Sturgeon breeding in RAS: equipment, diet, rearing technology, productivity and advice from breeding specialists

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Sturgeon breeding is a business that promises quite a lot of profit. Anyone can do it, no matter where they live. This is possible due to the use of recirculating water supply systems (RAS). When creating them, it is only necessary to provide optimal conditions, as well as the required area. In this case, the fish farm is formed from hangar-type buildings in which pools and a water purification system are located.

Introduction

RAS sturgeon farming is an approach based on a multi-tank system. They are equipped with filters and devices that contribute to the constant renewal of water. This approach allows you to breed fish even in harsh climatic conditions. The presence of a closed and customizable system makes it easy to achieve the optimal parameters necessary for successfulgrowing fish (temperature regime, amount of oxygen, and so on). Breeding of sturgeons in the RAS allows to reach the required weight for sale after a year of life. In addition, caviar is also subject to sale, which is very valuable and expensive due to its valuable nutritional qualities and relatively small supply.

How profitable is it?

Sturgeon breeding in the RAS as a business has proven itself well - if you work tirelessly and in accordance with the opinion of the mind. So, the cost of one kilogram of products is about 600 rubles, which allows you to make a profit of up to 400 rubles. So, a farm that produces about five tons of fish per year has a turnover of about five million rubles. Of these, up to two is net profit. To have an enterprise at a profitability level of 30-60% is quite possible. It takes only two or three years to reach net profit and fully pay off the project. Moreover, it should be borne in mind that you can get not only the fish itself, but also caviar. In other words, sturgeon breeding in the RAS as a business is quite feasible. But how to implement it?

What is needed for this?

Let's imagine that we are faced with the task of organizing a fish farm that allows us to receive about five tons per year. How to achieve this? What kind of RAS equipment is needed for sturgeon breeding? In short, this result allows you to get:

1. A room of about 125 square meters, provided with water supply, sewerage, heating andelectricity.
2. The feed ratio is 1.4. That is, 7 tons of food is needed per year.
3. Water volume - 2100 cubic meters for twelve months.
4. Electricity consumption is about 5.5 kW. 48 thousand kW are needed per year.
5. At least two employees for a salary of 60 thousand rubles a month.
6. Necessary equipment, which will cost about three million rubles.

How is sturgeon bred in the RAS? The complete scheme below can be used as a family business or to create a full-fledged enterprise.

Pools

First of all, you need to take care of the equipment with which the fish are kept. Of course, in the first place here are the pools. Depending on their cost, capacity and manufacturer, this item will cost at least two million rubles. The following containers are suitable for use:

1. Frame structures.
2. Polypropylene.
3. From ceramic tiles.
4. Enamelled metal containers.
5. With solid concrete walls.

To grow fish up to 300 grams, you need to take care of a rectangular or round pool. It is enough that it be 1.6 m in diameter and up to 90 centimeters deep. For those fish whose size ranges from 0.3 kg to 2 kg, a pool with parameters of 2.2 m and 1.3 m should be provided. It should be borne in mind that 1 square meter allows you to grow up to 60 kilogramssturgeon. Care must be taken to ensure that the sturgeon lives in favorable conditions. For it, it is necessary to maintain the temperature at the level of 18-20 degrees Celsius. Therefore, heating is necessary in winter, and cooling in summer. To do this, the system provides for the possibility of using a heat exchanger.

Water Purification Technology

Since the business plan for breeding sturgeons in the RAS does not provide for their free range, and living in the same water is problematic, it is necessary to provide a solution to the problem of the quality of their living environment. How should water be purified?

At the first stage, it undergoes mechanical filtration. To do this, micromesh drums are used, rotating in the housing. Periodically, they need to be cleaned of various solid particles, such as uneaten food, fish feces, and so on. Mechanical filtration removes harmful substances such as nitrates and sulfates from the pool.

Then you can proceed to the second stage. It carries out biological purification of water. The equipment for this is made in the form of a concrete container buried in the floor. It is filled with special elements - bioloads. Their cost is about 20 thousand rubles per piece. The concrete container is filled with water, after which aeration begins. This process removes carbon dioxide from the pool. After all, it must be remembered that fish can also breathe, and they need it.

The third stage involves denitrification. It is carried out using a closed filter.type. This stage is necessary in order to reduce the amount of nitrates, which will inevitably occur after biotreatment. Methanol is used to decompose these compounds. This filter has a low bandwidth. This fact must be taken into account.

Pumps

Cultivation of sturgeon requires constant circulation of water. For this, a pump is used, which will cost 20 thousand rubles. With its help, fresh water is taken, after which it is mixed with the main liquid. Its quantity must be equal to the drain in order to ensure uninterrupted circulation of water in the system. The technology of sturgeon breeding in RAS pays special attention to this point, you should not ignore it and assume that it is enough just to clean the liquid used.

Additional points

The following equipment is also used for growing fish:

1. UV lamps. They are necessary for water disinfection.
2. Oxy generator. Allows you to saturate the water with the required amount of oxygen.
3. Ozonizer. Necessary for providing living environment with ozone.
4. Incubators. Required when fish are bred for caviar.
5. Feeders. Allows you to provide metered power at the right time.

What will be needed next for sturgeon breeding in a recirculating system?

Purchasing fish

First, you need to acquire living creatures. For breedingfry are used. Their acquisition is the first stage of activity. First of all, you should have at least ten thousand fry. Why so much? The fact is that even in the presence of experienced specialists, their case reaches about 60% of the total. It is possible to reduce this value, but this is a complicated and costly business. Fortunately, their cost is about 20 rubles apiece, and the weight is several grams. Therefore, there should be no problems with their acquisition and transportation.

By the way, it's better not to save on the first fish. Of course, even if you buy dried fry and provide them with good conditions, they will get better over time. But time will be lost, more funds will be needed for their maintenance, and one should not forget about the case. Therefore, it is better not to save on quality.

How to grow fish?

Years of experience and experimentation allowed us to select several optimal methods. Two of them are described below:

1. Kiselev's method. It involves stocking the pools twice a year. It also involves harvesting every six months. The disadvantage of this technique is that it is difficult to gain a lot of weight over such a significant period.
2. Krasnoborodko's technique. It provides for such an approach to fish breeding, when the harvest is harvested at short intervals, but in small quantities. This system allows you to ensure uninterrupted operation thanks to numerous water purification filters, disinfection devices, pumps and periodic updates.liquids. This technique involves only one-time stocking of pools. It allows you to minimize the area required for breeding in terms of equipment placement, as well as the number of pools.

Getting caviar

Sturgeon breeding in the RAS is used not only to obtain fish meat. Sturgeons also allow you to get such a delicacy as caviar. In this case, it is necessary to make two independent installations of closed water supply. The first is used for broodstock, while the second is used for producers. The peculiarity of the second is that they must be in cold water.

In the first year, the harvest is not particularly impressive in size - females give up to eight percent of their own weight. Not too much. But in the second year, this figure can reach a value of 20%! This is what sturgeon breeding in RAS is like. Technology and drawings will create an idea of how everything should be. And the implementation will allow you to create devices for absolutely every taste.