Make your catfish grow faster within a short period of time

 Most times, some fish farmers ask if I can recommend any drug that can make their catfish grow faster within a short period of time. 

 Well, I will not like to recommend the use of drug in aiding fish growth but will rather prefer giving you tips on some good management practices that can enable your fish grow faster especially with regards to feeding the fish with high quality feed of enough quantity. 

 Do regular sorting to reduce competition that may affect the growth of some fishes. These will help you have big and healthy fish rather than using drugs to make them grow faster. 

 However, all these are still subject to the quality of the fish in question because some fish farmers tends to make the mistake of buying fishes that are not of good breed that may not grow well probably due to the price at purchase or other cheaper means. 

 In this case, there is nothing that can make them change their genetic make up and allow them grow big over night which is why I will advice that you dispose them off because If you choose to keep feeding those fishes that you already know will not grow big, you may be running at a loss for the amount you will later sell them can never compensate for the amount in raising them.

There are several factors that affect the growth of your catfish. Growth of your fish and profit will depend on how efficiently you manage your farm, the water quality, disease control, and the number of fish you STOCK per ponds size. 

Here is a list of other factors affecting your fish farm production:

Temperature

Pond PH Balance

Fish feed quality and right quntity.

Water quality (Dissolved solids)

.Sorting

Temperature

Catfish grow best in warm water between 83-86o F. You can begin spawning of your fish in the spring when the water temperature rises above 70 o F. You may collect juvenile fish from a nearby hatchery.

Flowing water

Catfish do not grow well in small ponds because of competition for space and oxygen. Catfish tend to grow faster when their is enough space. The bigger the spacing, the bigger and faster they grow.

Pond balance

Maintaining a balance in your pond is important because if you have fish growing in higher density, it could give rise to toxic water and pollution. Your fish will get sick and grow less. You must always maintain a ph of between 6.5 -7.5. Anything far or less is at your own detriment.

Fish feed

For rapid growth, use a nutritionally balanced catfish feed. I recommend skretting fish feed. Your catfish fingerlings will grow faster if you feed them regularly in the beginning of production season, they will grow the right size when you maintain this factors as stated. However, feeding too much will result in poor water quality and it will also increase your feeding costs.

Water quality & fish health

Water plays an important role in raising healthy fish. A water without dissolved harmful solid toxins or poisons is the best for your catfish rearing. 

Your water should have a pH between 6.5 - 7.5. If the pH is too low, add limestone to your pond. Also check for dissolved impurities. Both physical and chemical factors play important role in rising catfish faster.

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Biofloc fish farming: Failure in oxygen supply can lead to huge loss

Dead tilapia fish in biofloc fish tank after oxygen supply was cut

Biofloc fish farming can be disastrous if not maintained properly. Recently, a farmer in Mararikkulam of Alappuzha had to face a loss of Rs 2 lakh after the oxygen supply to the fish pond was disconnected by some anti-socials. In biofloc fish farming, about 3000 fish can be cultivated in a fish tank that has 2 metre area. It also ensures high profit for the farmer.

Fish farming can be continued for many years in the tank which has a life of upto 5-10 years. It does not require large ponds and frequent changing of water. Fish can be harvested within 4-5 months. But oxygen has to be pumped through water all the time. If motor got damaged at night or oxygen pumping is blocked, all fish will die together.

A bacteria called Lactobacillus is grown in the fish tank in the first 15 days. They absorb ammonia and other pollutants and will help keep the tank clean always. So, once the tank is set up, the water need not be changed or pumped out. The cost of making a tank is about Rs 50,000.

In the incident occurred in Mararikkulam, the farmer had to face the loss as somebody switched off the oxygen cylinder in the farm. Following this, 2500 tilapia fish to be harvested in a month died. The farmers have to monitor the functioning of motor and oxygen pumping in view of similar accidents.

Source: http://is.gd/E6w5ys

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I AM SCARED FOR YOU!

With just less than 35 days to year end I am very scared and you are the reason why

What do I mean?

Right now, I know you have some goals and targets to achieve but what if your current habits, insight and skills are not just enough to achieve them.

It is like trying to use a small 3kva generator to power a sawmill.

It just won't work no matter what you do.

So, you have to upgrade.

One of the main reasons why you find it hard to progress is that you are trying to use a small 3kva generator to power the sawmill you want.

Again, the 3kva generator refers to your current skills, personality, attention span, energy etc

And the sawmill refers to that goal you want to achieve.

I have great news! We just launched the very first African online Telegram group chat learning platform that can contain 200,000 members to help you upgrade your skills on Catfish Farming. You'll meet expert, novice, buyers and sellers there you can ask any question and watch free live tutorial videos.

The aim of the group is to help you learn anything from successful experts at your own pace.

Click HERE to JOIN and improve your Catfish farming Technical skills, earn more and meet your year end goals.

I believe we all need to upgrade in order to move forward in Life.

Cheers to your success...

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PH TEST STRIPS VS DIGITAL PH METER PRACTICAL VIDEO.

ONLY AN UNWISE FARMER WILL RARE CATFISH/FISH WITHOUT CHECKING PH OF POND WATER. YOU WILL BE SORRY LATER ON.  WHAT YOU CANNOT SEE, YOU CANNOT SOLVE. WHERE THERE IS NO VISION THE PEOPLE PERISH.


PH METER DIFFERENCES

Advanced Digital PH METER VS TEST STRIPS.

1.) With Digital PH meter you purchase once and use again and again. Yet, test strips, you purchase, and purchase and purchase again strips and reagent over and over.

2.) With advanced digital ph meter you can screen and test your water boundless occasions in a day, while test strips, you become or try to manage financially,by testing, once in a day or rare times in seven days of a week without getting accurate result.

3.) Digital ph meter gives result as quick and exact as could be expected under the circumstances, while test strips, when you re not experienced, you blend reagent inappropriately and you have to re-try your test over again till you get it right.

ADVANCED DIGITAL PH METER MULTI-FUNCTION USE-

This PH meter is extraordinary for a wide scope of undertakings, for example, Fish Farming, pool, faucet water, Beer fermenting, research facility testing, beauty care products organization,Battery enigneer, geologist, drinking water, cleanser organizations, aquarium support and significantly more!

Quick and Accurate: No compelling reason to work with shading diagrams or muddled test strips, this meter get the outcome quick and precise.

AUTO-CALIBRATION: The PH meter has an auto temperature compensation highlight that changes with water temperatures and water quality to give pH readings in a flash. No need any change screwdrivers, simply press the caliberation button to caliberate the device. (Note: This ph meter is factory caliberated. Clients can utilize it straightforwardly.)

Cost FOR PH METER (N10,000)

Pay on conveyance in Lagos, ogun state. (N1000 - N1500) Fee. Ibadan Fee (N2500)

Different states is pay before conveyance. Charge (N2000 - N2500) Northern and Middle Belt States.

Call : 08138570184

Whatsapp: https://wa.me/2348138570184

WATCH VIDEO WHY YOU NEED THE DIGITAL PH METER  OVER PH METER TEST STRIPS BELOW 👇

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RULES AND GUIDELINES FOR BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS IN OUR WHATSAPP/TELEGRAM GROUP

WELCOME ALL😊 Please note the following guidelines ...

1) We are all teachers and all students in this group😊😊.

2) We discuss aquaculture - related matters.

3) Since integrated farming is what is advocated for globally,  other aspects of agric can also be discussed but lets do it with moderation as mature individuals.

4) Broadcast msgs ARE HIGHLY PROHIBITED especially religious and political BCs.  You need to take permission from the admin before posting any BC or ADVERT that is not related to agric. The admin can decline to allow it to be posted.

5) All adverts of agric services or farm produces and agric related job vacancies are allowed but don't spam the forum with it.

6) Posting of URLs or invite links to other groups, especially fishing for members to join your groups may lead to automatic deletion of the link by Admin. 




GUIDELINES FOR BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS IN OUR TELEGRAM GROUP

Caveat emptor

(Let the buyer and seller beware)

The Admin of this group shall not be held liable for any crime, bad transactions or sour business deals made by the group members except if the admin is one of the buyers or sellers that perpetuated the crime.

All business transactions/deals are done based on  'trust'.

While chatting in private with an admin or group member, make sure its the actual person you are chatting with and not a CLONED telegram or whatsapp account. There are a lot of scammers and imposters out there who would not hesitate to take advantage of innocent people.


Your business deals and transactions are at your own risk.

Sellers shine your eyes and do proper investigation if goods are to be sent prior to payment.

Buyers take full responsibility of ascertaining the standard and quality of his/her purchase before payments are made.

Buyers and Sellers take the risk without warranty, except stated otherwise and agreed upon by both parties.

Do proper investigations and maintain a clear head before payments or transfer of goods are made.

Do not be quick to term someone a scammer or fraudster just because there were some hiccups during the business deal. Some unforseen problems/difficulties might be encountered while executing a business deal. Both parties should try and resolve it fast and amicable while still trying to maintain a fair level of understanding on both sides. Refunds and compensations if any, should be done promptly.


Transactions can be done on the group page or in private; preferably you start the transaction discussions up to a certain level in the group before going private.


Pls let us all be trustworthy. Don't promise what you cant deliver and if for any reason a business deal cannot go through, pls refund the money promptly if it has already been paid.

The admin(s) can be contacted to intervene or broker peace in a business deal if issues arise but the level of intervention by the admin is at his own discretion. He cannot and will not be forced or compelled to intervene.

Telegram group: https://t.me/FishfarmersAssociationOfNigeria

Instagram: https://instagram.com/catfishfarming

Facebook Group of Fish Farmers Association of Nigeria: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fishfarmersassociationofnigeria/?ref=share_group_link&exp=93fa

FACEBOOK GROUP OF FISH FARMERS ASSOCIATION WORLDWIDE: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FFAWorldwide/?ref=share_group_link&exp=93fa

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/catfish9ja

Facebook page: https://facebook.com/Nigeriancatfishfarmers

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NATURAL FOOD TO FEED CATFISH FRIES FOR FASTER GROWTH AND MINIMAL MORTALITY(VIDEO)

Infusoria can make quick and nutritious fry food!Infusoria can be used to feed egg laying fish fry.

This tiny freshwater equivalent of plankton can be used for all sorts of fish fry. The good thing is you can time it so that by the time they’ve used their egg sac up they can be eating the flourishing tiny little infusoria.


Even an impromptu batch of eggs can be fed with these tiny little organisms. Fish eggs will most likely get eaten quickly. It’s best to remove them and put them in a tank of their own. If they’ve already hatched you’re still in luck.


Move them into a tank of their own as soon as you can to avoid them from being eaten by the parents or tankmates. Newly Hatched Fry Live Off of Their Egg Sac Briefly Generally, it takes a couple of days for the fry to consume and exhaust their yolk sac.


If they still have a yolk by the time you discovered them there is a good chance that infusoria can help grow these tiny fry. If there is no yolk, you may not have time to start a culture before they need food. Many commercial foods are too large for small egg layer fry.


There are some commercially available fry foods, and boiled egg yolk can work also, but often they are too big. Your best bet is with infusoria. Old school books talked about infusoria quite a bit when discussing rearing fry. Somewhere along the way, it got pushed back into the far reaches of the hobby.


Infusoria Are in Streams and Ponds Naturally Infusoria are small little organisms that live in freshwaters like ponds, rivers, and streams.


They are also found in aquariums but it’s likely you won’t be able to see them. There’s also probably not a lot of them in there. Infusoria is a catch-all term for algae, euglena, paramecia, and other protozoans.


Rotifers and non-photosynthetic paramecia are the most nutritious for your new fry. Luckily they’re all easy to grow. Algae and rotifer alike.


Feeding Infusoria to Your Egglayer Fish FryInfusoria may grow in rivers, lakes, streams, and ponds but you don’t want to get yours from there.


All sorts of nasty little critters live in that water as well and you don’t want to introduce parasites and predators into your fry tank. You can use tap water if you let it sit and age or you can use water from your aquarium when you do a water change.


If you have a planted tank it is more likely to have more microorganisms in it which is beneficial. Some like to squeeze out a sponge filter into the water when starting a new infusoria culture. Other like to vacuum snail feces up as they are high in plant matter.


 In addition to aged water or aquarium water, you are going to need some organic matter to feed the culture of infusoria.


SEE VIDEO ON HOW TO CULTURE INFUSORIA BELOW

....

Tips for Culturing at Home

Especially if you plan to breed your fish regularly, it is a good idea to learn how to culture infusoria at home. 

By learning how to culture your own infusoria, you can ensure that you will always have a supply of fry food on hand and you will save a great deal of money not having to purchase it multiple times. 

The easiest way to culture infusoria is by collecting water and/or filter debris from an established tank. Start by cleaning out a glass or plastic jar to culture your infusoria in. Next, fill the jar with water from an established aquarium – water from planted tanks is best.

After you’ve filled the jar, add some type of vegetable matter such as a few leaves of lettuce, potatoes, rice or debris from an active filter. 

After you’ve prepared the culture all you have to do is wait – some hobbyists recommend leaving the jar out in the sunlight to increase infusoria production but you can decide for yourself. 

After a few days you should see the water begin to turn cloudy or green. When this happens, it is a sign that the infusoria have reproduced sufficiently to be harvested.

Using Infusoria as Food for Fish

When using infusoria as food for fry you need to keep in mind that infusoria are microscopic so even a small amount of water from the culture jar will contain many infusoria. 

For this reason, it is important that you do not add too much water from the jar to your fry tank at one time because the uneaten infusoria will die and could pollute your tank. 

The easiest way to harvest infusoria is to use an eye dropper or turkey baster to collect a small amount of water from the top of the culture jar and to squirt it directly into the fry tank. You should plan to feed your fry small amounts of water from the infusoria culture at least twice a day so they will grow quickly.

After a few days, you may notice that your infusoria culture jar begins to develop an unpleasant odor – this is likely due to the decomposition of whatever vegetable matter you used to start the culture. 

When collecting infusoria to feed your fish it is important that you do not collect any of the vegetable matter. As the vegetable matter decomposes, this will be more difficult to accomplish so it is a good idea to start a new culture every 3 to 4 days so you always have a fresh one to work with. 

Depending on the species of fish you are breeding, most fry are ready to accept slightly larger foods like brine shrimp nauplii(artemia) after a week or so of feeding on infusoria. 

Start by offering a mixture of the two – when you see that the bellies of your fry are pink or yellow (the result of feeding on brine shrimp) it is safe to discontinue the use of infusoria.

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How to reduce pH of your water that is too Alkaline

Terminalia catappa leaves

Although in chemistry, most of us knows that to neutralize a substance or water that is alkaline, you need an acid to do, but we all know that most acid are toxic eg Sulfuric acid, Hcl, hydrochloric acid. If you are reading this article congratulations.

We want to introduce you to a natural way reduce your water alkalinity to neutral (ph 7.0) or highest ( 7.5 ph). You can do this by using Dry catappa leaves, porpularly known as fruit tree leaves in Nigeria and Indian Almond tree leaves.

Here is a video below after major studies of the leave in balancing ph of several water sources:

Watch Video: 

LEARN MORE ABOUT CATAPPA LEAVES BELOW

Terminalia catappa tree – a tree that is native to Southeast Asia and has been used in traditional medicine there for centuries.[1]

If you are wondering what a Terminalia catappa tree looks like, here it is…

Terminalia catappa tree

Once dried, they are ready to be used in ponds.  

Let’s take a look at the most common uses for Indian almond leaves.

1. Improve the quality of your aquarium water

When added to your aquarium, an Indian almond leaf will gradually break down. And as it does, it releases tannic acid, tannins and other substances into your aquarium.

As the tannic acid is released, it lowers the pH of your water. If you want a natural solution to reduce the pH levels in your aquarium, Indian almond leaf helps to achieve just that.

A study has also found that Indian almond leaves can significantly decrease water hardness (GH), which can benefit those who use hard water in their aquariums.

Okay, but what good is that for your aquarium?

Well, the water out of your tap probably doesn’t match the ideal conditions of the fish you keep.

Indian almond leaves change the water so that it more closely resembles the habitat of your fish

2. Natural medication for skin problems

Many fish farmers swear by Indian almond leaf as a natural remedy for diseases or injury involving their fish’s skin or rather their scales.

It is believed the tannins released by Indian almond leaves kill bacteria, fungus and viruses, allowing an injured fish to heal much quicker.

It is even suggested that Indian almond leaf might be a better solution than antibiotics and other medications when fighting bacteria and fungus in commercial fish farms.

3. Food and protection for fry (baby fish)

Indian almond leaves are the gift that keeps giving, even once your fish have hatched.

Many fish keepers add Indian almond leaves to fry tanks – an aquarium that is set aside just for baby fish.

First, the leaves give fry a place to hide, allowing them to feel safe. Sure, there are no predators in your fry tank, but your tiny fish don’t know that.

As the Indian almond leaves begin to break down, microorganisms called infusoria appear and feed on the leaf.

Infusoria are so small that humans can barely see them with our naked eye. However, to your fry that are barely bigger than an eyelash, infusoria might as well be a steak dinner.

Newly hatched fry happily chow down on infusoria until they grow large enough that they need to switch to an alternate food source.

As Indian almond or catappa leaves break down, they release tannins. These tannins can stain your water, turning it a yellow or brown tinge.

It’s similar to dipping a tea bag into a hot cup of water. The tannins are released into the water, giving the tea its color.

To a beginner, this yellow water can be quite a surprise.

I mean, whenever you go to a fish store or aquarium, the water is crystal clear, right?

Well, it might surprise you to learn that this yellow water is actually a good thing for many types of fish.

You see, lots of fish come from waters that are a murky brown color.

Most rivers and streams are a dark color because thousands or even millions of leaves have washed into the water and broken down.

While you might not be crazy about the color, this darker water may reduce stress in shy fish like discus.

And since stress is the number one cause of death in fish, a little bit of yellow water is a small price to pay for the happiness of your fish.

In fact, many fish owners prefer darker water – it allows them to create unusual and stunning aquariums like this one…

Well, Indian almond leaves are unique in that they break down slower than other leaves. The leaves have big, tough veins that take a long time to deteriorate, long after the rest of the leaf has broken down.

The advantage to this is that you can pull the leaf out of your aquarium without it disintegrating into small pieces.

Also, while other leaves might give off tannins, Indian almond leaves also have medicinal properties – something that other leaves don’t offer.

How do you use Indian almond/ Catappa leaves?

So, you want to add Indian almond leaves to your pond?

Now that you have your Indian almond leaves on hand, it’s time to add them to your pond. 

Dunking an Indian almond leaf in your tank

The most common way of using Indian almond leaves is to drop them directly into your tank. It’s generally recommended that you start with one medium-sized leaf for every 10 gallons of water inside your aquarium.

Please share, subscribe to our news letter and come back for more tips. Cheers!

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