, it doesn’t involve any competition for feed and space among fishes. The culture of
trout, tilapia, catfish, and carps are typical examples of monoculture. Monoculture in intensive
system is commonly practiced for high value, marketable fish species. It is the only method of
culture used in re circulating system, running water system and in cages wherever the supply of
natural food is limited.
Categories of monoculture:
 Freshwater culture
 Marine water culture
 Brackish water culture
Advantages of Monoculture:
1. Easy to feed fishes.
2. Permits great control over size, age and sex.
3. Easy to monitor.
4. Selective harvest of marketable fish can be employed.
5. Suitable for farmers having limited land resources.
Disadvantages of Monoculture:
1. Natural productivity of pond is not fully utilized.
2. Available space/ ecological niches in water column are not fully utilized.
3. In case of disease outbreaks greater chances of yield loss are there.
4. Cannibalism may also be possible among fish.
5. More risk of regression in water quality like dissolved oxygen depletion.
6. Due to the dependence of fish species on natural food as in common carp fry, fish growth is
affected in case of shortage of natural food.

2. Dr. K. Rama Rao, Asst Professor of Zoolgy, Govt. Degree & PG College Page 2
Cultivable fish species in India:
 Indigenous species: Catla catla, Labeo rohita, L. calbasu, Cirrihinus mrigala, C.cirrhosa.
 Exotic carps: Hypothalmicthys molitrix (silver carp), Cyprinus carpio, Ctenopharyngodon
idella (grass carp) Characteristics of cultivable fish species:
 They must possess fast growth rate.
 They should be able to feed on cheap artificial feed.
 Hardy fishes should be preferred.
 They must have high tolerance against adverse physico-chemical water parameters.
 They should be disease resistant.
 The fishes should be of good nutritional value.
 Easy to harvest.
 They should be prolific breeder.
II. Polyculture
Polyculture is the production of two or more cultured species in the same physical
space at the same time, often with the objective of producing multiple products that have
economic value. They may be a combination of animals, plants and animals, aquatic
species only, or aquatic and terrestrial species.
The culture system generally depends on natural food of a waterbody sometime
augmented artificially by fertilization and/or by supplementary feeding. If artificial food is given
it is a common food acceptable to all or most species that are cultured.
Fresh water
1. Polyculture of Clarias gariepinus and tilapias in Africa.
2. Polyculture of several species of Chinese carps in China, Taiwan etc.
3. Polyculture of several Indian major carp species in India.
4. Polyculture in Indian major carps, Chinese carps and other fish in India (called composite
fish culture in India).
Brackish water
1. Milkfish and shrimp culture in Philippines and Indonesia.
2. Mullet and shrimp culture in Israel. In systems where production depends on natural fish
pond zonation i.e. ecological niches assume great importance.
Advantages
maximum fish production is possible in intensive polyculture.
more profit from fish farming is possible.

3. Dr. K. Rama Rao, Asst Professor of Zoolgy, Govt. Degree & PG College Page 3
creates many employment opportunities.
intensive polyculture of fish is fully controlled by a farmer.
more fish can be cultivated and production from the short places.
Disadvantages
Intensive polyculture of fish is very expensive and risky.
In this system the probability of diseases is most.
This farming system get obstructed due to lack of better facilitated artificial farm.
It is not possible to make the fish big sized in this system.
Intensive polyculture needs highly experienced employee.
III. Composite fish culture
Composite fish culture is a method in which five or six different types of fish species are
grown together in a single fish pond. Fish with different food habitats are selected so they don’t
fight with each other for food. This guarantees that the food supplies in the pond are completely
utilized. Such a system improves the fish yield.
Example: Catla feed on the water surface, Rohu are feeders for the middle region, Mrigal and
Common carp are feeders for the bottom and Grass carp feeds on weeds.
Advantages
Increases the yield of the fish.
Ensures the full utilization of food in the pond.
Disadvantages
Difficulty in recognizing which seed belongs to which of the species.
Lack of availability of good quality seeds.
To breed fishes using hormonal stimulation.
The supply of pure fish seeds and that too in desired quantity.
Types of fish culture

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IV. Monosex Culture
Monosex refers to the culture of either all-male or all-female populations, The sex in fishes is
genetically determined by sex chromosomes. The chromosomes are distinguished as autosome
and sex chromosomes. However, this distinction on cytological basis is difficult as the
chromosomes in fishes are tiny and usually numerous.
An interesting phenomenon has been observed that the sex in fishes can be reversed, male can be
converted to female functionally and female can also be converted into functional male, this is
known as sex reversal or monosex culture.
This can be done artificially with the treatment by male hormones, androgens (include
testosterone an androgenic C 19 steroid) and female hormone, estrogens. Estrogens are C 18
steroids.
The monosex strategy has become a common practice in fish culture, and attempts have been
made to apply it to crustacean culture.
Advantages of Monosex Culture
1. Monosex culture is a solution to overpopulation caused by high fecundity.
2. Monosex culture has advantage when one of the sex have superior production traits, better
growth rate or higher marketing value.
It the super-males (YY) are mated with normal females (XX), the all offspring from these YY
males will produce nearly 100% male.
Disadvantages of Monosex Culture
The great disadvantages is that such hormone treated fish cannot be used for human consumption
and due to government regulation on the use of chemical on food fish.
V. Integrated Fish Farming
Integrated fish farming is a system of producing fish in combination with other
agricultural/livestock farming operations centered around the fish pond. The farming sub-
systems e.g. fish, crop and livestock are linked to each other in such a way that the
byproducts/wastes from one sub-system become the valuable inputs to another sub-system and
thus ensures total utilization of land and water resources of the farm resulting in maximum and
diversified farm output with minimum financial and labour costs.

5. Dr. K. Rama Rao, Asst Professor of Zoolgy, Govt. Degree & PG College Page 5
The integrated fish farming provides fish along with meat (chicken, duck, beef, pork etc.), milk,
vegetables, fruits, eggs, grains, fodder, mushroom etc. This practice has potential to increase the
production and socio-economic status of weaker section of our society.
Live-stock fish farming:
 Poultry-cum-fish farming. This system utilises poultry droppings of fully built- up poultry litter
for fish culture.
 Duck-cum-fish culture.
 Pig-cum –Fish culture.
 Cattle-cum-fish culture.
 GOAT-cum fish integration.
 Rabbit-fish integration
Ex: Fish cum Poultry System
To develop an integrated system of poultry production and fish culture, the first thing a farmer
has to reorganize is the poultry raising and the stocking structure of fish. Although fish
production is the more profitable component, in a integrated system the profitability of poultry
sub-system must also required to be a self sustaining activity be ensured, or, at least, the poultry
sub-system must pay for itself.
The modern methods of poultry raising require sophisticated management which seems to be
beyond the capacity of most of the rural fish farmers. It may be easier for a proven poultry
farmer to integrated fish culture with his poultry rearing rather than a fish farmer integrating
poultry raising in his fish farming system.
Considering consumer's preference and local price structure, only three types of poultry farming
is economically viable.
a. Chicken egg production
b. Duck egg production
c. Chicken meat (broiler) production in selected places
Advantages of fish cum chicken integration
Following are some of the additional advantages when fish culture is integrated with chicken
raising on/or near the pond dykes:
The direct discharge of fresh chicken manure to the fish ponds produces enough natural
fish feed organisms without the use of any additional manure/fertilizer.
The transportation cost of the manure is not involved.

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The nutritive value of applied fresh manure is much higher than dry and mixed with
bedding materials e.g. saw dust or rice husk.
Some parts of the manure is consumed directly by the fish.
No supplementary feed is needed for the fish.
No extra space is required for chicken farming. Chicken sheds can be constructed overthe
pond water or on the dyke.
More production of animal protein will be ensured from the same area of minimum land.
The overall farm production and income will increase.
Disadvantages
(1) The fingerlings released should be of more than 10 cm size, otherwise the ducks may feed on
the fingerlings. The sludge that remains is utilised as fertilisers in agriculture.
(2) The water in the field is to be maintained at a desired level.