Stocking density matters in open water cage culture: Influence on growth, digestive enzymes, haemato-immuno and stress responses of Puntius sarana (Ham, 1822)

Abstract A 90 days trial was carried out to investigate the impact of stocking density on growth performances and the health status of Puntius sarana in inland open water cages (Salia Dam of Odisha, India). The fishes of mean body weight 32.04 ± 1.25 g were stocked @ three stocking densities (SD) i.e., 10 m−3 (SD10), 20 m−3 (SD20), and 30 m−3 (SD30) and fed with commercial feed of 28% protein and 4% fat. The growth, in terms of weight gain, specific growth rate, absolute growth rate, percentage survival, protein efficiency ratio, and feed conversion efficiency was significantly decreased (P