₦airaland Forum

Scholar212:
Good morning house, my sister started catfish farming mid last year, the person that she was learning from actually sold the juveniles that she has sorted out and taken the ones that are fast growing for herself( we discovered this later). We didn't know as JJC, long story short after spending about 200k in feeding them for 6months, she has sold almost everything and it is less than 150k at 600naira per kg ( farm bulk buyers). Please I want to know if the 600naira isn't too small or it is standard price( location is Asaba delta state) and how can she identify good juveniles when stocking again

Larwin:
EC is electrical conductivity, the test kit can be gotten anywhere they are selling plumbing materials or chemicals. I am just saying the treatment you ll do to make your water OK for the fishes shouldn't be expensive. Ordinary filtering could solve it.

You can as well consult a lab for comprehensive analysis. They ll check for the physical, chemical and biological properties in the water. And as well specify the treatment required if any

haywire1:
Run a pH test on d water first



#

Scholar212:
first I no be madam am a dude, it is not blame passing, it was one of her staff that later admitted it indirectly, my dad has two ponds and my sister two, same feeding water and all other conditions. Just 2months and the juvenile my dad stocked from another source is almost the size of my sisters own at 4months.. Thanks for your response, the price you stated is it for retail or wholesale price because they are calculated per kg for wholesale and almost all the different buyers contacted wont go beyond 600/kg ( more like they decided it in a union meeting)

maco1:
Good evening house, I want to raise fish in an earthen pond what sort of treatment do I need in the pond. And how can I apply GNC organic fertilizer in the pond I heard it help the fish grow healthy

aragon4realz:
pls what is the cause of white substances on fish tentacles/antenna and how do I battle it before I start losing my stock

Scholar212:
Good morning house, my sister started catfish farming mid last year, the person that she was learning from actually sold the juveniles that she has sorted out and taken the ones that are fast growing for herself( we discovered this later). We didn't know as JJC, long story short after spending about 200k in feeding them for 6months, she has sold almost everything and it is less than 150k at 600naira per kg ( farm bulk buyers). Please I want to know if the 600naira isn't too small or it is standard price( location is Asaba delta state) and how can she identify good juveniles when stocking again

Fish4wealth:
It could be as a result of infection or an attack......ensure your water is clean and feed your fish to satiation. Do regular sorting to prevent further attacks....
All the best.

Scholar212:
Good morning house, my sister started catfish farming mid last year, the person that she was learning from actually sold the juveniles that she has sorted out and taken the ones that are fast growing for herself( we discovered this later). We didn't know as JJC, long story short after spending about 200k in feeding them for 6months, she has sold almost everything and it is less than 150k at 600naira per kg ( farm bulk buyers). Please I want to know if the 600naira isn't too small or it is standard price( location is Asaba delta state) and how can she identify good juveniles when stocking again

olasunks:
Thanks. I tried few juveniles in the water. They hardly eat and their skin peels. One of the fishes became bloated and stay alive but swim upside down.They were not responding well.I will take the water for lab test. Do you now any lab test preferably closer to satellite town or festac.

olasunks:
Thanks. I tried few juveniles in the water. They hardly eat and their skin peels. One of the fishes became bloated and stay alive but swim upside down.They were not responding well.I will take the water for lab test. Do you now any lab test preferably closer to satellite town or festac.

Larwin:
Is that the water from festac? I don't know any lab around that place, I run my analysis in ib/ìfẹ́. You can check unilag they should ve a facility for that

olasunks:
no it is satellite area. Some people get clean water.
If water has EC is it good for fish farming or not.

Larwin:
Clean water s not common for satellite town. High EC might affect the fish.

aragon4realz:
take a look into catfish smoking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVUNZPhhANk

olasunks:
At what level can it affect the fish per litre.

tecnoguy83:
Can you drop ur whatsapp contact to b added up to delta state farmers.

Scholar212:
first I no be madam am a dude, it is not blame passing, it was one of her staff that later admitted it indirectly, my dad has two ponds and my sister two, same feeding water and all other conditions. Just 2months and the juvenile my dad stocked from another source is almost the size of my sisters own at 4months.. Thanks for your response, the price you stated is it for retail or wholesale price because they are calculated per kg for wholesale and almost all the different buyers contacted wont go beyond 600/kg ( more like they decided it in a union meeting)

more like they decided it in a union meeting

aragon4realz:
hope this video is educative enough for you

LaBikerFarms:
God bless you richly for this information.
With this i have i have 60% of all i need to start.


Types of Catfish Feed:

Since there are different stages of catfish growth, there are different stages of fish feed; fish feed are often denoted in mm, so you’ll see/hear about 1.5mm feed, 1.8mm feed, 2mm feed, 4mm feed, 6mm feed etc.
There’s also extruded (or floating) and non-extruded (or sinking) feed.
What I recommend is to give your fishes extruded (or floating) feed for up to 2 months before switching to the non-extruded (or sinking) feed.
Catfishes are mostly bottom feeders, so by their very nature they are designed to be eating non-extruded (or sinking) feed, but the reason I recommend giving them floating feed at the early stage is because they are more fragile then.
With floating feed, you can put the feed on the pond gradually and let them eat it; the risk of overfeeding is significantly reduced, thereby ensuring there is no water pollution that can lead to high mortality in your very fragile juveniles.
Furthermore, due to their fragile nature, giving your juveniles feed that isn’t rich with the right nutrients can affect their long-term growth; going with floating feed from recognized producers like Durante, Cargill Aqua Feed, Raanan, and Coppens will ensure optimal growth of your fishes, even when you later switch to sinking feed comprising of your own formula.

That said, the top feed producers that I recommend and have used are Aqua Feed, Durante and Raanan; I’ve heard that Coppens could be the best, but there are lots of adulterated versions of it here in Nigeria, so I won’t recommend it since the inexperienced farmer could fall victim to these adulterated versions.
From my research, I have also noticed that Aqua Feed, Coppens and Raanan are available internationally, so my recommendation isn’t restricted to just Nigeria.

What Feed Size to Give Your Catfishes:
Like I said earlier, there are various fish feed sizes, whether you go for floating or sinking feed; sinking feed is usually bigger, and longer, than floating feed.
From my experience, here are the different sizes I’m currently aware of:
1.5mm, 1.8mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, etc.
The bigger you fishes, the bigger the feed size they can pick.

Here’s what I recommend if you just stocked your ponds, if your fishes fall into the following categories:
Fingerlings (3 to 4 grams): 1.5mm feed size
Post-fingerlings (4 – 6 grams): 1.8mm feed size
Juvenile (6 – 10 grams): 2mm feed size
Post-juvenile (10 – 50 grams): 2mm feed size

As your fishes grow, the size of feed they can pick will increase. Here’s the feed size I recommend for bigger fishes, based on their size/weight, if you’re to give them floating feed:
10 – 50 grams: 2mm feed size
50 – 150 grams: 3mm feed size
150 – 400 grams: 4mm feed size
All things being equal, your fishes should be around 200 – 300 grams in 2 months with floating feed alone, if they are being fed properly; after then, you can switch to sinking feed and give them the following feed sizes:
200 – 300 grams: 2mm feed size
300 to 600 grams: 4mm feed size
600 grams to 1kg+: 6mm feed size
If your fishes exceed 1kg in weight, and you’re able to get bigger feed sizes, then you can consider giving them 8mm, or even later 10mm, feed sizes. 3 to 4kg fishes eat 6mm sinking feed just fine, though, so don’t worry too much if you can’t find bigger feed sizes.

How Often Should You Feed Your Fishes?

How often you feed your fishes will differ depending on a lot of factors, but for the results I get – an average of 1.5kg to 2kg fish size in 6 months – here’s what I recommend:
Fingerlings (3 to 4 grams): twice daily
Post-fingerlings (4 – 6 grams): once or twice daily
Juvenile (6 – 10 grams): once or twice daily
Post-juvenile (10 grams and above): once daily
Anything above post-juvenile: once daily
All things being equal, I feed my fishes daily until they reach the 6 months mark when I sell them; this is absolutely essential if you want optimal results.

Types of Catfish Feeding:

There are two feeding types I use for my fishes:

Broadcast Feeding:
This basically involves me going round my ponds and spreading floating feed all over the pond to ensure all the fishes in the pond can eat.
I use this for my fishes if they are in the fingerlings to post-juvenile stage, and I do this because they just got introduced into a large body of water, often from somewhere significantly smaller, and not all the fishes can come to the same spot to eat.
By spreading the floating (or extruding) fish across the pond, I’m ensuring they all get to eat.
Once my fishes become more mature, often this is in the post-juvenile stage or around 30 – 50 grams, I instantly switch to spot feeding.

Spot Feeding:
Spot feeding is less time-consuming and more effective, since it is less stressful and I can carefully monitor how my fishes are eating.
Spot feeding is basically me feeding my fishes in one spot.
I try getting my 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, by ONLY feeding them on that spot for a few days, they’ll be conditioned to come to that spot and eat.

Buying Catfish Feed vs. Making Your Feed:

In the short time that I’ve been in this business, I’ve realized that you’ll be more profitable if you make your own feed as opposed to buying feed from major producers.
Some farmers rely on floating feed from producers like Durante and Aqua Feed to grow their fishes, but due to the expensive nature of these fishes, it can be unprofitable on the long term.
If you learn how to make your own feed, though, you’ll save a lot more money and you can have more impact on your fishes since you can easily control what they are eating.
That said, I recommend buying feed from feed producers like Raanan or Aqua Feed until your fishes reach 200 – 300 grams, and then giving them local feed.
Protein is the main ingredient in fish feed, and every good feed formula contains a significant amount of protein; however, fishes still need energy, mainly found in carbohydrate, to process and digest the feed so a protein-only feed isn’t going to be best.

My Fish Feed Formula:
That said, here’s the formula I use for my fishes depending on the stage they are at; this formula uses the Hhanstholm 72% fish meal; I use local fish that can be gotten here in Nigeria depending on availability, but there is a lot of fluctuations in their availability, which became especially pronounced during the 2015 elections, ensuring there hasn’t been local fish that fish farmers can use for over 2 months now at the time of writing this, so I’m giving a formula based on the Hanstholm 72% fish meal, since this is always available:

Feed Formula for 200 – 600 Grams Catfish:
Your catfishes are still very small and tender at this stage, so they need quality nutrient in their feed; this formula results in a feed rich in good protein but it is a bit expensive; it is not as expensive as using floating feed, though.
You should only have to use this feed formula for around 1 – 2 months.
Fish meal (Hanstholm, 72%): 25%
Soya Meal (or full fat soya): 30%
GNC (Groundnut cake): 20%
Dough/Maize/Biscuit (or other main forms of energy/carbohydrate): 20%
Molasses: 5%
(Based on this formula, 1 ton of fish feed will have: 250kg fish meal, 300kg soya meal, 200kg GNC, 200kg Dough, 50kg molasses)
The above are the main ingredients; you can then use other ingredients such as DCP (Dicalcium Phosphate), Methionine, Lysine, Salt, Vit. C, Fish Premixes, Antibiotics, etc. according to your preference.

Feed Formula for 600 Grams and Above:
Fish meal (Hanstholm, 72%): 10%
Soya Meal (or full fat soya): 40%
GNC (Groundnut cake): 20%
Dough/Maize/Biscuit (or other main forms of energy/carbohydrate): 25%
Molasses: 5%
(Based on this formula, 1 ton of fish feed will have: 100kg fish meal, 400kg soya meal, 200kg GNC, 250kg Dough, 50kg molasses)
The above are the main ingredients; you can then use other ingredients such as DCP (Dicalcium Phosphate), Methionine, Lysine, Salt, Vit. C, Fish Premixes, Antibiotics, etc. according to your preference.
PS. In my own case, for 1 ton of feed I use the following: DCP (Dicalcium Phosphate): 10kg, Methionine: 1kg, Lysine: 1kg, Salt: 2 – 3kg, Vit. C: 1kg, Fish Premixes: 5kg, Antibiotics: Optional, unless my fishes are sick (in which case the quantity depends on the antibiotics used; it’s often around 500g to 2kg for 1 ton of feed, though).
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TO BE CONTINUED...
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robonski15:
My fellow farmers and aspiring farmers fish business is no joke.. Its not what u toil with, its serious business.. Before u venture into it go and learn it practically.. Go to a good farm to see for youself.. Majority of the people that claim to be in the business are thieves.. They have sugar coated mouth to lure people into it and take their money...

I had to sqeeze out time to write this little piece for aspiring and practising farmers..

I am not here to sell any manual/books fingerlings or juvenile please.. Am here to answer any sort of question you need to know about catfish farming.. Feel free to ask me because I want the best for everybody,let's share ideas and make money together rather than exploiting people... So am all ears to your questions.. GOD BLESS YOU ALL..

visit www.agricnetwork.com to learn more about catfish farming business and also connect with other fish farmers. like us on [url]facebook.com/agricnetwork[/url]

Tennorazy:
Indeed i am happy to have come across this write-up, you've just given me the confident I needed. Thanks @Robonski. Please reply my mail that will be coming through and will also add up on WhatsApp to follow up.

Olupharez:
Oga Robonski, am quote from an old post.
When u said to "Maturity" do u mean 6 months?

Hi, u can start with a thousand fish,of which u can feed them comfortably till maturity with the available facility..After your first harvest u can increase your stocking...

My email is robonski15@rocketmail.com