© 2020 |Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 108 Haya: The Saudi Journal of Life Sciences Abbreviated Key Title: Haya Saudi J Life Sci ISSN 2415-623X (Print) |ISSN 2415-6221 (Online) Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Journal homepage: http://scholarsmepub.com/haya/ Original Research Article Assessing Production and Economics of Mono Sex Male Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in Small Seasonal Ponds Md. Anwar Hossain Mondal 1* , Md. Mehedi Hasan Sikdar 2 , Susmita Saha 3 , Jannatun Nayeem Neela 4 1 Assistant Professor, Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Dumki - Patuakhali-8602, Bangladesh 2 Professor, Department of Statistics, Faculty of Agriculture, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Dumki - Patuakhali-8602, Bangladesh 3,4 M.S. in Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Dumki - Patuakhali - 8602, Bangladesh DOI: 10.36348/sjls.2020.v05i06.004 | Received: 14.05.2020 | Accepted: 27.05.2020 | Published: 25.06.2020 *Corresponding author: Dr. Md. Anwar Hossain Mondal Abstract The study was conducted to assess the production and economics of mono sex male tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus) reared in nine seasonal small ponds at Patuakhali Science and Technology University research farm for a period of three months during March to May 2019.The experiment was designed in three treatments (T) each with three replications. The ponds were drained, limed and fertilized with organic and inorganic fertilizers during preparation. The stocking density was 37050 fish/ha in all three treatments. After stocking the fish ponds were fertilized weekly with cowdung, urea and TSP. Supplementary feed was not given in T 1 , but rice bran and mustard oilcake were given in T 2 and commercial pellet feed in T 3 . Some water quality parameters were monitored at regular intervals and they were found within acceptable range for pond aquaculture. The survival rates were high (> 96%) in all treatments. Significantly highest production (5494.10 kg/ha in three months) was found in T 3 followed by T 2 (2392.23 kg/ha/3months) and T 1 (1048.93 kg/ha/3 months). Similarly, significantly highest net return (Tk. 206274.64/ha with benefit cost ratio of 2.01) was found in T 3 followed by T 2 (Tk.33100.47/ha with benefit cost ratio of 1.24) and T 1 (Tk. 8254.74/ha with benefit cost ratio of 1.11). Keywords: Monosex male tilapia, Seasonal, Pond, Production, Bangladesh. Copyright @ 2020: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use (NonCommercial, or CC-BY-NC) provided the original author and source are credited. INTRODUCTION Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) strain, a synthetic strain of Oreochromis niloticus that was developed through selection of several generations from a base involving eight different strains of Nile tilapia (O. niloticus), was introduced in Bangladesh in July 1994 from Philippines [1]. The GIFT strain was reported to show an average 60% faster growth and 50% better survival at harvest than most commonly farmed strain [2, 3]. Tilapia has comparatively good market price, become marketable size in 3-5 months and requires low input cost. It is also preferred both by farmers and consumers due to its fast growth and tasty flesh. Tilapia can grow in a wide range of environmental condition and has good resistance to poor water quality and disease [4]. In Bangladesh, culture of tilapias has been promoted in small, seasonal ditches for poor marginal farmers [5, 6]. Fish farmers in rural areas can effectively utilize these seasonal water bodies for fish culture either for their subsistence or economical benefits. Tilapia, the most important aqua cultured species has been already named as the “food fish of the 21st century” [7] and has poultry broiler like growth with a short culture period. Mono-sex population of male tilapia was produced by treating fry with a synthetic male hormone 17α methyl testosterone at a treatment regime of 10 mg/kg food for 30 days. The healthy cultivation of tilapia depends on nutritional status and rearing environmental conditions [8]. Supplementary feed is one of the key inputs in fish culture to get high production. Feed cost generally constitutes the highest single operating cost in semi intensive farming operation [9]. Increased natural food produced in fish ponds through fertilization reduces the use of supplementary feeds that ultimately reduces the feed costs. In Bangladesh some relatively cheap indigenous agricultural by-products, such as, rice bran, wheat bran, mustard oilcake are being used for aquaculture. For proper growth of fish, animal protein supplement, growth promoting vitamins and micronutrients are essential. In recent years, pelleted commercial fish feeds have been marketed by different industries. These feeds are mainly used by medium to large farmers in commercial fish farms. For marginal resource poor farmers it is important to improve the