Among various types of farming, commercial African catfish farming in Nigeria, Kenya, Sudan, and many other African countries is becoming much popular as eel fish farming to Japanese, with a booming big domestic market as well as strong export sales. According to FAO commercial aquaculture farming is stronger now in Africa than at any other time of the previous, and currently accounts for over 80 percent of those countries’ aquaculture output.
Most of the Africans don’t know the way of improving commercial African catfish farming in their area. They usually run their fish farming project like other fishes, carp fish farming projects. Even they don’t much idea about modern aquacultures like biofloc system and recirculating aquaculture system. So, we think this article will help the African people to improve commercial catfish farming.
Table of Contents
How to Improve Commercial African Catfish Farming
Here we will discuss the way improvement of commercial African catfish farming in African countries.
1. Perfect Business Plan
Many of us generally believe that fish farming is very easy, and it doesn’t require much knowledge for catfish farming in Nigeria. But thing is that, commercial fish farming, not only farming commercial activities whatever it any project we must have a perfect business plan. A perfect business plan is consisting of three different parts – business model, operational model, and finally financial projection. For a successful fish farming business, you have to flow the business plan step by step.
2. Site Selection
Another misconception among us in the case of catfish farming is site selection. As we know that catfish species can adapt to any environmental situation, but for commercial catfish farming we need more output by using less input. So you have to select a perfect place for earthen pond construction. You can also farm catfish in tanks, like plastic tanks, concrete tanks, or tarpaulin tanks. Your selecting place should be far from a residential area, noiseless, and free from mass gathering. Not so far from the market and good communication are also should be noticed for site selection for pond construction.
3. Pond Construction
Catfish farming can happen in both earthen ponds and artificial ponds, so as for commercial catfish farming we generally suggest an artificial catfish pond-like, plastic tank, concrete tank, or tarpaulin tanks which are easy to made and easy to manage. A cluster pond system or pocket pond is easier to manage than that a big pond. The best size for a pocket pond is 30 feet by 10 feet. Like this measure, you have made 4 to 5 pounds in a line. A drainage or watering system should be enough for raising fish commercially.
4. Genetic Selection
For commercial catfish farming, it’s very important to stock catfish seeds that grow faster and efficiently. Knowing the proper best genetic appropriate for Africa to pick from goes an extended way within the fish’s growth. Crossing channel catfish females with blue catfish males create a hybrid strain that has been shown to be more profitable, with more desirable traits including their ability to adapt to high stocking densities, dissenting & handling, and stress.
Side by side it acquires to tolerate poor water quality, and growing faster to achieve market size. This hybrid is additionally known to eat different sorts of food, like aquatic weeds and insects, other small fish and snails, making it easier to feed. Most successful fish farmers from the United Ufuoma Fish Farmers Association (UUFFA), in Warri Delta State, grow mostly hybrid catfish due to their high rate of growth and rapid maturation.
5. Provide Better Feed
Most of the experienced and successful fish farmers believe that properly providing feed to the commercial fish farm, the fish well get them up to 3kg to 4kg per fish weight within six months, which is considered an excellent return. Fish farming in a tank, feed constitutes or composition is the most important cost in catfish farming. It is unlike carp fish farming in the earthen pond. Nigeria and many other African countries are still trying to better commercial fish farming along with their traditional livestock farming.
6. Mixing Locally-sourced Ingredients
Many farmers believe that using self-formulated feeds, sourced from local materials and low cost. Here we have made a list food that will help you to prepare a mixed food.
| Food Element | Amount |
| floor, maize or wheat | 25kg |
| fish meal (72 percent) | 25kg |
| soya bean or sunflower or maggot meal | 30kg |
| groundnut cake | 20kg |
| Fish premix | 0.5kg |
| methionine | 0.1kg |
| vitamin C | 0.1kg |
| lysine | 0.1kg |
| table salt | 0.2kg |
| bone meal | 1kg |
All of these should be mixed with blood meal, using hand or commercial feed mixer, at the right. The proper quantity will make the feed good, and healthy local feed at cheap rate, comparing with the branded ones. After mixing them together, you can tie them into small nylon bags and cook in a very low heat or bake in the sun, before cutting into the sizes you want.
7. Pond Management
You have to keep your farm clean and need to try to maintain a healthy pond environment. All of us know that it’s easier and cheaper to manage a catfish farm and an easy to ensure a safety environment otherwise it may cause a disease outbreak. A better and healthy pond enables better fish, effectively more reproduce and higher survival rate. You need to keep good water quality and let not the pond overcrowded the pond. Finally, we recommend you ensure a flow-through water system to keep clean and the best quality water.
8. Water Management
To improve commercial African catfish farming you have to ensure that your ponds maintain a pH value between 6.5 and 9.0 (Standard Level). If the pH goes less than 6.5 and the total alkalinity and hardness less than 10 ppm, you need to apply limestone to the ponds to increase the pH level. You need to check the dissolved oxygen and impurities always or at least one time a day.
A successful commercial catfish farm generally needs a dissolved oxygen concentration of 5 ppm or higher. When you will be able to maintain a healthy breeding environment, your fish will also develop stronger immune systems. If there are some minor disease exposures and stress it can fight or withstand. Maintaining fish health and water treatment are vital to be profitable fish farming.
9. Harvesting & Marketing
Between 5 to 6 months you have to connect with the local or international market and market demand. If you want you can make its market to sell you product. But we always recommend you following the harvesting strategy and marketing policy. If there is existing low demand and price you would better continue feeding, and the feeding would generate more cost. In this case, you should better sell the consumers rather than wholesalers to get more profit. You can target hotels and restaurants, and personal offices. After all of these if there are you can smoke the remainder, package them well and supply to, households- both nationwide and abroad by courier services. The smoked fish doubles my profit.
10. Keeping Note
We always inspire you to take a note or financial projection of your commercial fish farm project. In a project, you may face a number of problems and obstacles, and you will overcome it, so by keeping a note you will learn the solution, you have passed. Even this may help you to continue you’re successful commercial African catfish farming.
