Updated: 3 October 2026

For most Indian farmers with a normal village pond, the safe choice is a mix of catla, rohu and mrigal, with grass carp and common carp added only where the pond and market suit them. Catfish, murrel, pabda and freshwater prawn pay more per kg, but published figures for them are thinner and the seed is harder to get.

The table gives figures reported in ICAR and state sources. "Not confirmed" means the cited sources do not give the figure. For pond preparation and feeding, see the fish farming guide; for the full section, see fish farming; for money, see project cost.

Species at a glance

Species and systemStocking densityCulture periodYieldMarket sizeSource
Catla, rohu, mrigal, standard pond5,000 per ha of 50 to 100 g fingerlings10 to 12 months4 to 5 t per ha800 g to 1.25 kgNABARD model 2013, via TNAU
Catla and rohu, intensive, Andhra Pradesh8,000 to 10,000 per ha, with feed9 to 12 months10 to 13 t per haCatla 1.5 to 2 kg, rohu 1 to 1.5 kgGlobal Seafood Alliance 2007 (secondary)
Catla, rohu, mrigal, grass carp, common carp, Tripura10,000 per ha, ratio 2:1:1:2:1June to AprilBest trial 5,650 kg per haGrass carp grew fastest, common carp slowestICAR NEH Region, Tripura, 2007
Pabda with carpsTook the mrigal share of 7,500 per ha (4:3:3)8 monthsPabda 144 kg and carps 2,440 kg per haNot statedICAR NEH Region, IJF 2020
Magur, alone20,000 to 50,000 per ha7 to 8 months3 to 4 t per ha100 to 120 gICAR review, IJF 2018
Singhi, trial pond10,000 per ha10 monthsNot confirmedNot confirmedICAR NEH Region, IJF
PangasiusNot confirmedNot confirmed15 to 50 t per ha a year reportedNot confirmedICAR review, IJF 2018
Murrel (Channa)12,000 to 15,000 per ha of 8 to 10 cm fingerlings8 monthsSurvival 90 to 95%; yield not stated800 to 900 gCARE trial via TNAU
Freshwater prawn20,000 to 50,000 PL per ha alone; 10,000 to 15,000 with 3,000 to 4,000 carps6 to 8 months alone, 8 to 12 with carps600 to 1,500 kg per ha in 8 months50 to 200 gICAR-CIFA via TNAU; IJF 2018
GIFT tilapia, biofloc tank1,000 per 15,000 L tank (booklet also says 100 per m3)6 months2.8 to 4.2 t per 7-tank unit per crop500 gNFDB biofloc booklet

Composite carp culture and ratios

  • Catla feeds at the surface, rohu in the middle and mrigal at the bottom, so they share one pond. Grass carp eats plants, common carp feeds on the bottom and silver carp eats plankton.
  • NABARD model ratios (catla : rohu : mrigal : silver : grass : common): 3 species 4 : 3 : 3; 4 species 3 : 3 : 2 with 2 common carp; 6 species 1.5 : 2 : 1.5 : 1.5 : 1.5 : 2. The model itself costs only the three major carps, because catla and rohu sell best.
  • ICAR Tripura advises against catla with silver carp or bighead carp (they compete for food) and against heavy mrigal and common carp stocking. Common carp digs, so it is poor in shallow ponds.
  • More fish is not more profit. In an IIT Kharagpur trial in the Indian Journal of Fisheries, 20,000, 35,000 and 50,000 fingerlings per ha in lined ponds gave the best net return, ₹1.40 lakh per ha per crop, at the lowest density (scaled up from small test ponds; fish of about 190 g sold at ₹85 per kg).
  • CIFA's improved "Jayanti" rohu is reported to grow 17 to 18% faster per generation; ask a hatchery for it by name.
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Which species for which water and system

  • Perennial pond, about 1.5 to 2 m deep: catla, rohu, mrigal with grass and common carp. TNAU says the water should not fall below 1 m.
  • Seasonal pond with 5 to 6 months of water: ICAR names minor carps and barbs that sell at 300 to 400 g as better suited than major carps.
  • Small earthen or tank culture of air-breathing fish: singhi did best at 60 to 90 cm depth and 28 to 30 °C; growth fell sharply below about 21 °C. Magur and singhi farming is mostly in Assam, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha, and juvenile supply limits it.
  • Biofloc tanks: NFDB lists singhi, magur, pabda, koi, pangasius, common carp, rohu and tilapia as suitable. An ICAR trial of striped murrel in biofloc gave 9.7 kg per m3 in 10 months, but at only about 150 g per fish and with growth slowing in winter.
  • RAS: in a 90-day ICAR trial, monosex tilapia gained more weight and biomass than rohu and catla.
  • Cages: cage species and stocking densities are not confirmed here. Ask the District Fisheries Officer.

GIFT tilapia and the licensing rule

  • GIFT is an improved Nile tilapia strain. WorldFish and MPEDA's Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture supply TiLV-free monosex fry only to farmers who hold a tilapia farming permit from the state fisheries department.
  • In 2021 the national rule on minimum water area for tilapia farming was relaxed from 1 acre to a much smaller size (WorldFish gives 0.05 acre in one place and 0.005 in another, so ask the state fisheries department for the exact figure), and state fisheries departments can approve tilapia hatcheries.
  • The PMMSY sheet for biofloc and RAS states that permission from the government is mandatory for exotic species. Pangasius is also exotic, so check before buying seed.
  • For the current form and conditions, ask the state fisheries department.

Prawn and high-value fish: what to expect

  • ICAR-CIFA says prawn survival is 50 to 70% and growth is uneven, so harvests are staged. In a 46-farm Odisha survey, improved CIFA-GI scampi gave 416 kg per ha beside carps at about ₹418 per kg.
  • For murrel, ICAR-CIFA puts average output at about 2 t per ha a year (IJF 2018), far below what the CARE stocking and survival would suggest. Plan on the lower figure.
  • Pabda sold at about ₹500 per kg against ₹200 for carps in the ICAR trial, but it gave only 144 kg per ha, and seed is a "huge constraint" (ICAR review).

Sources

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