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Important Factors To Consider When Going Into Fish Farming
Have you heard about fish farming?
Have you ever considered it a means of employment for yourself and several other Nigerian youths?
Today, ARMI would be taking you through some of the basic things you need to know about fish farming. Sit back and relax as we take you through the ride.
Fish farming is also known as Pisciculture, It involves the raising of fish commercially in tanks or enclosures usually for food. However, we should not mix fish farming with aquaculture.
Aquaculture on the other hand involves the husbandry of animals and plants in aquatic environment while fish farming involve the production of fish. This brings us to the important factors to consider when going into fish farming since fish farming is our main target for today.
Factors to consider
LAND: You have to get a land that does not comprise of higher percentage of clay soil or even loam, it has to be a land that comprises of sandy and loamy soil. Note that the land you must use should have a good water retaining capacity and not prone to erosion.
SOURCE OF WATER: A fish pond must have a good and reliable source of water, since fish is an aquatic animal therefore it needs a good source of water to survive and stay healthy. A dirty source of water or water supply would only cause harm to your fishes and at the end, you run at a big loss.
ACCESSIBILITY: Your ponds must be sited where it can be easily located by the buyers (fish sellers) and other fellow fish farmers (although not necessarily close to others). The way to the pond should also be motorable because transportation of fish must be easy.
SECURITY: The land must be located in a secured environment in order for the fishes to be protected from predators’ e.g, birds, snakes, man etc. You can fence the area also and security personnel may also be needed to avoid fish loss.
FEE FROM POLLUTION: Wherever a fish pond is located, that site should be far away from any kind of pollution for example, chemical discharge, oil spillage because they may cause high mortality rate of your fishes which will lead to a shortage for you.
Anywhere there is fresh water, catfish can be cultured and there are various kinds of pond that they can be cultured in but each pond have its own advantage over the other. So the need to know the different type of pond for your fish farming business cannot be overemphasized.
Nevertheless, the choices of pond type to be use depend largely on the availability of land, water resources and scale of production etc.
Anywhere there is fresh water, catfish can be cultured and there are various kinds of pond that they can be cultured in but each pond have its own advantage over the other. So the need to know the different type of pond for your fish farming business cannot be overemphasized.
Nevertheless, the choices of pond type to be use depend largely on the availability of land, water resources and scale of production etc.
Earthen Ponds: are artificial dams, reservoir, or lake constructed for different species of fishes in order to retain some features of the natural aquatic environment. Earthen ponds are created manually or mechanically, in a carefully selected site with high ability to retain water. Earthen ponds are constructed manually with the use of shovels and diggers. However, in recent times, the use of excavators to dig ponds has been on the increase. For commercial pond construction, the use of excavator is more cost effective than manual construction for commercial pond construction. It is also faster and can attain good depths in hours.
The choice of land, the soil type, soil texture and soil permeability for earthen pond must take into cognizance availability of water, or at worse confirm wetlands in season and out of season. Other factors that must be considered include soil type, soil texture and soil permeability. A site located in an area that mainly has sandy soil costs more when it comes to construction because ponds constructed in such areas will need sandbagging in order to prevent the collapse of such pond.
Advantages of Earthen Pond over Other Types of Ponds
It is similar to the natural habitat of fishes.
Maintenance cost is cheaper.
It can support different kinds of feed.
It allows fishes to grow faster.
Concrete Ponds: They are usually constructed with concrete and sometimes reinforced to make them stronger. For any concrete pond to stand the test of time it must be well constructed and that is why construction of concrete ponds is often handled by highly skilled professionals in civil/construction engineering. The use of blocks for the construction of concrete tanks is not usually encouraged.
Concrete tanks for catfishes can be constructed below or above the earth surface. U will see that concrete ponds are most popular in urban areas where catfish farming are practiced.
Advantages of Concrete Pond over Earthen Ponds
It is easy to manage; e.g. counting, sorting, sales and other management practices.
It is better for production of fingerlings and juveniles..
It cannot be affected by weed and chemical pollution.
It may not need major maintenance for years.
Growth of fishes can easily be monitored.
Its usage requires less manpower.
Tarpaulin/Synthetic Leather Ponds: They are dug like an earthen pond but their walls are lined with a form of rubber/leather carpet to prevent water percolation. These kinds of ponds are very good at raising juveniles and brood stock. They are usually constructed with flow-through system.
Advantages of Tarpaulin / Synthetic Leather Pond
They are easier to manage
They reduce water waste
They are easy to maintain
4. Plastic / Rubber Tanks: They are of different sizes specifically manufactured for raising catfishes. Some of these containers are constructed to accommodate as much as one tonne of table-size fish.
Advantages of Rubber / Plastic Tank
They can be used to raise fishes almost everywhere.
They can be moved easily from one place to the other.
They can be used to raise fingerlings before they are transferred to the main ponds.
They are safe and secure because they can be used to raise fishes indoor
They are cheap and less expensive to maintain.
Fiberglass Tanks: They are transparent tanks used to raise frys and fingerlings under a controlled temperature before they are transferred into the outdoor tanks.
Advantages of Fiberglass Tank
They are easy to manage
The activities of the fishes can be monitored at a glance
They are portable and movable
Cage Tanks: They are constructed and placed inside fresh water. They are anchored to the surrounding pegs. Most of the times, the feeding of these fishes in the tanks are done with the use of a canoe because these tanks are placed in the middle of a large water body so as to replace their water environment in an enclosed cage.
Advantages of Cage Tank
Availability of oxygen all times
There are other water organisms for the fishes to feed on
Water pollution is rare
Fishes grow better due to constant fresh water
It can be used to raise large number of fishes
However, if water pollution eventually happens it can lead to the death of all fishes in the cage.
Types of Feeding
There are two different type of feeding system you can adopt for your fish;
Broadcast Feeding: This basically involves going round the ponds and spreading feed all over the pond to ensure all the fishes in the pond can eat but it is time consuming.
Point Feeding: Point feeding is less time-consuming and more effective, it is less stressful so you can carefully monitor how the fishes are eating.
This feeding is basically you feeding your fishes at a point. You get your fishes to eat in one spot once they reach 30 – 50 grams, or after 2 – 3 weeks of stocking them from juvenile stage.
At first, if they are used to eating using the broadcast style, most of the fishes won’t come to a particular spot to eat; however, continuous feeding on that same spot for few days, they’ll be conditioned to come to that spot and eat.
Do you feel like setting up a large scale fish farm on that land of yours no matter how small it might be or you don’t even have a land and you are interested? Why not contact us today at AGRO RENEWAL MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL (ARMI) and let us take you through.
For more enquiries send us mail on admin@armi.com.ng
Have you heard about fish farming?
Have you ever considered it a means of employment for yourself and several other Nigerian youths?
Today, ARMI would be taking you through some of the basic things you need to know about fish farming. Sit back and relax as we take you through the ride.
Fish farming is also known as Pisciculture, It involves the raising of fish commercially in tanks or enclosures usually for food. However, we should not mix fish farming with aquaculture.
Aquaculture on the other hand involves the husbandry of animals and plants in aquatic environment while fish farming involve the production of fish. This brings us to the important factors to consider when going into fish farming since fish farming is our main target for today.
Factors to consider
LAND: You have to get a land that does not comprise of higher percentage of clay soil or even loam, it has to be a land that comprises of sandy and loamy soil. Note that the land you must use should have a good water retaining capacity and not prone to erosion.
SOURCE OF WATER: A fish pond must have a good and reliable source of water, since fish is an aquatic animal therefore it needs a good source of water to survive and stay healthy. A dirty source of water or water supply would only cause harm to your fishes and at the end, you run at a big loss.
ACCESSIBILITY: Your ponds must be sited where it can be easily located by the buyers (fish sellers) and other fellow fish farmers (although not necessarily close to others). The way to the pond should also be motorable because transportation of fish must be easy.
SECURITY: The land must be located in a secured environment in order for the fishes to be protected from predators’ e.g, birds, snakes, man etc. You can fence the area also and security personnel may also be needed to avoid fish loss.
FEE FROM POLLUTION: Wherever a fish pond is located, that site should be far away from any kind of pollution for example, chemical discharge, oil spillage because they may cause high mortality rate of your fishes which will lead to a shortage for you.
Anywhere there is fresh water, catfish can be cultured and there are various kinds of pond that they can be cultured in but each pond have its own advantage over the other. So the need to know the different type of pond for your fish farming business cannot be overemphasized.
Nevertheless, the choices of pond type to be use depend largely on the availability of land, water resources and scale of production etc.
Anywhere there is fresh water, catfish can be cultured and there are various kinds of pond that they can be cultured in but each pond have its own advantage over the other. So the need to know the different type of pond for your fish farming business cannot be overemphasized.
Nevertheless, the choices of pond type to be use depend largely on the availability of land, water resources and scale of production etc.
Earthen Ponds: are artificial dams, reservoir, or lake constructed for different species of fishes in order to retain some features of the natural aquatic environment. Earthen ponds are created manually or mechanically, in a carefully selected site with high ability to retain water. Earthen ponds are constructed manually with the use of shovels and diggers. However, in recent times, the use of excavators to dig ponds has been on the increase. For commercial pond construction, the use of excavator is more cost effective than manual construction for commercial pond construction. It is also faster and can attain good depths in hours.
The choice of land, the soil type, soil texture and soil permeability for earthen pond must take into cognizance availability of water, or at worse confirm wetlands in season and out of season. Other factors that must be considered include soil type, soil texture and soil permeability. A site located in an area that mainly has sandy soil costs more when it comes to construction because ponds constructed in such areas will need sandbagging in order to prevent the collapse of such pond.
It is similar to the natural habitat of fishes.
Maintenance cost is cheaper.
It can support different kinds of feed.
It allows fishes to grow faster.
Concrete Ponds: They are usually constructed with concrete and sometimes reinforced to make them stronger. For any concrete pond to stand the test of time it must be well constructed and that is why construction of concrete ponds is often handled by highly skilled professionals in civil/construction engineering. The use of blocks for the construction of concrete tanks is not usually encouraged.
Concrete tanks for catfishes can be constructed below or above the earth surface. U will see that concrete ponds are most popular in urban areas where catfish farming are practiced.
Advantages of Concrete Pond over Earthen Ponds
It is easy to manage; e.g. counting, sorting, sales and other management practices.
It is better for production of fingerlings and juveniles..
It cannot be affected by weed and chemical pollution.
It may not need major maintenance for years.
Growth of fishes can easily be monitored.
Its usage requires less manpower.
Tarpaulin/Synthetic Leather Ponds: They are dug like an earthen pond but their walls are lined with a form of rubber/leather carpet to prevent water percolation. These kinds of ponds are very good at raising juveniles and brood stock. They are usually constructed with flow-through system.
Advantages of Tarpaulin / Synthetic Leather Pond
They are easier to manage
They reduce water waste
They are easy to maintain
4. Plastic / Rubber Tanks: They are of different sizes specifically manufactured for raising catfishes. Some of these containers are constructed to accommodate as much as one tonne of table-size fish.
Advantages of Rubber / Plastic Tank
They can be used to raise fishes almost everywhere.
They can be moved easily from one place to the other.
They can be used to raise fingerlings before they are transferred to the main ponds.
They are safe and secure because they can be used to raise fishes indoor
They are cheap and less expensive to maintain.
Fiberglass Tanks: They are transparent tanks used to raise frys and fingerlings under a controlled temperature before they are transferred into the outdoor tanks.
Advantages of Fiberglass Tank
They are easy to manage
The activities of the fishes can be monitored at a glance
They are portable and movable
Cage Tanks: They are constructed and placed inside fresh water. They are anchored to the surrounding pegs. Most of the times, the feeding of these fishes in the tanks are done with the use of a canoe because these tanks are placed in the middle of a large water body so as to replace their water environment in an enclosed cage.
Advantages of Cage Tank
Availability of oxygen all times
There are other water organisms for the fishes to feed on
Water pollution is rare
Fishes grow better due to constant fresh water
It can be used to raise large number of fishes
However, if water pollution eventually happens it can lead to the death of all fishes in the cage.
Types of Feeding
There are two different type of feeding system you can adopt for your fish;
Broadcast Feeding: This basically involves going round the ponds and spreading feed all over the pond to ensure all the fishes in the pond can eat but it is time consuming.
Point Feeding: Point feeding is less time-consuming and more effective, it is less stressful so you can carefully monitor how the fishes are eating.
This feeding is basically you feeding your fishes at a point. You get your fishes to eat in one spot once they reach 30 – 50 grams, or after 2 – 3 weeks of stocking them from juvenile stage.
At first, if they are used to eating using the broadcast style, most of the fishes won’t come to a particular spot to eat; however, continuous feeding on that same spot for few days, they’ll be conditioned to come to that spot and eat.
Do you feel like setting up a large scale fish farm on that land of yours no matter how small it might be or you don’t even have a land and you are interested? Why not contact us today at AGRO RENEWAL MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL (ARMI) and let us take you through.
For more enquiries send us mail on admin@armi.com.ng
