Steps for silver carp fish farming business commercially are very easy. Siler carp is one of the fastest-growing fishes in the Indian sub-continent. It is also cultivated in China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar largely.
Silver carp is one of the most important fish raised in poly-culturing the natural man-made earthen fish ponds in intensive or semi-intensive fish farms. Silver carp depends mainly on natural foods, but when it is farmed for commercial purposes then artificial foods besides natural foods must be necessary, though most of the farmer tries to create natural food in the pond using artificial goods or materials.
This freshwater species is Cyprinus-carpio fish which is a diverseness of Asian carp and its native to eastern Siberia and China also. It can leap up to 10 ft into the air, people call it as Flying Carp as its propensity to leap from the water when startled. But is threatened species in its native habitat.
At present, silver carp fish farming business commercially is practiced worldwide in aquaculture vary widely, and by weight more, these are produced than any other species of fish except the Grass Carp fish. Generally, these fish are cultivated commercially in Asian countries largely in poly-culture with other Asian native carp fish. Sometimes they are cultivated with Catla and other fish species.
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Silver Carp Fish Farming Business
Silver carp fish farming commercially is very common in countries and regions where it is available. It is a very fast-growing freshwater fish species and very suitable for commercial production. The silver carp fish farming business is very popular in South Asian countries.
According to FAO silver carp fish generally live in a temperature range between 6°C to 28°C. They generally require static freshwater in the earthen natural pond but to produce commercially they require static or slow-flowing freshwater to raise them properly and fast, although they can survive in the various climates of most of the South Asian countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Silver carp fish farming commercially is generally done in intensively or poly-culture with other Asian native carp fish species, or sometimes with Rui, Catla, Mrigal, or other freshwater carp fish species as they are different part food eater of a pond. Today, the availability of silver carp fish is not difficult in most countries around the world, although, it is considered as an invasive fish species in some areas.
It is a freshwater cyprinoid fish species and it is an Asian carp variety and native to China as well as eastern Siberia. These fishes are produced planetary in aquaculture than any other species of fish by weight, except the grass carp fish.
The silver carp fish was spelled to North American countries in the early 1970s for checking alga growth in aquaculture and municipal sewer water treatment adroitness. But soon after their importing, they escaped from captivity.
Nevertheless, silver carp fish farming commercially is very gainful, and these fish grow faster than other carp fish species that we cultivate. According to FAO generally, the silver carp fish reaches an average length of up to 1 meter with a maximum length of 1.4 meters. And the fish can reach a maximum bodyweight of about 50 kg.
Advantages of Silver Carp Fish Farming Commercially
There are some advantages to starting a silver carp fish farming business commercially. The most guiding light advantages of starting a commercial silver carp fish farming business are mentioned below.
First, the silver carp fish is grass-eating and low in the food chain. It feeds and fertilizers are therefore easily uncommitted at a very low cost.
Second, the seeds are readily available from artificial breeding without reliance on natural resources.
Third, production management is simpler and the farming period is shorter than for other carp fish species.
Forth, the silver carp fish can be poly-cultured with some other carp fish species, mainly due to its specific habitat.
Fifth, the fish grows faster and reach marketing weight earlier than most other fish species.
How to Start Silver Carp Fish Farming Business
Starting silver carp fish farming business commercially is not so difficult at all. You can commence raising this fish commercially without anterior undergo. The surveyor’s level rate is much higher than any other species and these fishes can be fed on very low quality feeds. They grow faster than many other carp fish species. However, here we are trying to describe more information about starting and operating a commercial silver carp fish farming business.
1. Site Selection
First of all, you have to select a very good site for starting a silver carp fish farming business commercially. For these you have to consider the following instruction:
First, the selected site has to be free from all types of noise and pollution which will hamper the natural growth of fish in the pond or farm.
Second, it will be very good if the selected site is far from the residential areas because land prices are much higher in the residential areas and flood land.
Third, if don’t support this then you can start a silver carp fish farming business commercially if you already have ponds initially.
Finally, you must consider the availability of full sun while selecting the site, because sunlight will help to create natural food for fish properly.
2. Pond Construction & Size
After selecting the site successfully, you have to build or construct a pond properly. Earthen or natural ponds are considered better for starting a silver carp fish farming business commercially.
Though concrete, plastic tanks, or other types of artificial ponds are used for fish farming these types of ponds are not good for raising this fish. So, we recommend constructing an earthen pond.
And it will be better for the silver carp fish farming business commercially if the pond is at least one acre in size, although you can raise the fish in your existing ponds.
3. Pond Preparation
The third step is comparatively difficult pond preparation. So you have to prepare the pond for silver carp fish farming business commercially before filling it with water and stocking fish into it and before this, you must have to dry up the pond with sunlight properly by using lime. You have to apply both organic and inorganic fertilizers into the pond for stimulating natural food production and greening pond to create natural food for the new fish.
The application of doses of lime, organic, and inorganic fertilizers must be used on basis of the farming intensity and inherent productivity of the pond. If need additional information then please contact your nearest aquaculture specialist or any fisheries institute.
4. Seed Collection
Better seeds are the precondition of better output, and it is true in every case of production and for silver carp fish farming business commercially also. The silver carp fish seeds are promptly available in Asian countries from contrived breeding, without trust in instinctive resources. And there are many hatcheries available where you can get collect easily silver carp fingerlings from any of your nearest hatcheries.
5. Breeding
In the biological range of Silver Carp fish, it transmigrates upriver for breeding. They drift the eggs and larvae in downriver and the young fish crosshatch in the flood-plain partition. Animate being and small juveniles are feed on zooplankton mainly and they change over to phytoplankton once a sealed size is reached.
Normally silver Carp fish can endure salinities up to 12 ppt and low disbanded oxygen which is 3mg per litter, though they tend to averagely sensitive to low oxygen atmospheric condition. Broadly speaking, they attain maturity between their 4-8 years of age according to FAO but are marked in someplace to be mature as early as in just 2 years.
Its eggs require current to stay debarred, with a level best length of spawning river estimated at 100 km and a current speed of 70cm/s, although they can be breed unnaturally. Large moneymaking hatcheries normally spawn artificially.
6. Rearing the Fingerlings
To produce or maintain the fish farm commercially the culture of fingerlings needs special care because the fingerlings are small and soft. As their feeding power/ability is not strong and they do not adjust well to changes in the external environment, so you need to maintain their favorable environment for a silver carp fish farming business commercially. All kinds of predators must be removed as they are not experts enough in averting predators.
So, well-controlled intensifier systems are required for maximizing survival rate and for raising level-headed fingerlings. You need to bring up the fingerlings in the nursery pond for up to 30 days. And finally, stock into the main pond carefully when they reach about 8 to 12 cm in body length.
7. Stocking in the Main Pond
So you can stock the fingerlings into the main pond/s for a silver carp fish farming business commercially when they attain between 8 and 12 cm in body length.
Silver carp fish is mainly stocked with other carp fish species in the same pond to utilize food given them to take. And a total stocking density along with other fish species can be 25,000 to 30,000 fish per acre in general.
8. Feeding
Generally, the silver carp fish are phytoplankton feeders or filter feeders, consuming diatoms, din flagellates, golden-brown algae, green algae, yellow-green algae, and blue-green algae, and it possesses a specialized feeding apparatus capable of filtering small particles.
Besides, detritus, rotifers, conglomerations of bacteria, and small crustaceans are major components of their natural diet. The Silver Carp fish have no stomachs like Hypophthalmichthys species.
They mainly feed on phytoplankton, but also eat up zooplankton and detritus as well. Because of their plankton-eating habitat, they are somewhere used for ascertaining water quality. There is no need to provide formulated feed in the silver carp fish farming business commercially.
Although you have to provide supplemental fish feeds if you want faster growth of the fish and stock-fish in higher compactness.
9. Harvesting
The silver carp is one of the fastest-growing fish species and as we know they reach harvesting size pretty earlier if other things are remaining constant. You can expect good growth and harvestable size within one year even before the expected time. But, you can start harvesting when the fish reaches your desired size and market demand.
You can harvest the fish from the pond by using fishing nets by removing water from the pond. But as a rational producer or businessman, you should harvest the fish based on the size and also depending on the market demand and price.
10. Marketing
The main aim of silver carp fish farming business commercially is to make profit which will come into true by marketing successfully and it has some strategy in case of marketing. People generally like to buy fresh and live fish. So you need to generally go to the market with live and fresh fish. And it is essential to keep them alive from harvesting to marketing. So trucks, boats, or other transporting vehicles containing water are used as transportation tools in most areas. So, try marketing as early as possible after harvesting.
Special Notes
The Silver Carp fish farming commercially is very important for aquaculture development and employment creation as well. As we know, they are very popular in some countries as food. They are long-lived and can live up to 20 years. Spawning occurs at temperatures greater than 18 °C, and on average, a female can lay up to 5 million eggs per year.
