Fry fish for the pond

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

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 a carp, then a 200-gram fry, when fed from April to October, will gain weight of 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 your backyard. The most optimal size of the pond is 6x6 meters, the depth is not less than one meter. For breeding heat-loving species such as carp, the optimal depth is 2 meters, and for fish that require only cool water, such as trout and sturgeon, 3 meters or more. Part of the coastal zone needs to be made shallow, because in 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 shore so that the soil under atmosphericprecipitation did not slip into the water. To do this, you can sow the edge of the coast with grass, which will strengthen the soil well. The bottom must also be planted with vegetation necessary for the nutrition of fish and for the life of microorganisms. You can take algae from any natural reservoir.

Fish farming

For beginner fish farmers it is better to breed carp as it is the fastest growing fish that suits most waters. 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 feeding and grows 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 a pond, fry can be purchased at fish farms or a special store. As a rule, fish fry begin to be sold in the spring after the ice breaks. You can buy one-year-olds weighing 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 rate of fry in their place of settlement. First of all, try to find out as much as possible about this fish farm, how long has it been operating? How often do fry for a pond get sick and what? Does the farm have a license for this type of activity? When possible, find and talk with regular customers. Also needbe sure to visit the selected farm and see in what conditions the fish fry are kept. This important information will help to avoid significant losses of planting material during transportation and settlement in the reservoir.

Approximate calculation of the growth of carp fry for the season (from April to October):

• Carp fry weighing 20g can gain weight up to 250g
• Planting material (50 - 70 g) - up to 700 g.
• 200 - 250 g fish gains up to 1000 - 1200 g per season

As you can see, the fish grows quite quickly, so it can bring a good income.

Fry and food prices

A he althy carp fry weighing 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 for fish food is 5-7 rubles/kg.

Transportation of fry

Fry fry are transported in sealed containers. The most commonly used barrels are 50 liters with a wide mouth.

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 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 containers 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 toa container where carp fry are located until their temperatures are equal. After that, you can safely release the “new settlers” into the pond for further cultivation.

Food for carp breeding

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 weight, it must be fed with special feed (preferably granulated). For each age, an appropriate compound feed is sold, having a certain size of granules. Also, fish can be fed with wheat grain (preferably slightly germinated). It has a sweet taste, carp eat it well and gain weight very quickly.

For better fish growth, you can install a fly larvae cultivator on the pond, which will provide the fish with free high-grade protein food. Carp grow faster with these cultivators installed.

You can also attract insects by using light traps. They are the most common lamps with a lampshade. They are suspended above the water at a height of one meter and turned on at night. Light contributes to the strong attraction of various insects - butterflies, mosquitoes, beetles. They fly into the light and, burning themselves on a heated light bulb, fall into the water, where they are eaten by fish.

It must be remembered that when feeding carp with compound feed, one must not overdo it. The fish must eat the food completely. If too much is left, it will turn sour, which will drastically reduce the quality of the water in the pond.

ServeFeeding is recommended for carp in feeders, as it is much easier to control the amount consumed by the fish.