Continuation from our last post on fish farming
HOW TO RAISE CATFISH
Although raising catfish can be considered easy, you will still need proper catfish farming equipment to ensure that you will get a good harvest. The equipment investment here depends on how big is the scale of your aquaculture business will be.
EQUIPMENT YOU NEED FOR RAISING CATFISH
1.Catfish pond or pool with good water flow : firstly you should prepare a pond, or pool depends on how many fishes you want to put in that pond. However, ensure that the pond is large enough for the catfish to grow well. Additionally, the pond should be deep as well, and the optimal depth is around 1-1.5metres.
Raising catfish is not always have to be in a pool, you can also raise catfish in a tank. Catfish farming in tanks is not only easy but also great for you that do not have a large enough land to make a large scale catfish farming. A pond with water inflow and outflow is good for the fish's growth. It will encourage them to eat more, the more they eat, the bigger they can grow. In fact poor water quality will decrease the catfish's appetite. Don't put too many catfish fingerings in a pond because it can pollute the water easily.
3.protective nets to ensure that the catfish are safe from predators : whenever you are going to set up your catfish farming, you also have to consider to set up a protective nets too. Small catfishes are delicacies for other animals like birds, cats or lizards. To avoid your catfish juveniles are eaten by predators. You need to set up a protective net at least until they are 2 months old or with big enough size. Bigger catfish are rarely become the target of predators. However, you can also keep the protective net until it is time of harvesting the catfish.
Feed Catfish
For juveniles catfish or younger, you can give them the floating type of feed first. Once they got bigger and approximately 2 months old, you can switch their feed. Although catfish are usually bottom feeders, giving them a floating feed at their early is good to avoid overfeeding. This way, you can give the feed gradually while letting them eat it and also reduce the possibility of water pollution due to uneaten feed which can be bad for young catfish.
You also need to pay attention to the catfish nutrition while choosing the type of feed for them. Find feeds with a good formula and enhanced nutrition to make sure they can grow optimally. You can also give the fish additional vitamins or probiotics.
Feeding the catfish should depend on their growth progress. Fingerlings should be fed twice a day, while post-fingerlings should be fed once or twice a day. When they got into the juvenile stage, you can still feed them once or twice every day. But if they reached the post-juvenile stage or around 10 grams weight or above, you should feed them once a day.
While it is important to keep them well-fed, make sure you are not overfeeding them since it is only going to make them sick or die as well. If you see the fishes get excited or hurried when you feed them, then it means they are hungry. Once the responses reduced, or you barely see them popping their heads of the water, you can stop giving them feed.
Make sure to use a fishing net specifically to harvest fish that made of smooth and slippery materials. By using this type of fishing net, you will not risk causing cuts or wounds to the fishes. Once you catch the fishes you need, put it in a container with water to make sure they still live long enough when you sell them. After all, everyone will prefer fresh fish to buy.
Thanks for taking your time to read this blog. On my next session we will be learning the possible causes of catfish death.
