For appropriate training and the achievement of the effective running of the fish farming enterprise, this article has particularly outlined some of the 6 Steps to start catfish farming business which you can follow in order to become successful in it.
Catfish farming is the growing of one or more of the ray-finned fish for mainly commercial purpose . It involves constructing concrete or tarpaulin ponds, filling with fingernails and feeding them until they are sizable enough for sale in the market.
There are various ways of starting a catfish farming business. Catfish farming business is a simple and flexible animal husbandry based business that you can start anywhere, particularly in tropical climate like ours. Also, catfish farming business can be operated in your place of residence, especially for those that have a spacious compound. Yes, you can start catfish farming at home.
6 Steps to Start Catfish Farming Business
Truly, the catfish farming business is easy and profitable. As long as you are determined to succeed, you should venture into it. However, you cannot go into this very lucrative venture without proper knowledge of the 6 steps to start catfish farming business.
1. Decide the Size
It is believed that you are a serious about starting a commercial catfish farming. In this case you need to construct a concrete catfish pond. The exact size will depend on the capital you want to start with. There are many sizes of catfish farm you can build.
As a beginner, you can start with catfish juvenile, nurture them for good and rapid growth and make handsome profit when you offer them to the market. The advantage of starting with big catfish is that you save on the cost of feeds because you buy in bulk or you convert part of your business into producing catfish feeds.
2. Understand the Nitty-Gritty of its Market
This involves knowing the level of demand of catfish in your area. You may have to do little investigation from market men and women, hotels and restaurants, and from other stakeholders who buy and sell catfish. Also find out the price of a fully grown catfish and the period of the year catfish is in great demand. Catfish is of different species such as flathead catfish, blue catfish, channel catfish and so many others. They live in fresh water and eat worms and insects and other amphibians such as frogs and sometimes small reptiles.
3. Run a Good Drainage System
It is very bad to channel drain waste from your farm to public places, therefore before starting a cat fish farming business, you need to consider where to locate your catfish farming business in order for you not to dispose your farm waste without being a nuisance to other members of the public. If it is in your home or a place you acquire, make sure that you make a suitable plan for drainage.
4. Prepare the Cost of Starting Business
It is very important to have a proper knowledge of how much it will cost you. The cost will depend on the season, the size of business you want to run and the cost of materials at the time.
Your key expensive will include: construction catfish tank (pond), buying quantity of catfish to start your business, buying feeds and probably drilling a borehole for proper water supply. All these should be embodied in your business plan, if you have any.
You can arrive at specific costs by going out to ask questions in the form of market research. If possible, find out also the range of profit that can be made in catfish farming business in your area. Consider all important items needed for the operation of your catfish and also your production plan annually, such as feed, fuel, equipment and machineries, work force, supplies, utilities, repairs and emergency funds.
5. Feeding the Catfish
You must feed the catfish with quality feeds that contain proper nutrients such as lysine, arginine and methionine. Also, the water must always be fresh , either from borehole or river. Treated water like tap water or even rain water cannot be recommended, otherwise, it is a question of time, your catfish pond will be empty because your catfish would all die. Moreover, don’t use acidic water of any kind, to know this, you need HP meter that reads acidic level in water.
6. Protect your Catfish from Diseases
Catfish can develop symptoms of unhealthiness. When you begin to notice inactivity, change of color, bloated body, cloud eyes, open sores, red streaks, etc., take adequate action. You must be very observant about the catfish you rear to avoid epidemic of a particular disease and deal with any disease when it is noticed. To avoid loosing your catfish farm, you must pay attention to your farm, ask pertinent questions and obtain phone numbers from mentor and experts.
