We received an email from a young Nigerian from Taraba State considering venturing into catfish farming business. After preparing our reply to him we decided to also post our answers to his questions on our blog so that other people can learn too. We hope you find it useful. The email and reply follows.
Good evening sir.
My name is D. U. Attah. based in Taraba State, Nigeria. Sir I was
reading an article on fish farming business and I saw your email address.
Actually I wanted to start a fish farming business and wanted to know
more before venture into it. So please sir if you don’t mind, I will want
you to help me with the following information.
Q.1) For a starter how many juvenile catfish is one supposed to start with?
A.1) You can start with 1000 juvenile catfish.
Q.2) If I am to start with 1000 fish how many bags will they consume to maturity?
A.2) They will consume about 40 – 45 bags of 15 kg bags of feed in 3 months; Or 60 – 65 in 5 months; Or 75 bags in 6 months.
Q.3) How many months am I supposed to rear them?
A.3) 3 months if you are targeting 500 – 600 grammes average weight. 5 – 6 months if you are targeting 1.0 – 1.2 kilogrammes average weight.
Q.4) How many KG of feed will they feed on per day (to get a maximum result)?
A.4) It is recommended that you feed the catfish to satiation every time you feed them. The quantity of feed they eat varies with age of catfish, weather and time of day. Generally, the quantity of feed a fish eats varies according to its size. So when they are juveniles they eat relatively little, and when they are 800 – 1000 grammes they eat a lot.
Q.5) If I am to use tarpaulin which size will I buy and how much?
A.5) For 1000 catfish it is recommended you use 3 tarpaulin ponds each of which should have a minimum surface area of 8 metres square. The cost of the tarpaulin ponds varies with the type of materials you use in constructing it and the labour charges. A tarpaulin pond of 8 metres square can cost forty thousand naira (N40,000).
Q.6) If I stock 1000 fish will harvest up to 900 kg?
A.6) Yes you can harvest 900 kg of catfish after 5 – 6 months if you take good care of the fish.
Q.7) What will be my average or maximum cost?
A.7) Your operating cost for feeding 1000 juvenile catfish through 5 – 6 months can range from N400,000 – N500,000.
Q.8) How frequently do I need to be changing the water?
A.8) Every 3 – 4 days.
Q.9) What other things do I need to know?
A.9) You will need to learn about the different brands of fish feed in the market. You need to investigate the price of catfish in the markets around you. You should also find an experienced catfish farmer near you so you can learn from their experiences farming catfish.
How many bags of feed for 1000 catfish? 45 bags in 3 months or 75 bags in 6 months.
Please sir, i will be grateful if you can help out and respond to my mail.
A.10) Done.
Thanks and God bless.
Sincerely,
Divine Fish Farm and Gardens
Email: info@divinefish.com.ng; Website: https://DivineFish.com.ng