HOW TO START CATFISH FARMING IN NIGERIA.

Starting A Fish Farm in Nigeria is one of the guaranteed way to make millions of Naira annually. If you are armed with the right knowledge, commercial fish farming business is a lucrative investment that can spin money at any time of the year continuously. Catfish farming one of the most profitable areas in fish production. It is also important to know that not all Nigerian fish farmers are involved in grow-outs (table size fish) production.
How To Make Money From Fish Farming Business

Below, I have listed some hot areas to look into if you are interested starting a fish farming investment.

==> Growout Production (Raising catfish to table size)

==> Fingerling production (hatching catfish and selling at fries, sales of fingerling, post-fingerling or juvenile fish)

==> Sales and distribution of imported fish feeds like Ziegler Gold, Coppens etc, production and formulation of local fish feeds, sales of fish feed ingredients and setting up fish feed mills

==> Production of smoked Catfish (packaging and sales of smoked catfish)

==> Offering consultancy services in hatchery design, fish pond construction, spawning/hatching, melange and grow-out production, fish feed formulation etc

==> Sales and installation of mobile fish ponds, construction of concrete fish ponds, digging and bagging of earthen ponds and constructions of wooden fish ponds

With about #100,000, you can get construct an earthen pond of 10ft by 10ft with a dept of 4-5ft. This should contain an average of 1000 fishes to adult size. Constructing an earthen pond should be done after your have carried out extensive soil analysis. Make sure the earthen pond is bagged firmly and converted with a net. Building a concrete fish pond comes in two ways. You can decided to construct with pure casting or hollow cement filled with concrete. 9-inch block is used for this construction.

Stocking your fish should be done after you have disinfected and treated your pond. You can disinfect with Blagdon Antibacterial and Antifungal. Fertilizing your fish pond with help balance it's organic and ion concentration. You can use poultry dungs suspended in sacks or banana leaves for this purpose.

Fingerling goes for about #12 - #18 while good quality juvenile is around #25 - #35. It is recommended that you learn how to hatch yourself. If you need to get quality seed, make sure you buy from reputable hatcheries that have good antecedents.

For your fish to achieve optimum weight, you need to feed them to satiation. You can practice spot feeding but make sure you avoid feed wastage which will not only pollute your water but also increase your cost of production. The size of fish feed you will use will be determined by the size of fish mouth which depends on how fast your fish grow. Don't change water immediately after feeding as this may cause your fish to vomit. Aquapro and livestovit are supplements that can prevent diseases and enhance fish feed conversion to flesh. To reduce cost of feeding fish, you can start with imported feed for the first one and half months to two months and then finish off with local feed.
Sorting is very important is fish farming. It helps reduce cannibalism, a situation where bigger fish eat smaller ones. Sorting involves grouping fish of nearly the same size into the same ponds. This will enhance growth as the fish can compete equally for feed, space and water. Managing water is one of the bedrock for success in fish farming. Access to clean water which is introduced to the pond every 2-3days or through flow-through system is essential. If you can feed your fish well and manage your fish pond water efficiently, you have succeeded in reducing risk of infection by 70pecent.

Fish can become sick when they are not properly managed. The cause of disease may be microbial (bacterial, fungi, viral), parasitic, nutritional or managemental.

Several signs such as hanging, flashing, bruises and abrasion on the skin, eye popping out, swollen belly, discoloration etc can suggest that all is not well with you fish.

A lot of Nigerian fish farmers fail in fish farming business because they fail to carry out proper market survey. You should produce based on the size of your market.

Research to find out what type of fish and stages moves fastest. Meet with other fish farmers in your area to know the available markets and look for additional areas yourself. Inform fish sellers that you are due for harvest your fish 2months before they are ready. If smoked fish sells in your area, you can decide to smoke and package your catfish. There are several designs of smoking kilns available in the market. Smoking your fish will add more value to it. Just ensure that the packaging is hygienic and attractive.

Before you invest in fish farming, it is important that you draw out a feasibility study or business plan.
This provides you information about which area of fish farming to invest in, what size to produce, how much the investment will likely gulp, how and where to market your fish and how to expand your fish business and expected challenges/problems and what to do to overcome them.