Farm management tips:How to produce fish fry cheaply
Sep 28, 2011
Putting up a modern fish hatchery involves investing in an expensive assembly of equipment such as running generator, aerators, water heating solar system, water pumping and circulation system.
BY VISION REPORTER
Putting up a modern fish hatchery involves investing in an expensive assembly of equipment such as running generator, aerators, water heating solar system, water pumping and circulation system.
One also needs imported scoop nets and hatch traps, water-tasting gadgets and a large breeding pond for the fry (baby fish).
Because of the huge sums of money required for such a plant, many fish farmers are struggling to get fish fry to replenish their ponds.
All they know and dream about is the sophisticated hatchery of that well established fish farmer which is beyond their ability to afford.
Cheap options
Yet simple options as cheap as sh50,000 which the farmers can craft themselves exist. Alfred Obedmoth, a prominent fish farmer in Arua advises farmers to go for such cheap alternatives.
One needs an inner tube of a vehicle (it doesn’t have to be new), a 20lt jerrycan, and a wide bowel.
The three items are joined together through disused drip water tubes, one taking air from the car tube and the other supplying warm water to the bowel. The inner tube is periodically inflated with a foot pump to ensure constant supply of fresh air. A plastic tube connected to the mouth of the bowel acts as an outlet for over flowing water.
Fish fry need warm water between 260C to 280C to thrive. The farmer can heat the water in a clean container on a charcoal oven or stove before pouring it into the jerry can. The adjustable mechanism on the drip water tubes can be used to control the amount of water and air entering the open bowel.
The equipment must be kept inside a dark room because the fish fry don’t feed in light.
Capturing the eggs
Unlike tilapia, some fish like catfish or mirror carps have to be induced to produce eggs.
For a mirror carp, Obedmoth says a farmer can use the head of a flowering papyrus to collect the eggs.
You insert the papyrus flower into the water in a holding tank. Get one mature fish and apply pressure on the belly to see if it has eggs. Get a male fish, press the abdomen to see if it can release sperm.
Then the two are placed in the holding tank which has a small surface area and roaming space for the female one to run away. As the fish struggle to mate, the female fish produces eggs into the water and the male fish spreads sperm to fertilise them. The eggs hanging on the papyrus should be removed after 24 hours. Then the mature fish can be returned to the main pond.
Putting up a modern fish hatchery involves investing in an expensive assembly of equipment such as running generator, aerators, water heating solar system, water pumping and circulation system.
One also needs imported scoop nets and hatch traps, water-tasting gadgets and a large breeding pond for the fry (baby fish).
Because of the huge sums of money required for such a plant, many fish farmers are struggling to get fish fry to replenish their ponds.
All they know and dream about is the sophisticated hatchery of that well established fish farmer which is beyond their ability to afford.
Cheap options
Yet simple options as cheap as sh50,000 which the farmers can craft themselves exist. Alfred Obedmoth, a prominent fish farmer in Arua advises farmers to go for such cheap alternatives.
One needs an inner tube of a vehicle (it doesn’t have to be new), a 20lt jerrycan, and a wide bowel.
The three items are joined together through disused drip water tubes, one taking air from the car tube and the other supplying warm water to the bowel. The inner tube is periodically inflated with a foot pump to ensure constant supply of fresh air. A plastic tube connected to the mouth of the bowel acts as an outlet for over flowing water.
Fish fry need warm water between 260C to 280C to thrive. The farmer can heat the water in a clean container on a charcoal oven or stove before pouring it into the jerry can. The adjustable mechanism on the drip water tubes can be used to control the amount of water and air entering the open bowel.
The equipment must be kept inside a dark room because the fish fry don’t feed in light.
Capturing the eggs
Unlike tilapia, some fish like catfish or mirror carps have to be induced to produce eggs.
For a mirror carp, Obedmoth says a farmer can use the head of a flowering papyrus to collect the eggs.
You insert the papyrus flower into the water in a holding tank. Get one mature fish and apply pressure on the belly to see if it has eggs. Get a male fish, press the abdomen to see if it can release sperm.
Then the two are placed in the holding tank which has a small surface area and roaming space for the female one to run away. As the fish struggle to mate, the female fish produces eggs into the water and the male fish spreads sperm to fertilise them. The eggs hanging on the papyrus should be removed after 24 hours. Then the mature fish can be returned to the main pond.