Physicochemical characteristics and fish food organisms in the pond ecosystem - A review

The aquaculture is assuming all the more critical situation as the fish production through capture fishery resources is fast declining. Culture fisheries are practiced in fish ponds all over the world. The productivity of these fish ponds largely depends on the abundance of fish food organisms and congenial environmental conditions. Biological examination of water provides a clear picture of available fish food organisms and is a valuable tool for assessing water quality. The effect of different inputs/stressors is to provide a holistic measure of their impact. However, fish growth depends upon the quantity and quality of fish food and water quality in the pond ecosystem. Thus, fish production appears to pivot to a lesser degree on the magnitude of primary production. Management of water quality by optimization of waste input in village ponds may help in enhancing fish production. This review of the occurrence of fish food organisms in different water bodies reveals that a lot of work has been carried out to study the dynamics and seasonal variations of these fish food organisms. Still, the studies on dynamics of these organisms concerning fish growth/yield are lacking. Therefore through this review an attempt has been made to correlate these aspects with fish production/growth and feeding habits of fish.