Catfish farming in Nigeria is
a very lucrative business and it is
mainly boosted by the continuous
rise in the demand for catfish. This trend therefore makes catfish
culture the most popular form of
fish farming in Nigeria and it is
therefore where the discourse of
this article is going to be centred. Whether you are just starting out
in aquaculture with the hope of
making just an extra income or to
go into full scale commercial
production, Here you will discover
the prospects and the challenges facing the catfish industry in
Nigeria.
OVERVIEW OF FISH FARMING IN
NIGERIA.
Let me start by giving you a quick
overview of the state of fish
farming in Nigeria. The most common species found in
Nigeria are; Clarias gariepinus, Heterobranchus bidorsalis, Clarias X Heterobranchus hybrid (Heteroclarias) and Clarias nigrodigitatus. Heterobranchus sp are very common in the south eastern part of Nigeria with clarias spp dominating in the west. Despite the popularity of catfish farming in Nigeria, the fish farming industry can best be described as being at the infant stage when compare to the large market potential for its production and marketing. This is mainly due to unavailability of fingerlings owing to lack of adequate infrastructurefor hatcheries for fingerling production.
BREEDING
If you intend to go into catfish
farming in Nigeria, the first thing
you have to get hold of is the
fingerlings. The fingerling can be obtained mainly through artificial
propagation in the hatcheries
through hormonal induction. If you intend to produce your own
fertilized eggs, you can make use
of the homoplastic pituitary gland suspension. In Nigeria, It is usually more affordable than the imported hormonal analogues. Fish Farmers also say that they are more reliable. And I seriously don’t doubt them. But despite the beauty of induced spawning, there the challenges which you must face: both biotic and abiotic challenges. These problems all have there root in the extra care needed to be given to the fry during the first week of life. In this regard, you have to battle with provision of zooplankton which serves as Feeds for the purpose of feeding of the larvae, fry and fingerlings thus playing a major role on their growth and survival. There is also the problem of cannibalism, heavy predation by frogs/aquatic insects and the
abiotic challenges such as water
temperature, dissolved oxygen
(>4.5mg/L-1), levels of ammonia. The brood stock to use for the
purpose of breeding should be
between 0.3kg and 2kg.
CULTURE SYSTEM
Next thing on the line is the culture system you will use. First and foremost, you have to be
aware that these African catfishes
(especially Clarias gariepinus) are
cannibals as such you should take
great care in sorting them
according to size. If you intend to culture the fingerling outdoor, you should take into consideration the prevalence of predatory insects in Nigeria. Therefore ensure you cover the tanks with mosquito nets so as to keep the predatory insects away. For the adult, poly culture of clarias gariepinus with tilapia spp is very common in Nigeria and have been known over the years to be productive. This is carried out using mainly concrete tanks which allow supplementary feeding thus ensuring higher fish yield. Some few farmers also use indoor water re-circulatory system (WRS). But it is costlier so most simply use the concrete tanks.
FOR YOUR POND CONSTRUCTION, HYBRID FINGERLINGS, FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR YOUR BUSINESS AND ALL AGRO MATTERS CALL MR KINGSLEY ON 08032861326.

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