Optimizing Mixed Culture of Mystus vittatus (Tengra) for ClimateResilience and Food Security in Small-Scale Aquaculture in Bangladesh

Targeting a holistic approach for a threatened native species of economic and conservative high value of the Indian subcontinent, a study was conducted to evaluate the culture potentiality of M. vittatus in the semi-arid northern region of Bangladesh to emphasize the growth and yield of Mystus vittatus(Tengra) in polyculture systems. The experiment focused on determining optimal stocking densities and species combinations for Tengra alongside other short-cycle fish species. Two culture patterns were tested: Pattern-I (Tengra + Pabda + Magur + Rajpunti + GIFT) and Pattern-II (Tengra + Shing + Magur + Rajpunti + GIFT), with each pattern trialed at three stocking densities (500, 600, and 700 Tengra per decimal) across 18 upazillas. Each treatment was replicated three times. Results indicated that the T2 combination, with a stocking density of 600 Tengra, yielded the best growth performance, production, and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) in both patterns. Specifically, the combinations of 600 Tengra + 100 Pabda + 50 Magur + 25 Rajpunti + 10 GIFT and 600 Tengra + 100 Shing + 50 Magur + 25 Rajpunti + 10 GIFT showed significantly higher yields (P