Detailed Explanation of Catfish Breeding Technology and Management Key Points

The catfish is naturally distributed in the major river waters south of the Yangtze River in China, with common individuals weighing about 2 to 5 kg. Artificial domestication and breeding began in the mid-1980s. The catfish belongs to the order Siluriformes, family Siluridae. It has a broad and flat head, a short and plump chest and abdomen, and a long and laterally compressed tail. Its eyes are large, and its mouth is large with fine, sharp teeth. It has 2 long barbels and 2 short barbels. Its body surface has no scales and is rich in mucus. Its intestine is short, and it is a ferocious fish.

Breeding Environment Conditions

The southern catfish is a warm-water fish. Its suitable survival water temperature is 0-38°C, its suitable growth water temperature is 12-30°C, and its most suitable growth water temperature is 25-28°C. When the dissolved oxygen in the water is above 3 mg/L, the southern catfish grows normally; when the dissolved oxygen in the water is below 2 mg/L, it begins to surface for air; when the dissolved oxygen in the water is below 1 mg/L, it will cause death. The southern catfish is a bottom-dwelling fish. During the day, most of them lurk in groups at the bottom of the pond, and at night they disperse to move about. The southern catfish has a gentle temperament, is not good at jumping, does not burrow into mud, and is easy to catch.

1. Sufficient water source, water quality meeting fishery standards, and convenient water intake and drainage.

2. Survival temperature 0-38°C. The optimal growth water temperature is 24-28°C; the most suitable pH range is 7.0-8.4; the requirement for dissolved oxygen in water is slightly higher than that of domestic fish. It grows normally above 3 mg/L. Above 5 mg/L, the growth rate is the highest and the feed conversion rate is the highest.

Seedling Cultivation of Catfish

Newly hatched fry rely entirely on their own yolk for nutrition. After about 2 days, the yolk begins to gradually disappear. When the larvae can swim horizontally normally, they can be put into the pond to open their mouths and feed. The opening feed for fry can be cooked egg yolk or small cladocerans and copepods. Boil eggs, remove the shells and take the yolk, wrap it in gauze, squeeze the yolk in a plate containing water to form yolk particle water slurry, and splash it over the whole pond. As the fish continue to grow, they can be fed water fleas, chironomid larvae, aquatic earthworms, fly maggots, and various small domestic fish fry, or some silkworm pupa powder, pig blood, artificial seedling compound feed, etc. The feeding amount should be such that a slight amount of leftover bait remains in the pond before the next feeding. This can avoid mutual cannibalism among fry caused by insufficient feeding.

First fertilize the water quality, and when a large number of rotifers appear in the pond water, put in catfish fry. Generally, 6000-10000 catfish seedlings 3 cm long are stocked per mu. Every 2-3 days, add new water once, then apply a small amount of chemical fertilizer. When the catfish fry have grown to 5-7 cm in body length, seize the time to train them to eat and feed artificial compound bait, with a protein content in the feed reaching above 45%. Use nets to divide the pond and separate fish species of different sizes to avoid mutual cannibalism.

3. Feeding management mainly ensures sufficient palatable bait, fresh water quality and abundant dissolved oxygen, and strengthens fish disease prevention.