₦airaland Forum

I paid a visit to a fish farm in Port Harcourt and it turned into one of the most eye-opening lessons I’ve had in aquaculture. This farmer lost over 3,000 fish in a single day because of one costly mistake.

What happened, why it happened, and most importantly, how you can avoid making the same mistake could save your farm from a similar loss.

Whether you’re already into fish farming or planning to start, this is a lesson you shouldn’t miss.

Watch the full interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCzkaL81HIU

The owner of the fish farm is Mr. Onyekachi Omenuko, Co-founder of Discover Agricultural Concept. He is a well-known fish farmer in Port Harcourt with a proven track record of helping aspiring and existing fish farmers build successful and sustainable aquaculture businesses in Nigeria and beyond.

In this interview, Mr. Omenuko shared practical insights drawn from years of experience, highlighting the common mistakes that hold many fish farmers back and how to avoid them. The discussion covers essential knowledge for anyone looking to start, manage, or grow a profitable fish farm.

It was truly an eye-opening interview, filled with valuable lessons that could save fish farmers from costly mistakes and significantly improve their chances of long-term success.

I believe this will help a lot of fish farmers

Baba, abeg just say the mistake here; data too cost

But seriously,.one mistake I think is:
- you want to change water in your tank; so you just flush away ALL THE OLD WATER. You don't know that it will cause environmental stress SUDDENLY for the fish?

- then fish immediately starts dying.

- the correct way is that there must be inflow+ outflow at same time ...BUT INFLOW WATER PRESSURE AND OUTFLOW MUST BE DONE SMALL-SMALL : don't expect to change ALL the water within 30 mins: target 2.5-4 hrs.

- this is to give the fish time to adjust to the environment
- also, as you are removing water, be replacing water too at same time. Fish body hates sharp change in water conditions: e dey cause stress for them.

- also, when transporting them, transport them with their old water o!
Don't just use new water. Also, a friend of mine adds palm oil to their water to reduce stress ( ask farmers if this is a workable option; I'm not too certain about this).

Point and kill in the drain. Damn!!

Pls just summarize the lessons here.

caye:
Baba, abeg just say the mistake here; data too cost

But seriously,.one mistake I think is:
- you want to change water in your tank; so you just flush away ALL THE OLD WATER. You don't know that it will cause environmental stress SUDDENLY for the fish?

- then fish immediately starts dying.

- the correct way is that there must be inflow+ outflow at same time ...BUT INFLOW WATER PRESSURE AND OUTFLOW MUST BE DONE SMALL-SMALL : don't expect to change ALL the water within 30 mins: target 2.5-4 hrs.

- this is to give the fish time to adjust to the environment
- also, as you are removing water, be replacing water too at same time. Fish body hates sharp change in water conditions: e dey cause stress for them.

- also, when transporting them, transport them with their old water o!
Don't just use new water. Also, a friend of mine adds palm oil to their water to reduce stress ( ask farmers if this is a workable option; I'm not too certain about this).

I don't subscribe to this advice of yours. Infact it is even worse.

The correct thing is this: use a thermometer to measure the outflow and inflow. If the temperature is the same or with a 2-5⁰ range, your suggestions could suffice.

If the difference is more than 7-10⁰, slow the outflow, simulate the temperature of the inflow gently till both are of similar temperatures.

That is why desilting or draining of ponds should be done early morning before the sun is up.

As for the palm oil stuff, you are correct.

No be new thing na....


I have a friend who purchased about 400 snails to rear, only to wake up the next day to realize about 20 PCs left. Guess what, the remaining ones strolled off into the forest.

You don't want to tell us unless we watch your video. Just Dey play

One mistake out of 1000 more mistakes to learn if one keep living on self denial

Wow, God bless the above sensible commenters for their advice

Why should you even want to change the entire volume of water at once or within a short period. Why not regulate it for optimal quality by constant and equal in and outflow determined and adjusted according to temperature, fish size/feed frequency and inclement weather (faster during the dry, slower during the rains.

The natural catfish habitat is not laboratory clean water. As long as it holds sufficient oxygen and ammonia levels are controlled (experienced folks can tell that from the smell) your fish will do just fine.

And borehole or rainwater is preferable to municipal water that is dozed with chlorine and other chemicals fish do not adjust well to.

Shellsploit:
No be new thing na....


I have a friend who purchased about 400 snails to rear, only to wake up the next day to realize about 20 PCs left. Guess what, the remaining ones strolled off into the forest.

They went home....
Wetin concern herdsman for Manhattan.....

The new trend of not typing out the main point but want us to watch the video first to know

Well, am not watching any video and after this comment, am out of the page. Good luck

If you really want to enjoy catfish just raise them in their natural habitat and you eliminate, 80 percent of the problems.

If you have the money just buy up wetlands, flood plains, river valleys, all these a bit out of town. They are usually cheap and undesirable. When urbanisation catches up the value of your land will be worth selling and moving further away.

Avoid urban low lands as you will be dealing with pollution which is not good for fish and huge waste management challenges.

In their natural habitats feeding is less except if you are chasing targets and water management is less complex. If you let duckweed and other water plants grow in rotational stocking it will help clean the water. Natural ponds also provide natural antibiotics due to complex chemistry in soil, water and plants making your fish hardier just like free range poultry is more resistant to diseases.

The downsides are the initial costs of building earthen ponds and the infrastructure need to keep predators out, to harvest and control flooding when it occurs.

By the way stocking density is also more for natural ponds of similar volumes.

Shellsploit:
No be new thing na....


I have a friend who purchased about 400 snails to rear, only to wake up the next day to realize about 20 PCs left. Guess what, the remaining ones strolled off into the forest.

He made a mistake by not using net to guide and cover it

Fuckin lol.. no b small lol

Shellsploit:
No be new thing na....


I have a friend who purchased about 400 snails to rear, only to wake up the next day to realize about 20 PCs left. Guess what, the remaining ones strolled off into the forest.

How can fish die just because you changed water? I've raised thousands of fish and I've drained several ponds at the same time before refilling with fresh water. I never had this induce mortality of any sort. So what is this man talking about?

E

Shellsploit:
No be new thing na....


I have a friend who purchased about 400 snails to rear, only to wake up the next day to realize about 20 PCs left. Guess what, the remaining ones strolled off into the forest.

This crack me up really

Shellsploit:
No be new thing na....


I have a friend who purchased about 400 snails to rear, only to wake up the next day to realize about 20 PCs left. Guess what, the remaining ones strolled off into the forest.

You have started again oooooo hahaha 😂

If this man is a billionaire, so many people will benefit.

See how he generously shared his business secret, so many people won't do this. God bless him so much.

Shellsploit:
No be new thing na....


I have a friend who purchased about 400 snails to rear, only to wake up the next day to realize about 20 PCs left. Guess what, the remaining ones strolled off into the forest.

:::


Where did he even keep the snails that they were strolling away at leisure?


:::

Mmmm

Okay

Okay

Okay

Okay

Northsouth:
The new trend of not typing out the main point but want us to watch the video first to know

Well, am not watching any video and after this comment, am out of the page. Good luck

whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?

schoolboymatt:
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?
whose loss?

your loss, am still learning other ways, thank God there are written articles on other journals.
No be only videos dey else where

caye:
Baba, abeg just say the mistake here; data too cost

But seriously,.one mistake I think is:
- you want to change water in your tank; so you just flush away ALL THE OLD WATER. You don't know that it will cause environmental stress SUDDENLY for the fish?

- then fish immediately starts dying.

- the correct way is that there must be inflow+ outflow at same time ...BUT INFLOW WATER PRESSURE AND OUTFLOW MUST BE DONE SMALL-SMALL : don't expect to change ALL the water within 30 mins: target 2.5-4 hrs.

- this is to give the fish time to adjust to the environment
- also, as you are removing water, be replacing water too at same time. Fish body hates sharp change in water conditions: e dey cause stress for them.

- also, when transporting them, transport them with their old water o!
Don't just use new water. Also, a friend of mine adds palm oil to their water to reduce stress ( ask farmers if this is a workable option; I'm not too certain about this).

It does not matter. What matters mostly is the quality of your fish first. Good quality catfish can stay alive out of water for up to eight hours. Look at the process of hatching. You take the female out of water to get it ready, ensuring that it is stable. It does not die. Catfish is quite durable or formidable, unlike tilapia.

In a concrete pond, the rate of pollution can be unbelievable, making the pond stinking very fast. It’s very important to get polluted water out of the pond and refill it with clean good water. It refreshes the fish, makes them feel better. It does not matter if you do it slowly or speedily. Just get stinking and dirty water out completely in a concrete pond.

The earthen pond is nature at work. Every second, fresh water comes by nature from earth to replenish the water and keep the fish going. Fish swim very well and grow much bigger, as there’s enough space to swim. You can have water as high as six feet depth and above in the pond, ensuring that fish live and thrive.

The major problem with inexperienced farmers is that they want to make millions overnight, overstocking their ponds. Looking at those ponds, which of them can carry 3000 fish at once? Fish need space to jump, swim vertically and horizontally. Ponds need enough water, creating their natural habitat. You cannot have little water in your ponds and expect good results. If you have between four and five feet of water in your pond, with good feed and practices, expect good results.

One serious issue with some fish farmers is the timing of their water changing. You cannot feed your fish and not long after that, change the water. Expect vomiting from unstable stomach. Vomiting can make fish sick and cause casualties for the farmer. Again, losing 3000 fish could have been the result of accidental poisoning, as I strongly believe. The man has moved forward successfully, thankfully. If he did not have the resources and zeal, he would have packed up. Success in the business makes you happy.

I suffered such loss in an earthen pond many years ago, due to heavy rain fall and erosion breaking into the ponds and causing over 7000 fish to swim away. I was in my home that fateful weekend not knowing that the fish had gone away. I no fit sleep for days. I have been a fish farmer since 2004.

My brother @ ElevationD, thanks for your Observations and experience, the maximum capacity this farm can culture at any given cycle, shouldn’t be more than 6000 fishes, for melange sizes at harvest.

The Entire square floor area of all his pond is not more than 150 sqm.

From the videos, he said the farm carrying capacity is 25,000, the truth is with that stocking density, high mortality is bond occur, in reality from my experience, this farm is having mortality on a daily basis, the fishes would not grow well.

For me, one of my Earthen pond measuring
8 meters by 50 meters By 1.6 meters depth, (400sqm) I stock 4000 fishes my target sizes are 2kg averagely.

I do solar water flow through water supply on my farm a daily basis, With my type of practice, I don’t pump out water from my pond, for the 7 months durations i culture my catfishes.

From my practical experience I spend 90% on feed, I also. Produce cheaper sinking feed for my farm.

In Summary, please let’s ensure we rather Under stock for better results.

Reference:
Why should you even want to change the entire volume of water at once or within a short period. Why not regulate it for optimal quality by constant and equal in and outflow determined and adjusted according to temperature, fish size/feed frequency and inclement weather (faster during the dry, slower during the rains.

The natural catfish habitat is not laboratory clean water. As long as it holds sufficient oxygen and ammonia levels are controlled (experienced folks can tell that from the smell) your fish will do just fine.

And borehole or rainwater is preferable to municipal water that is dozed with chlorine and other chemicals fish do not adjust well to.

Lack of proper knowledge

ElevationD:
It does not matter. What matters mostly is the quality of your fish first. Good quality catfish can stay alive out of water for up to eight hours. Look at the process of hatching. You take the female out of water to get it ready, ensuring that it is stable. It does not die. Catfish is quite durable or formidable, unlike tilapia.

In a concrete pond, the rate of pollution can be unbelievable, making the pond stinking very fast. It’s very important to get polluted water out of the pond and refill it with clean good water. It refreshes the fish, makes them feel better. It does not matter if you do it slowly or speedily. Just get stinking and dirty water out completely in a concrete pond.

The earthen pond is nature at work. Every second, fresh water comes by nature from earth to replenish the water and keep the fish going. Fish swim very well and grow much bigger, as there’s enough space to swim. You can have water as high as six feet depth and above in the pond, ensuring that fish live and thrive.

The major problem with inexperienced farmers is that they want to make millions overnight, overstocking their ponds. Looking at those ponds, which of them can carry 3000 fish at once? Fish need space to jump, swim vertically and horizontally. Ponds need enough water, creating their natural habitat. You cannot have little water in your ponds and expect good results. If you have between four and five feet of water in your pond, with good feed and practices, expect good results.

One serious issue with some fish farmers is the timing of their water changing. You cannot feed your fish and not long after that, change the water. Expect vomiting from unstable stomach. Vomiting can make fish sick and cause casualties for the farmer. Again, losing 3000 fish could have been the result of accidental poisoning, as I strongly believe. The man has moved forward successfully, thankfully. If he did not have the resources and zeal, he would have packed up. Success in the business makes you happy.

I suffered such loss in an earthen pond many years ago, due to heavy rain fall and erosion breaking into the ponds and causing over 7000 fish to swim away. I was in my home that fateful weekend not knowing that the fish had gone away. I no fit sleep for days. I have been a fish farmer since 2004.

It is not about staying out of water or lack of water, it is about sudden change in the water temperature and may be pH too

Northsouth:
your loss, am still learning other ways, thank God there are written articles on other journals.
No be only videos dey else where

how is it my loss. just say u no get data make i help ur life

TheStoriesOfMan:
If the difference is more than 7-10⁰, slow the outflow, y simulate the temperature of the inflow gentl till both are of similar temperatures.

How does one do that? Care to give me proper details, as it will help others too.