Growth and feeding behavior of fishes in organic rice–fish systems with various species combinations

Abstract Four combinations of fish and prawn species were stocked in organic rice–fish systems to examine their growth performance, feeding habits, competitive interactions, and food-web structure. The species combinations were: (I) three fish species commonly stocked in rice–fish systems in the Lower Mekong countries, namely Barbonymus gonionotus, Cyprinus carpio, and Oreochromis niloticus; (II) the same three species plus the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii; (III) three herbivorous fishes native to the Mekong River, namely B. gonionotus, Barbonymus schwanenfeldii, and Cirrhinus microlepis; and (IV) the herbivorous and omnivorous fishes B. gonionotus, C. microlepis, and Trichogaster pectoralis, together with the carnivorous fish Channa striata. Growth performance was examined using specific growth rate (SGR), and feeding habit was examined through stomach content and stable isotope (carbon and nitrogen) analyses. All fish and prawn species exhibited SGRs of roughly 1–2% d−1 except for C. striata, which had a slower growth rate (