Totsy88:


You say make sure the fish is dry so bacteria doesn't make them sick. Is this just the case at the beginning?
So do I start with a dry feed first then is it ok to move on to a local wet feed?

Thank you in advance for any advice

ab1x:




It is quite economical. There will be reduction in the price of the feeds as the fish continue to grow. The logic is that when the fish is small they tend to consume quality feeds which is quite costly but as times goes by there will be reduction in the cost of feeds. By the time they reach 3 and half month to four month, the cost per kg should not be more than 250 naira per kg

MissOpe:
@ oga ab1x, please what's the present prices of big,medium, small and melange fishes ?

ab1x:



Big/Medium 560
Small 460
Smallest 430/420
Melange/Tiny 380

Teepompey:

My honourable boss himself, Ab1x, pls I've got some questions bothering me:
I think within 3 and half month to 4 months, one should ve started feed with finisher if growing out for 6months. Pls, wat should be d ideal average weight at that month range before one can start the finisher? If at 3months 2weeks, d average weight is 500g, how realistic is it to meet d desirable size if one start giving them the finisher that contains broiler starter? Besides, which brand of broiler starter do u use or do you formulate it?

jaz:
nice info. but which one has most demand ?

jaz:
oga mi, seems some numbers are lost in your quote oo. could you please fill in the gaps ?

robonski15:


For earthen pond: width x breath x depth /3 multiply by 2

concrete pond: width x breath x depth /3 multiply by 5

Example. 10 feet by 10 feet with a depth of 4 feet how many fish can we stock in a concrete pond
10 x 10 x 4= 400... 400/3= 133.33..... 133.33 x 5 = 666 fishes

Teepompey:
@ boss ab1x, thanks for being there at all times. In response to wat u declared, I used 40% from d start and just reduced it to 30 when they turned 3months and I added a little blood meal to their feed. Now, they would be 4months next week, but lots of them re still within 500g- 650g, of which I'm envisaging 6months. Wat can I do within this short period to make them attain desirable size if at all they can still attain a reasonable size? If there's any possibility of achieving a better result, I would appreciate if could give me the formula

ab1x:


Big/Medium 560 Small 460 Smallest 430/420 Melange/Tiny 380

ab1x:


Fish tend to have rapid growth between 3 to 6months. You are very much on track. You can keep using 30% fish meal

Teepompey:

Thanks for the encouragement, boss. I feel motivated. Pls, dont hesitate to keep us informed as you always do. God will in His infinite mercies continually bless ur endowments. What do you think about using groundnut seed in replace of GNC and btw Soya seed and toasted Soya, which is better?

ab1x:




I have never used groundnut seed before so I can't say anything about it however toasted soya is effective. I have seen some farm that use gnc without soya likewise some farm use soya without gnc. The most important ingredient is fish meal and it is constant and every order thing follows

ab1x:




All things cannot be equal. All other things being equal, there is no fixed KG to attain within those month. However, if the seed is alright and you are able to manage your farm very well, then be expecting an AVERGAGE of 2.0 to 2.5KG in 6months. 6months is a very long period of time so getting 1KG plus is not only a waste of money but also a waste of time. 1KG fish is not a fish at all, it is called smallest here...small start from 1.2 to 1.3 KG....thus, 20/21/22 pieces of fish must weigh 25KG

BELEXYFARMS:


Sir, with average weight of 2kg - 2.5kg of all the fishes stocked within the 6months rearing time frame , I presume this is when you stock from juvenile stage and u practice 24hrs flow through in your earthen pond. Correct me if i am mistaken.

ab1x:



I normally stock fingerlings using flow through method

Fhemmmy:


And what is your mortality rate for earthen pond?

ab1x:




It is not fixed. There is no way one can determine the exact figure. Fish feed on themselves (cannibalism), mostly when they are small. A fish that die at night can sink before 8am in the morning. A lot of farms do not have time to start counting even if they do, they can't get the exact figure; that is why an additional 50 pieces or 100 pieces are put on every 1000 pieces so that it can cover for the ones that died during the rearing period. Farmers usually try to make sure mortality rate are reduced to minimal level.

Fhemmmy:


I know that but would you say that the 100 extra on 1000 will be enough to account for cannibalism ? I am asking this because i have seen too many people got burnt using the earthen ponds compared to Concrete or all other ponds and i will like to know if there is something that is not right that they are doing (I was one of those burnt too in the past) and just the mention of earthen ponds alone gives me shiver and i wanna run.

ab1x:



The fact is most hatchers are not trustworthy. A lot of them do not count the fingerlings well, even if they do, they include runt in your stock. It is quite enough to cover the cannibalism and mortality. If there are no casualties and if you manage your farm very well and you notice on time that your fish hang on the water, the best is to treat them before the situation gets out of hand. I have listed several methods that I used to treat them even the most recent ones, the use of formalin. Less than 100 pieces died out of 11,000 pieces that I stock (cannibalism/Mortality). It is even so because I make use of the stream water and a times I am too preoccupied with other side jobs which do not allow me to treat them on time. One thing I will like you to know is that, you should be less worried about the cannibalism and mortality rate, the rule in catfish farming is garbage in garbage out. I have gone past the stage that I worried about the amount of fish that I stocked. I am more concerned about my return on investment.

ab1x:



I normally stock fingerlings using flow through method

ab1x:
Please list all the problems you faced while you made use of earthen pond. I will provide the solution to the best of my knowledge.

Fhemmmy:


What part of Ogun state are you ?

BELEXYFARMS:


Thats nice. The fingerlings we buy in lagos are now so tiny in size... The hatchers seem to be selling them at smaller sizes now than what i was used to. I envy you guys with your regular flow through, nothing is as good as having that flow through. I have achieved something like that in some of the ponds where i do partial flow through, but thats after I have selected the best stock of the fishes to rear in that particular pond. Running flow through is damn expensive for me because I use mostly generator to pump water. Do u also practice stocking more than you intend to rear and then keeping only the fast growers till harvest? For example stocking 10K fingerlings and then selecting the best fast growing 5K - 6K which u will rear for 5 - 6months (the remaining 4K slow growing fishes would have been sold off at melange stage).

BELEXYFARMS:


Thats nice. The fingerlings we buy in lagos are now so tiny in size... The hatchers seem to be selling them at smaller sizes now than what i was used to. I envy you guys with your regular flow through, nothing is as good as having that flow through. I have achieved something like that in some of the ponds where i do partial flow through, but thats after I have selected the best stock of the fishes to rear in that particular pond. Running flow through is damn expensive for me because I use mostly generator to pump water. Do u also practice stocking more than you intend to rear and then keeping only the fast growers till harvest? For example stocking 10K fingerlings and then selecting the best fast growing 5K - 6K which u will rear for 5 - 6months (the remaining 4K slow growing fishes would have been sold off at melange stage).