Introduction of Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque) in Pakistan and its Performance During Acclimatization and Pond Culture

Two thousand fingerlings of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were imported from Thailand in a bid to introduce this fish in Pakistan. Five percent mortality occurred during transportation. Experiments were designed to observe catfish acclimatization in tanks or raceways for which five hundred fingerlings (average weight 10.86±1.20g) were placed in five tanks of 2000-liter water capacity and another 500 fingerlings (average weight, 10.56±0.68g) were kept in five raceways of 5000-liter water capacity each. The fish were fed on imported diet for a period of 75 days. Mean weight gain of 27.22±1.75 g and 31.5±1.04 g and surv~7.5% and 95.9% were recorded in tanks and raceways, respectively. For studying growth of fish two stocking densities (3,000 and 3,500/ha) were maintained in ponds (0.04 ha) from December 2003 - November 2004. The weight gain was significantly higher in low stocking density (1,263.3 ± 60.9 g) compared with high stocking density (1,184.9±57.1 g). Fish production and survival between two stocking densities was not different (P>0.05).