fish farming-my story

Be very patience in reading this

I started fish farming business some years ago, and am proud of myself and my farm, am still in the business and am really doing great, and am making my money as expected.

MY STORY

I visited a fish farm at alagbado area of Lagos state Nigeria, so few years back, where i discover that the man that owns the farm feed is fish from juvenile to standard table size with local feeds, he feed them 4times a day and in 6 to 7 months he harvest nothing less than 1kg to 2kg, what surprise me is that he use local feed all-through, which i confirm from some of his staff and i was so shock, because its hard for catfish farmers to use local feed although without using the foreign feed for some months, i consult the man to give me the formula he use, but he said no, this make me to sit down, think and do some more research on how to minimize feeding cost in Nigeria catfish farming since it take up to 70% of the investment.

MY DISCOVERY

I started by stocking 1000pcs of post fingerlings in a 15ft by 7ft by 4ft concrete pond, i feed the fish with coppens, twice a day, and they eat 4bags in the first month, which i weigh them and see they are 150 - 200grams, i was happy my idea is working, so i put more effort, the second month, i feed them with 6bags and the 3rd and 4th month i spent 27,000 in  milling local feed for them, when i get to sell them, i see 1kg to 1.3kg at the 4th month, i was very happy that i got the idea, this apply to my fingerlings production too, i get 0.5 to 1.5gram of fish at 3weeks, and i feed them twice a day.

MY ARITHMETIC

Calculation for the feeding of the 1000pcs of fish is 73,000. Some catfish farmers believe fish should be feed a #120 feed to attain 1kg, and some say a 1kg feed equals to 1kg fish. Assuming you are using foreign feed which is sold for #300, that means you will spend #300,000 in feeding 1000pcs of fish and your turn over will be #420,000, u will also calculate other things the fish money, the fuel e.t.c or you are using the local feed which sell for #170 that means you will spend #170,000, or you follow the saying of @120 equals to 1kg, that means you will spend #120,000 in feeding 1000pcs of fish, but i spend #70 on each fish which make #70,000 on the total fish and i sold all the fish for #469,830, which make me make more than what i expect as profit, and i spend less.

MY SECRET

I started then as an experiment, now that's the method i use always, and i still achieve my aim.
The secret behind my success is that

1: I stock my own fish, which i know the source
2: I specify a permanent time of feeding my fish, i choose to feed them 7am in the morning and 7pm at night
3: I change the water every 3days, and i clean the pond always
4: I sort the fish every month
5: The most successful part is that i don't vaccine my fish, i really thanks GOD for that
6: I check them regularly to know their behavior
7: after the first two month, i switch to local feed, and i give them the right mixture, this is the money important of all, because all the ingredient must me accurate, it must not be too much and too less, because the fish will just be eating if for hungry sake, its like putting too much salt in rice or beans.

for any question
for good local feed formula
good health and fast growing catfish fingerlings, post fingerlings, juvenile
for consultancy in your farm