If you have the opportunity to build or rent a pond, then you can do a very interesting and quite profitable business - fish farming. For example, if you take carp, then a 200-gram fry, when fed from April to October, will gain about 1 kg. Due to the high palatability of this fish, the demand for it in the markets is quite stable.
Fish pond
For breeding fish, in particular crucian carp, you can use a natural or artificial pond, equipped in its own garden. The most optimal pond size is 6x6 meters and a depth of at least one meter. For breeding heat-loving species, such as carp, the optimal depth is 2 meters, and for fish that need only cool water, such as trout and sturgeon, 3 or more meters. Part of the coastal zone must be made shallow, because in the spring in these areas the water warms up better and the fish spawn there.
After arranging the reservoir, the first thing to do is to strengthen the coast so that the soil does not slip into the water during atmospheric precipitation. To do this, you can sow the edge of the coast with grass, which will strengthen the soil well. The bottom also needs to be planted with the vegetation necessary for feeding the fish and for the life of microorganisms. You can take algae from any natural reservoir.
Fish farming
It is better for novice fish farmers to breed carp, as this is the fastest growing fish that most bodies of water are suitable for. In addition, it is not very demanding on the conditions of detention, has a very high taste and is much easier to sell in retail outlets.
Carp is an unpretentious and omnivorous fish, but if the water temperature drops below 8 ° C, it practically stops eating and grow accordingly. The most optimal water temperature is 20 - 29 ° C. Active weight gain of carp occurs from April to October.
Where to buy fry?
For stocking the pond, fry can be purchased at fish farms or in a special store. As a rule, fish fry begin to be sold in the spring after ice drift. You can buy one-year-olds, whose weight is 50 - 70 g, or two-year-olds weighing 200 - 250 g. When buying, you need to take into account some factors that will affect the survival of fry in the place of their settlement. First of all, try to learn as much as possible about this fish farm, how long has it been working? How often and how sick are fry for a pond? Does the farm have a license for this type of activity? If possible, find and talk with regular customers. It is also necessary to visit the selected farm and see the conditions of the fish fry. This important information will help to avoid significant losses of planting material during transportation and settlement in a reservoir.
An approximate calculation of the growth of fry carp for the season (from April to October):
- Carp fry weighing 20 g can gain weight up to 250 g.
- Planting material (50 - 70 g) - up to 700 g.
- 200 - 250 g of fish gains per season up to 1000 - 1200 g.
As you can see, fish grows pretty quickly, so it can bring a good income.
Prices for fry and feed
A healthy male carp, whose weight is from 25 to 50 grams, costs about 150 rubles / kg. The cost of 100 pieces of planting material is 350-450 rubles. The average price of fish food is 5-7 rubles / kg.
Transportation fry
Fish fry are transported in sealed containers. Most often, barrels with a volume of 50 l with a wide mouth are used.
When transporting fish, it is recommended to take water for it from the same reservoir where it was previously located, since water from wells, wells and water pipes is not suitable, as it has a low oxygen content.
In hot weather, it is better not to transport the fry. The best time for transportation is early morning or evening. Before the fish fry are released into the pond, it is necessary to equalize the temperature in the tanks so that it is equal to the temperature of the pond water. With a difference of more than 2 degrees, the fry may experience temperature shock. To do this, you need to gradually add colder water from the reservoir to the tank where the carp fry are located until their temperatures are equalized. After that, you can safely release "new settlers" into the pond for further cultivation.
Carp breeding feed
Carps mainly feed on plant foods, as well as small aquatic organisms and insects. Especially this fish loves young shoots of cattail and reeds. But in order for it to grow well and gain mass, it must be fed with special compound feed (preferably granular). For each age, appropriate feed is sold having a certain granule size. Also, fish can be fed with wheat grain (preferably slightly sprouted). She has a sweet taste, carp eats her well and is gaining weight very quickly.
For better fish growth, a fly larvae cultivator can be installed on the pond, which will provide the fish with free, full-fledged protein feed. Carps with such established cultivators grow faster.
You can also attract insects using light traps. They are the most ordinary lamps with a lampshade. They are suspended above the water at a meter height and are turned on at night. Light contributes to the strong attraction of various insects - butterflies, mosquitoes, beetles. They fly into the light and, burning on a heated light bulb, fall into the water, where fish eat them.
It must be remembered that when feeding carp with compound feed, you need not to overdo it. Fish should eat food completely. If there is too much of it, it will turn sour, which will sharply worsen the quality of the water in the pond.
Serving carp is recommended in feeders, as it is much easier to control the amount consumed by the fish.