Concrete ponds are built with quality blocks, filled with concrete mortar, and plastered inside-out with cement mortar. They are usually found in walled enclosures in sub-urban areas. People with spare land in their houses can set-up concrete ponds to grow catfish. A well constructed concrete pond is leak-proof and can last ten years or more.
Concrete ponds have plumbing systems to allow inflow of fresh water to the ponds and outflow of waste water from the ponds. There is usually a need for a pit for the waste water. It is advisable to get an experienced and competent builder to build your concrete pond because you do not want to be fixing leaks soon after a poorly constructed pond is put to use.
Things you will find around a concrete pond are water well, pumping machine, water storage tank, net, plastic containers, PVC pipes, weighing scale and a storeroom.
Three concrete ponds each with a surface area of four square metres and a depth of one and half metres can be used to grow one thousand catfish to table size (1kg – 1.5kg) in five to six months. The same three ponds can be used to grow two thousand catfish to two thousand catfish to 0.5kg – 0.7kg per fish in four to five months.
Advantages of using concrete ponds in catfish farming
i) Concrete ponds can be constructed in a walled environment in urban or suburban areas. It can even be constructed in the farmer’s house.
ii) The catfish farmer can work from home. In this case the cost of water and power can be discounted as part of the cost of providing these utilities for the household.
iii) Concrete ponds can be used to grow two thousand to twenty thousand (2,000 – 20,000) catfish very close to an urban centre where it has a ready market.
iv) It is easy to monitor and care for the catfish grown in concrete ponds.
v) A well constructed concrete pond can last ten years or more before requiring serious maintenance.
vi) Waste water from the ponds can be used to fertilize a garden.
vii) There is practically no risk of flood overflowing concrete ponds so the fish are safe from flood.
viii) Protecting the fish from birds and predators is easy as covering the ponds with a net is usually sufficient.
Disadvantages of using concrete pond in catfish farming
i) The setup cost is relatively high. The structure is semi-permanent.
ii) It requires a relatively large volume of water to run.
iii) Waste water from the concrete fish ponds can be a nuisance in the residential neighbourhood if adequate provision like a large pit is not made to get rid of the waste water.
iv) One must have a constant supply of water and fish feed to run a successful farm using concrete ponds.
iv) One must have a constant supply of water and fish feed to run a successful farm using concrete ponds.
v) The per unit cost of scaling beyond a capacity of 20,000 catfish is relatively high.
Ugochukwu Ukwuegbu
NB: Are you thinking about starting a catfish farming business and you need consulting services to help prevent making costly mistakes? Then consult with us. We are Divine Fish Farm and Gardens. Call +2348077776861, Email: info@divinefish.com.ng. Website: https://divinefish.com.ng.
