Grow-out catfish production.... Part one

fish farming in Nigeria as a (business) has come to stay and a lot of people (investors) are venturing into the business of catfish production year in year out, and a lot of them are streaming out of the business because of one reason or the other, to me its due to lack of knowledge..

There is a high demand of catfish in Nigeria presently due to the ban of importation of fish by the federal government, therefore creating a great business boom for catfish farmers.. fish farming is one of the most knowledgeable, sensitive, time demanding and capital intensive business you can think of.

besides, a very vital input is required in fish farming (grow out) is the fish seed (fries, fingerlings and juvenile) the non availability of good fish seeds impedes effectively the progress of any grow-out operation, which will be discussed intensively soonest..

The grow-out operation involves the nurturing of catfish fingerlings to adult table size suitable for sale and consumption.. The following are basic requirement for a successful grow-out farming :-

TYPES OF PONDS

1. Concrete pond
2.Earthen pond
3.Tarpaulin pond
4.plastic pond

CONCRETE PONDS

Concrete ponds are constructed using concrete materials (blocks, cement, sand, gravel etc.) There are different types of operations and they are :-

1.STAGNANT CONCRETE SYSTEM.
2.FREE FLOW OR FLOW THROUGH CONCRETE SYSTEM.
3.RE-CIRCULATORY.

STAGNANT SYSTEM:

Is such that the water once pumped in will remain until wen you notice that the water is bad before you change. most farmers operating the stagnant system usually change the water every 3 days.. this type of pond compared to other concrete types is cheaper to construct but in terms of stocking capacity, fish growth and output, it gives least result regarding performance. stocking  density is between 10-20 fish per square meter.

FREE FLOW OR FLOW THROUGH

This pond system works on the principle that fresh water flow into the pond continuously,while waste water from the pond flow out continuously..The running of the water is not necessarily  continuous for 24 hours everyday rather it can be made to run and slopped intermittently every 4-6 hours.

The major shortcoming of this system is that water wastage is very high in which case it may not be very feasible when constant water availability is not absolutely guaranteed, but the benefit are tremendous.. Firstly, the stocking capacity is nearly equal to that of re-circulatory, likewise the growth rate and time wen is fast and shorter..

furthermore, the cost of construction is equal to that of the stagnant pond but far lesser than that of the re-circulatory pond system.. stocking density is between 50-100 fish per square meter..


WATER RE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
  

The pond type is such that there is a complete water refining and circulation. the principle behind this type of pond system is such that , there is a high water reservoir tank(s) where water goes out from and enters into the pond and at the same time waste water is discharged from the pond into a refining  BH chamber from where it is passed through a series of sedimentation tanks.

This pond types is most advanced in terms of water efficiency, stocking capacity, water quality and percentage of dissolved oxygen in the pond. The output out weighs whatever cost  and maintenance implications, this is because the stocking capacity is higher, fish growth rate is faster , the harvest period is shorter and water consumption is lesser.. stocking density is between 100-350 fish per square meter..