Aquaculture medicine and therapeutics in Alwar and Udaipur district of Rajasthan: A field study

Alwar and Udaipur are leading district for aquaculture activities in the state of Rajasthan. In May 2018, primary data on use of aqua drugs in fish farming were collected from 16 private fish farms in Alwar and 20 fish farms in Udaipur. Only 20% fish farmers in Alwar and 10% fish farmers in Udaipur were using medicines in fish ponds, mostly in the form of lime and KMnO4. The other aqua drugs used by the farmers are salt, CIFAX, Bio-F (Probiotics) APC-carpmin forte (mineral nutrient forfeited with probiotics) ultra violet (Antifungal Antibacterial) APC aqua mix (mineral vitamin mixture) malachite green genoxy (DO improver), Aqua Flavin (for bacterial infection) minamil (vitamin mineral mixture). Optimum Oxygen Bio-Klean (soil probiotics) APC- Planktomin, use of these drugs is very limited (16%). In Alwar district salt was mostly used for treating bacterial infection in fish while lime was used for pond preparation. A thorough discussion was held with fisheries officials regarding the use of aqua drugs in these districts, however, it was found that no other drugs such as antibiotics and chemicals were used in aquaculture. The main constraint for adopting therapeutics is lack of availability and high cost of drugs. 82% farmers were not aware about the accurate dose of the drugs and were using without sufficient knowledge. 4% farmers also used neem cake for nursery pond preparation. 16% farmers used turmeric powder, mustard leaves powder and salts as antibiotics and growth promoters. The field study revealed that the use of medicine and therapeutics in fish farming is not a common practice. However fish farmers were very familiar for lime and kmno4. Cost effective, efficient and organic herbal drugs are required for adoption and acceptance of medicines in aquaculture.