The fish farming method u posted is called a raceway or flow thorugh. It has some advantages over e contemporary pond method if well managed. What they need to do is to find way to deal with waste evacuation.

Read more about them on Wikipedia here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raceway_(aquaculture)

(Copy and paste the entire link into your browser. )

lagbaja: The fish farming method u posted is called a raceway or flow thorugh. It has some advantages over e contemporary pond method if well managed. What they need to do is to find way to deal with waste evacuation.

Read more about it here

[url]en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raceway_(aquaculture)[/url]

good research, but what c have failed in many regard,no aerators,not connected to flowing stream & even it water change is weekly not regularly or hourly,as clearly said it is prone to disease outbreak & also primitive

excelsiorfarm: the disadvantages of such a structure is more,concerning feeding, u can have 3 or more major spot sites to feed the fishes & u are good to go,about disadvantages, we dont need it,robonski is waking them to d reality of better ponds

I asked that the water in the pond should be drained for me to see clearly the sizes of the fish...

They had to bring the pumping machine to pump all the water out, one of the staff went inside the pond with the machine pipe and all that,It was really difficult pumping the water out...

A fellow called me not too long ago that the name of the this type of pond is called "RACE WAY" that its good but they should have made provision for the outlet...

excelsiorfarm: good research, but what we have failed in many regard,no aerators,not connected to flowing stream & even it water change is weekly not regularly or hourly,as clearly said it is prone to disease outbreak & also primitive

It is a good method if well designed and managed. They should introduce a uv fitted bio filter tank and sedimentation device into the system It does not need an aerator as it is continuously oxygenated as it flows. Addition of Blagdon anti bacteria and antifungi will improve the performance. The blagdon treatment will continuously recirculate and keep the system healthy.

lagbaja:

It is a good method if well designed and managed. They should introduce a uv fitted bio filter tank and sedimentation device into the system It does not need an aerator as it is continuously oxygenated as it flows. Addition of Blagdon anti bacteria and antifungi will improve the performance. The blagdon treatment will continuously recirculate and keep the system healthy.

i was about to answer robonski, b4 your writeup came in,if it isnt sloped constructn, an aerator will be needed.blagdon or fishmate biofilter can easily improve d health of the fishes, another work that needs to be done is flooring of at least 3 feet around the ponds to prevent washing of soil or debris into the pond

After we eventually drained the water completely I noticed about 5 massive fish inside the pond and they are about 3 months and I wonder how they got this big in a short space...

But not forgetting that they don't sort I was convinced that those massive fishes had fed on heavily on the smaller ones..

Check out the pix

Carnibals

Robonski this pretty fish had being feeding on smaller ones, my conclusion- the system is costly, primitive, from norway,isreal etc is mostly earthen or sea/river base fishfarming or the ones in surface structures or ponds, good work though

lagbaja: Carnibals

Enuf eating and feasting.. They are about 5 hire assasins in the pond..

excelsiorfarm: Robonski this pretty fish had being feeding on smaller ones, my conclusion- the system is costly, primitive, from norway,isreal etc is mostly earthen or sea/river base fishfarming or the ones in surface structures or ponds, good work though

Thanks!!! U have said it all about the pond has its adv and dis but I will not build such for myself..

The construction of the concrete pond is going on as I speak and its going to be casted.. With a size of 15 by 15 feet with a depth of 4 feet..I have shown the engineers what to do.. Cos I am already on my way to abakaliki.. Will be going back there by next month to check things out...

lagbaja:

It is a good method if well designed and managed. They should introduce a uv fitted bio filter tank and sedimentation device into the system It does not need an aerator as it is continuously oxygenated as it flows. Addition of Blagdon anti bacteria and antifungi will improve the performance. The blagdon treatment will continuously recirculate and keep the system healthy.

The recirculating system u suggested is good but expensive to maintain

@robonski
That 15 by 15 will house how many...?

I think part of the reason why we advise farmers to construct a big pond and not to overstock pond is to allow the fish to grow well and to avoid sickness. When there is no spacing or a pond is overcrowded, the fish will not only be small but they may be sick. Also, making use of pumping machine to pump out water from a concrete pond is expensive in nature. Catfish has gone beyond wasting money on it, we need to start minimising cost and maximising profit.

Peopl re saying that supply of catfish is bcoming more than demand.
How do we tackle this prob?

ayoola190: @robonski
That 15 by 15 will house how many...?

It will accomodate 1500 comfortably..

ayoola190: Peopl re saying that supply of catfish is bcoming more than demand.
How do we tackle this prob?

As far as I know the demand is more than the supply... Do u have fish for sale??

robonski15:

As far as I know the demand is more than the supply... Do u have fish for sale??

OK...not yet

ayoola190:
The recirculating system u suggested is good but expensive to maintain

Recirculatory systems are not expensive to maintain at all. I speak from experience. In Nigeria, It is far cheaper than all other methods when you place them side by side. It offers high density biomass, as much as 300kg of fish in a 1000litre tank. continuous oxygenation, faster growth rate. All you need to keep it running is an " I better pass my neighbor " generator (which has a capacity of about 500watts) as a back up to your phcn source.

I use a resun 200watts pump with capacity to pump 13000litres per hour. I also use a 50watts uv fitted biofilter tank. I spend less than N500 daily running my system. however, if you run it with PHCN only, it costs about N150 per day. Ie 200watts * 24 hours= 2.4kwattshr. 1 kwattshr costs about N30 if u use a prepaid meter. You also don't need to buy drugs all the time as the drug is continuously recirculated. You don't need frequent water change because the water is continuously cleaned by the system. This is the secret behind the successes of Durante, the biggest fish farm in Nigeria.

lagbaja:

Recirculatory systems are not expensive to maintain at all. I speak from experience. In Nigeria, It is far cheaper than all other methods when you place them side by side. It offers high density biomass, as much as 300kg of fish in a 1000litre tank. continuous oxygenation, faster growth rate. All you need to keep it running is an " I better pass my neighbor " generator (which has a capacity of about 500watts) as a back up to your phcn source.

I use a resun 200watts pump with capacity to pump 13000litres per hour. I also use a 50watts uv fitted biofilter tank. I spend less than N500 daily running my system. however, if you run it with PHCN only, it costs about N150 per day. Ie 200watts * 24 hours= 2.4kwattshr. 1 kwattshr costs about N30 if u use a prepaid meter. You also don't need to buy drugs all the time as the drug is continuously recirculated. You don't need frequent water change because the water is continuously cleaned by the system. This is the secret behind the successes of Durante, the biggest fish farm in Nigeria.

lagbaja indeed that is what hi tech fish farmers use as edge over others

excelsiorfarm: lagbaja indeed that is what hi tech fish farmers use as edge over others

I once visited a friend and at the back of his apartment there was an abandoned recirculatory system fish farm..it had two massive blue recirculatory tanks, 10 giant ponds and a standard hatchery.. All these were perfectly housed..

I asked my friend why it was abadoned and he told me the owners could not cope again because it was costly to mentain and they inquired loss all through...

robonski15:

I once visited a friend and at the back of his apartment there was an abandoned recirculatory system fish farm..it had two massive blue recirculatory tanks, 10 giant ponds and a standard hatchery.. All these were perfectly housed..

I asked my friend why it was abadoned and he told me the owners could not cope again because it was costly to mentain and they inquired loss all through...

simply they have no fund to fuel continuously, it has a high ROI if well managed, for a good one initial capital outlay is much, i have seen some too, but most cases it is wise to just use concrete tanks and do dripping or flow thru and be patient, presently am thinking of experimenting with aquaponics when i get d details right,though they all boil down to electricity

Hello robonski,

How are you and your family? Please I need your advise as regards DURANTE FEEDS. I want to know if you have any experience about it and whats your take on it?
I am also asking my fellow fishfarmers on board.

excelsiorfarm: simply they have no fund to fuel continuously, it has a high ROI if well managed, for a good one initial capital outlay is much, i have seen some too, but most cases it is wise to just use concrete tanks and do dripping or flow thru and be patient, presently am thinking of experimenting with aquaponics when i get d details right,though they all boil down to electricity

Aquaponics is just for a few fish backyard rearing... I don't think its for commercial purpose...

lagbaja:

Recirculatory systems are not expensive to maintain at all. I speak from experience. In Nigeria, It is far cheaper than all other methods when you place them side by side. It offers high density biomass, as much as 300kg of fish in a 1000litre tank. continuous oxygenation, faster growth rate. All you need to keep it running is an " I better pass my neighbor " generator (which has a capacity of about 500watts) as a back up to your phcn source.

I use a resun 200watts pump with capacity to pump 13000litres per hour. I also use a 50watts uv fitted biofilter tank. I spend less than N500 daily running my system. however, if you run it with PHCN only, it costs about N150 per day. Ie 200watts * 24 hours= 2.4kwattshr. 1 kwattshr costs about N30 if u use a prepaid meter. You also don't need to buy drugs all the time as the drug is continuously recirculated. You don't need frequent water change because the water is continuously cleaned by the system. This is the secret behind the successes of Durante, the biggest fish farm in Nigeria.

As good as the system is, it is still expensive in nature. N500 per day with gen amounts to N15000 ceteris paribus. A lot of small scale catfish farmer cannot afford it, so it is always advisable for them to change water every 3 days and pump water on their fish whenever there is light.

robonski15:

Aquaponics is just for a few fish backyard rearing... I don't think its for commercial purpose...

make yr research & come back sir

dapix: Hello robonski,

How are you and your family? Please I need your advise as regards DURANTE FEEDS. I want to know if you have any experience about it and whats your take on it?
I am also asking my fellow fishfarmers on board.

Durante is a very good feed. I think the 2mm has about 45% crude protein.

dapix: Hello robonski,

How are you and your family? Please I need your advise as regards DURANTE FEEDS. I want to know if you have any experience about it and whats your take on it?
I am also asking my fellow fishfarmers on board.

Hello family is doing great, thanks..

Durante feed is good EXPECIALLY THE LOCALLY FORMULATED SINKING FEED.. They have one of the best formulated feed in the market, I don't think any other company does it... The feed is well formulated, brownish in colour, smells nice, very smooth and heavy...

excelsiorfarm: make yr research & come back sir

Since last two years..

robonski15:

Since last two years..

i have been at it b4 then, then that means your info isnt conclusive, aquaponics is used on commercial level, do more research globally

ab1x:



As good as the system is, it is still expensive in nature. N500 per day with gen amounts to N15000 ceteris paribus. A lot of small scale catfish farmer cannot afford it, so it is always advisable for them to change water every 3 days and pump water on their fish whenever there is light.

What you stand to gain in terms of yield and efficency (cost savings) far outweigh what it will cost you to run a continous recirculatory system. The evidences are there and are undisputable. Take a tour of durante and u will quit your line of argument. Asian aquaculture system relies heavily on water recirculation because it reduces labour costs. A good recirculatory system is capable of supporting 300kg of fish per 1000litres. the capacity of my Resun pump is 13000 litres which translates to about 3900 of 1kg fishes after about 4 months. The system helps to maintain lower feed conversion ratio. M the fishes grows faster, Mortality is also reduced drastically. You also reduce labour costs.

Moreover, it may not cost up to N15k when complemented with PHCN.for small farms,u can run the system for few hours if you have a water reservoir. The water reservoir will serves the system when you shut the power down to save costs.

@all, the fact is recirculatory outweighs all system, no argument about that, lets focus on how people can do better in their respective pond system

lagbaja:

What you stand to gain in terms of yield and efficency (cost savings) far outweigh what it will cost you to run a continous recirculatory system. The evidences are there and are undisputable. Take a tour of durante and u will quit your line of argument. Asian aquaculture system relies heavily on water recirculation because it reduces labour costs. A good recirculatory system is capable of supporting 300kg of fish per 1000litres. the capacity of my Resun pump is 13000 litres which translates to about 3900 of 1kg fishes after about 4 months. The system helps to maintain lower feed conversion ratio. M the fishes grows faster, Mortality is also reduced drastically. You also reduce labour costs.

Moreover, it may not cost up to N15k when complemented with PHCN.for small farms,u can run the system for few hours if you have a water reservoir. The water reservoir will serves the system when you shut the power down to save costs.

what about powering it with inverter, complimenting generator? But u dint add cost of maintaining gen in ur initial calculatn, might develop fault, due to runin it often.