^{Late Shri Punaram Nishad College of Fisheries, DSVC Kamdhenu Vishwavidyalaya, Kawardha-491995, Chhattisgarh, India}

This present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different stocking densities of vegetable plants on growth and feed utilization in Lepidocephalichthys guntea in aquaponics.A feed with 35% protein was provided to the experimental fish during the feeding trial. The trial was performed in three groups of tanks, a control tank (without plants) (T1), an aquaponics setup tank having 15 plants (5 Brinjals- Solanum melongena L.; 5 Tomatoes- Solanum lycopersicum and 5 Chilies- Capsicum annuum L.) (T2) and an aquaponic setup with 9 plants (3 Brinjals, 3 Tomatoes and 3 Chilies) (T3). 30 Lepidocephalichthys guntea species (initial weight ± SE, 1.25 ± 0.08 g) were stocked in FRP tanks for 30 days of feeding trial. Results showed no significant (p>0.05) difference in the water quality parameters viz. dissolved oxygen; alkalinity, pH and temperature. Significantly (p<0.05) higher weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio and better feed conversion ratio were observed in T2. Significantly (p<0.05) different length of plants (Brinjal, Tomato and Chili) was found in T2 and T3 between the initial, 10, 20 and 30 days of feeding trial. This study concluded that the aquaponics system not only ameliorated the growth of fish but also the growth of cultivated plants.