How to start catfish farming business in Nigeria?

Catfish farming is increasingly becoming an attractive form of agriculture for many Nigerians especially young people. This form of agriculture has found a huge followers-base primarily due to the relative ease of culturing catfish, the readily available markets for catfish, e.g. with restaurants, especially as catfish is a treasured delicacy among many Nigerian cultures as well as the profitability of a successful catfish venture.

The demand for Catfish in Nigeria is unprecedented so much that no matter the quantity supplied into the market is consumed by ready buyers. This is so because of its low caloric value, low carbohydrate content, high in protein, low in fat, it is quick and easy to prepare and above all, it tastes great.

Before venturing into catfish farming, it is pertinent to take a number of factors into consideration for success.

Quality of Fingerlings: Catfish fingerlings are of different breeds, just like other species of animals. It is important that the catfish farmer takes his time to identify fast growing and disease resistant breeds of fingerlings to ensure profitability in a catfish venture. This can be done through appropriate consultation with a specialist in fingerlings and physically evaluating fingerlings from several farms before making a pick on stock of fingerlings.

Pond Design: Stocking density plays a huge role in the growth rate of cultured catfish. Like for all other animals over-crowding catfish would increase competition for resources like food and oxygen. This can promote the growth of some fish at the expense of others and in the end lead to cannibalism. Therefore the catfish farmer would want to consider an appropriate length, breadth and depth of pond, depending on his intended number of fishes to stock pond with. Also pond design should incorporate provision for the separation of fishes in the event that growth is non-proportionate to avoid cannibalism. Water management for pond would mean periodic changing of water and pond design should incorporate this from the outset to avoid challenges.

Feeding Catfish: feeding constitutes the bulk of the cost of rearing catfish. Through development of fish farming over the years in Nigeria, feeding of catfish is predominantly done using pelleted floating feeds. This ensures adequate feeding of the fish thus increased growth rate and weight. For fish pelleting machines, LIMA fish feed machine is your best choice. LIMA is one of the well known manufacturers and exporters of Fish Feed Machines and Turnkey Fish Food Production Lines. For more information, please visit fishfeedmachine.com.

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