How Long Can Catfish Be Farmed? A Detailed Explanation of the Farming Cycle

AbstractFor the catfish species sold on the market, the normal growth cycle is about 3 months, and they can be sold once they reach one or two jin; two harvests can be produced per year. However, there is a type of stone catfish that can be farmed to several jin or more. The giant catfish of Southeast Asia can be farmed for about 30 years, with a body length reaching more than 1 m and a maximum weight of up to 120 kg.

How Long Can Catfish Be Farmed

There are many kinds of catfish, and some stay roughly the same size no matter how long they are farmed. For the varieties in most parts of China, they can generally be sold at just over one jin, and the farming cycle of catfish is about 90 days; catfish on the market can produce two harvests per year. In Southeast Asia, the average lifespan of catfish is about 30 years, and there is a type of giant catfish that can be farmed for more than 30 years at most.

Catfish Rearing Methods

1. Stocking of fry

When stocking fry, try to choose clear or slightly breezy weather. Before the fry enter the pond, first put them in a net cage and keep them temporarily in a bundled box. Put the fry in nylon bags and place them on the water surface of the fish pond. When the water temperature inside the bags is the same as the water temperature of the pond, the fry can then be put into the net cage for rearing. Generally, about 30,000 to 50,000 catfish fry can be stocked per mu of pond.

2. Feeding with water fleas

Use water fleas to feed the fry. Generally, after about 3 hours of temporary rearing, put the fry into the rearing pond. Before stocking the fry, arrange shaded areas in the shallow water around the pond with aquatic plants, straw curtains, and so on, so that after the fry are stocked they can rest under the shelter and grow well.

3. Rearing management

In the first few days after the fry are stocked, some zooplankton can be cultivated in the pond, and no feed needs to be given. If there is not much zooplankton in the pond, water fleas can be collected from other ponds for feeding. After the fourth day, earthworms, minced fish, and so on can be fed throughout the pond, with reasonable feeding according to the feeding situation of the fry.

4. Fry leaving the pond

After about 10 days of cultivation, the fry can reach a body length of about 5 cm. At this point they can be divided into ponds for rearing, and the farmer needs to enter the next rearing stage to ensure that the fry can grow quickly.