Growth and food habits of hybrid carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella X Aristichthys nobilis, from aerated and non-aerated ponds

Hybrid grass carp fry were stocked into 0.04 ha ponds with and without paddlewheel aeration. Growth rate was significantly greater in fish from the aerated ponds. All the fish preyed upon identical organisms but in different proportions. 40-80 mm hybrids in non-aerated ponds consumed greater volumes of cladocerans whereas those in aerated ponds consumed more ostracods despite the abundance of cladocerans. Hybrids in non-aerated ponds began feeding on vegetation at 46 mm (total length) compared with 100 mm in aerated ponds.