Hello, my name is Daga and I’m a new catfish farmer. I’m also a Corp member of the federation of Nigeria. I ventured into catfish farming with hopes of making profit, no matter how little. Since I didn’t have the financial capability to breed to table size, I decided to go into hatching, then selling off as Fingerlings or juveniles. I was able to see a farmer that also had an hatchery who I made some arrangement with and he taught me how. I made use of one of his trampoline ponds, I bought the brood stocks, the injection needed, and the other things also needed while he showed me how it’s done. The plan was I use 6kg (three 2kg fishes) female catfish against 3kg male but One of the fishes got injured and I had to only use 4kg female against a supposed 3kg male. I started sometime in March. Hatching was done but about 50% of the eggs didn’t hatch. The little that hatched was sorted and separated from the dead eggs and the process continued (see attached pictures). The story goes on but I think I’d leave it for another day. Today, My fishes are 7 weeks old (mostly juveniles but there are still few fingerlings) and are ready to be stocked. Being a new farmer, I don’t have a customer base yet. So this post is largely to look for customers and to connect with other farmers too. I’m serving in osun state, osogbo to be precise. If any one is interested or wishes to connect with me, my phone number is
08064336275. Thanks and I hope to do business with you

NB: I’d have attached the pictures of the brood stock used but I don’t know if that’s a thing. I’ve gone through posts on Nl and I haven’t seen one where a farmer attaches his brood stock pictures hence my reason for not doing so.

When they hatched

At 7 weeks

great job...... if you dont have the means to get them to the table size then you need to get buyers asap... you need to get buyers before they get to fingerling and juveniles..... are they hybrid or clarias alone? for now you need to find buyers within osun states .......... there is a whatsapp group for catfish farmers tho....... but if you have the mean to raise them till smoke fish size then that could be another plus..... but now you need to keep finding buyers ..... how osun state now na? and can you hatch by yourself now?

waleyp:
great job...... if you dont have the means to get them to the table size then you need to get buyers asap... you need to get buyers before they get to fingerling and juveniles..... are they hybrid or clarias alone? for now you need to find buyers within osun states .......... there is a whatsapp group for catfish farmers tho....... but if you have the mean to raise them till smoke fish size then that could be another plus..... but now you need to keep finding buyers ..... how osun state now na? and can you hatch by yourself now?

Thank you very much sir. They are clarias and I don’t have means for smoking oo.
Please are you in the group, I want to join. And yes I can not hatch myself. Learnt the whole thing.
Osun state is fine oo. Peaceful.
Thanks for your input. Really appreciated

Sorry I got your message very late, yes I'm in the group, well I have not started on my own but I learn from the group, you can drop your WhatsApp so I can tell the admin to add you up, so have you sold the fish? And how far have you gone

DipoAy:


Thank you very much sir. They are clarias and I don’t have means for smoking oo.
Please are you in the group, I want to join. And yes I can not hatch myself. Learnt the whole thing.
Osun state is fine oo. Peaceful.
Thanks for your input. Really appreciated

waleyp:
Sorry I got your message very late, yes I'm in the group, well I have not started on my own but I learn from the group, you can drop your WhatsApp so I can tell the admin to add you up, so have you sold the fish? And how far have you gone

Weldone colleague farmer for assisting him.
However, i need to say this repeatedly as I'm working towards a mission in catfish farming. Check my thread on "Propose new catfish association"

Newbies with respect to your catfish farming area of interest must understand that, the success of any commercial business largely depends on sales.

Hope to cont'

waleyp:
Sorry I got your message very late, yes I'm in the group, well I have not started on my own but I learn from the group, you can drop your WhatsApp so I can tell the admin to add you up, so have you sold the fish? And how far have you gone

My WhatsApp number is 08064336275
No sale yet but I believe this week. Today makes them 8 weeks old

2000+ juvenile catfish available for sale. Interested buyers call 08064336275

Thanks to the farmers already making inquiries.
My location is osogbo, osun state. If waybill is possible, I can make arrangements for that.

OK I will send the number to the group now so they can add you up. Good make sure you know the current prices before selling out

DipoAy:


My WhatsApp number is 08064336275
No sale yet but I believe this week. Today makes them 8 weeks old

waleyp:
OK I will send the number to the group now so they can add you up. Good make sure you know the current prices before selling out

Thanks

I Go Even Message You For WhatsaPP Later Today

DipoAy:


My WhatsApp number is 08064336275
No sale yet but I believe this week. Today makes them 8 weeks old

2000+ pieces of 8 weeks juvenile catfish available for sale. Farm is in osogbo, osun state. Waybill can also be arranged. This is a very good deal people. HMU 08064336275, 07052514052

Juveniles still available, are you interested??

07052514052, 08064336275

Just look at them. Order now oo
08064336275, 07052514052

Still available

Update: zoom in on these beauties

All sold❌, thanks for the calls and inquiries.
Another production in a bit

Hello, I’m back ,
Happy new year
Months after, I’ve finally been able to start up production in Lagos. I have three vats in total but not fully utilized yet due to some unforeseen circumstances. I have everything under control now. Guess what, I already produced my first successful seeds, Yes, all done by me, I’m going to be honest, it wasn’t easy, and so you know, the first production I did in Lagos didn’t survive. Experience was again my teacher. Back in osun, there were things I didn’t look at, things I didn’t observe and take note of. On getting here, with an eagerness to start production and also prove to my people at home, what I had learnt, I incurred many losses. Water and lack of some knowledge was my problem. I eventually started making connections here in Lagos. I found a farm around iyana ipaja, and a farmer there has been so helpful to me. Found some around agbado here, brood stock and grow out farmers. All these people helped me. I eventually conducted another breeding process on the 28th of November (my fourth trial in Lagos) and got what I wanted. My fishes were five weeks on Sunday (ijebu). They would be up for sale In a week time, that is, standard fingerling stage (4-5.5cm). Their quantity is about 1500-2000 can’t really tell but they are surely a small quantity (used 1.5kg brood stock for the production). I’ve attached screenshots from the video I made. So in summary,
*NEW YEAR SALES ALERT*
**2021 fresh Sales**
```NA GOD BATCH```
1500+ pieces of standard fingerling catfish available for sale
Price: na #10 (ten Naira each)
Quantity: 1500+ pieces
Location: kola, Alagbado, Lagos.
Clarias Gariepinus seeds available.
Interested??
Healthy
Fast growing
Call/message:
08064336275
09132366787

I’m waiting for your call

Shooters of this batch

Fingerling still available

Good morning good people

Did you know?
An investment in fish farming would yield a profit come June?? That’s correct! By June, with proper management, you would be smiling to your banks

TAKE THE STEP!!!

NEW YEAR SALES ALERT
2021 fresh Sales
NA GOD BATCH
1500+ pieces of standard catfish fingerlings (4-5.5cm) available for sale

Very Healthy and Fast growing

Price: na #10 (ten Naira each)
Quantity: 1500+ pieces
Location: kola, Alagbado, Lagos.
Clarias Gariepinus seeds available. (6weeks Old seeds).
Interested??

Call/message:
08064336275
09132366787

Video available on request

Contact for your post fingerling:
2000+ pieces
Location: kola agbado Lagos
Clarias gariepinus
08064336275

Catfish post fingerlings still available
2000+ Pieces
#13
Call: 08064336275
Interstate delivery can be arranged

Hello testing 1 2 1 2 testing 1 2
January 2021... May 2022
A year and four months, that's how long I had not updated this thread.

I didn't stop being a farmer, as a matter of fact, i am a farmer by heart.
I really love this profession with my every fiber, why you may wonder,
well that's because I've seen it all, faced the challenges, made losses, made a lot of wins also.

I didn't plan to abandon this thread because when i started it, i was most happiest that i took the bold step to learn it. i am not one to paint a good picture of everything, everything cant be good, everything cannot go as one has planned. Life has happened to me. i have also happened to live it the best way i know how to.

asides from being a farmer, i have always being a designer, i also have another thread here that's longer than this, lol, i guess i have documented a lot on nairaland here. crazy stuff. just search for "my journey to being a profession" in the graphics design section or check my profile for my threads, you will see it there, it might interest you, maybe.

so im really grateful to nairaland, this is me giving a vote of thanks because i can say i started most things i do today on nairaland. its been a really good place for me to network and meet friends, make connections and also make business contacts, cheers to more. i feel very comfortable here unlike the other social media apps maybe because its a very faceless forum here which i like.

join me as i restart this thread with stories of my wins, losses and my life in general. I'm actually not shy to say i incurred losses in the process of mastering this trade. why? because though i failed and made a loss, i discovered a way that's bad in this hatchery business. Now what i do when intending farmers reach out to me to come consult for them, help them set up a farm or troubleshoot a problem they are currently facing in their farm, all i do is tell them what i did wrong and how i made a loss. that's enough first hand teaching imo. Experience was my number one teacher. so my mantra is just, since I've experienced it, let no other person that comes in contact with me experience same.

My name remains Daga (my real name is on my other thread i think, for now, Daga is my initials combined)
watch out for updates in coming days.

for anyone interested in my progress, attached is a picture of a fish from one of the batches i kept till table size (yea, a story for another day)
Cheers...

Keep the good work ..
I'm eager to learn from you .
Although I learnt hatching from YouTube and I successfully practiced it, I'm willing to learn again.

Hatchery
Water:
Running an hatchery, one major thing that can’t be compromised on is your water. There’s no remedy, no go come, no save this leave that. Once your water is bad, it is bad. No need to try to hatch. Okay, so enough of “it is bad, it is bad”.

What’s the recommended water standard you may want to ask.

pH of water is a major determinant. Most breeders have a liquid water ph test kit which they make use of. As you know, acidity increases as the scale tends to 0 while alkalinity increases as the scale tends to 14 with 7 being the neutral point and recommended point. Using the ph water test kit, The three major colors are red, green, purple. Red indicates an acidic water, purple, an alkaline water while green is neutral. Other colors like yellow, orange, blue may be gotten too. When you have this kit, you will understand the different color indicators and what they mean better. It’s actually nothing serious.

So, you want to hatch?
You want to start up your hatchery in your backyard/excess land perhaps, your first step should be getting this kit. You should test your water yourself as this would further inform your decisions as you go forward. Knowing your water status is the first step before starting up with any structure, because it’s only after you’ve known your water status, that you can now choose the structures you want and must put in place.

Now, personally from experience I would tell you this. All what I said up there is correct and true but one thing that supersedes it all. Have your own water source. I don’t mean your own borehole but have your own water. I’d explain.

So mr A, after reading this but didn’t read to the end went to buy his liquid water ph test kit and tested his water at EVENING time one beautiful day, he found out his water was neutral or green, which means it’s safe.

Now, here are questions you need to ask yourself:
What’s my water source? Borehole? Well (pump in well)
Where’s my tank located ? Overhead?
Where am I testing my water from? Tap mouth or direct from tank?

All this questions needs answers before you can go ahead. I will create a clearer picture of Mr A to explain all this.

So Mr A has borehole water as water source (pump machine drilled into the ground), lives in a story building with the sole tank on the top of the building as it should be with all houses that wants water to rush from their tap.

So my message to you that falls in the category of Mr A.

As a graduate of hydrology that I am, I am telling you now that the ph of any water isn’t constant. It varies with time and season. The whole world is a system and it functions as such also. The ph at 6am in the morning isn’t the same as 12pm in the afternoon, same with 6pm evening. This is most especially true for you that has a borehole as a water source. Even well-water source owners too. Water travels, even underneath the soil, it’s traveling. Borehole water also has little to no Dissolved oxygen. Now using the liquid ph test kit, if the ph difference isn’t significantly large, you might not notice it because the color indicator won’t pick something so small. Say it was 7 initially, if it changes to 6.5, the color would still be green might just be a diff shade or so but little changes might not be noticed. Asides using a liquid ph test kit, a much more accurate test would be the electrical test instrument. That’s much more specific by giving you the ph value. Some goes ahead to give TDS and DO values too. With this instrument, ph changes I mentioned can be noted better. So Mr A testing water at evening time might not meet that same ph value by morning. This I have seen and experienced myself.

Asides that, where did Mr take his water sample from?

Well considering the fact that he is not Spider-Man nor a relative of Spider-Man, he took his water sample from the tap downstairs.

Now back to me being a student of hydrology, water they say is a universal solvent. You must have heard that before. There’s a Yoruba saying about water being able to dissolve stone sef but who is patient enough to wait it out. I’m not sure if it’s a Yoruba or English saying.

But what am I trying to say? Water can dissolve anything all it needs is time. Now these things it’s dissolving all have their chemical components also. We humans too have. Now these little little things dissolving in the water are already changing the chemical structure of your water. My point? You need your own water tank dedicated specifically for just your hatchery. One where your hand can reach.

Temperature also affects water in an overhead pipe. More so, fries don’t need warm water. I think this covers both questions so you get the picture now.

Next I’d be talking about what to do when your water is acidic or alkaline.

Lastly, any typo and the likes, please no vex

Keep the good work in catfish hatchery

Thank you guys for your kind words…

I truly appreciate

Akposkiz:
Keep the good work in catfish hatchery

Baba we Dey follow you.