What should be noted in catfish farming? These key points are crucial
SummaryIn catfish farming, the pond area should be large and the water should be somewhat deep. Anti-escape facilities should be installed around the pond. During the farming process, the water in the pond should be changed regularly, and some aquatic plants of suitable height such as water hyacinth can also be planted in the pond, which can both purify the water quality and provide shade for the catfish. Feed should be given reasonably to ensure balanced nutrition, disease prevention should be done well, the pond should be disinfected regularly, and catfish should be harvested using a partial-harvest, partial-stocking model.
1. Fry stocking and pond selection
The pond for farming catfish is best somewhat large, and the water level should not be too shallow. To provide a suitable growing environment for catfish, the height of the aquatic plants in the pond should be appropriate, neither too long nor too short. During the farming process, weeds in the pond should be cleared regularly, and anti-escape facilities should be installed around the pond to prevent the catfish from escaping.
2. Regular water changes
Good water quality directly affects the growth of catfish. During the farming process, the water quality in the pond should be observed at all times. If the water quality deteriorates, the water should be changed immediately. Generally, change the water about once every 15 days. If the water quality is relatively good, then only 30% of the water needs to be changed.
A yellow-green water color is normal water quality. If the catfish often jump out of the water, it is because the water is too fertile and the oxygen content in the water is somewhat low, so the pond water needs to be changed immediately to improve the water quality. During hot and humid rainy days, oxygen should be added to the pond in a timely manner to avoid fish dying from lack of oxygen. Some aquatic plants such as water hyacinth can be planted in the pond, which can both improve the water quality and provide shade for the catfish.
3. Feeding must be reasonable
During the farming process, feed should be given reasonably. Do not feed too much each time, to avoid the catfish eating too much and suffering esophageal blockage. During the fry stage of catfish, the feed should be chopped up to make it easier for the young fish to eat and digest; at 2 months of age, granular feed can be added. To ensure balanced nutrition, some protein can also be added to the feed.
4. Disease prevention
The disease resistance of catfish is not very strong, and they are relatively prone to illness. The most common is an outbreak disease, which can infect them generally less than one month after fry are stocked, manifesting as many blisters of varying sizes appearing on the fry's body, redness and swelling at the fins, and then the catfish slowly rotting until death.
During the farming process, regularly splash a certain proportion of quicklime or bleaching powder into the pond to disinfect the pond, and some disease-resistant drugs can be mixed into the feed and fed together.
5. Catching and harvesting
When stocking fry, pay attention to size and density. Generally, they can be caught after about 100 days of farming. Before catching, first drain the water in the pond, place some cages containing feed in the pond, or directly use fishing nets to catch them. When catching, note that smaller catfish still need to be put back into the pond for continued farming, and only after they reach market size should they be caught for sale. After catching is completed, restore the water in the pond to its original level and carry out one disinfection.