FISH FARMING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.0. INTRODUCTION.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fish\nfarming\/ fish culture is the growing of fish in ponds to allow feeding,\nbreeding, growing and harvesting in a well-planned way without fish escaping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nare 30,000- 40,000 different types of fish in the world that differs in size,\nshape, habitat and habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s\na form of aquaculture- farming of aquatic organisms in fresh, brackish or salt\nwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other\nmethods of fish farming include; in cages, dams and reservoirs, offshore fish\npens and in rice paddies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importance of fish farming.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

• Fish as food<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

  Fish\nis rich source of protein<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  The\ncold liver is vitamin A and D rich<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Fish\nis believed to have less cholesterol than other animal proteins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  It\u2019s\neasy to grow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Are\ncheap than some kind of meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  It\u2019s\navailable as food all the year round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Better\nland use<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The\naim of growing fish, crops or animals is to increase the production of food\nfrom land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When\ncrops have used up all the nutrients in the soil, fish ponds can be built.\nAfter a few years the soil will regain its fertility for the crops to grow\nagain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Land\nmay not favour crops because it is sandy. But there are ways of building a\npond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Fish\nponds can be built as part of the water supply and irrigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • Source\nof income<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      A\nfarmer can generate additional income through selling surplus fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • Employment\nin fishing industries- both direct and indirect<\/strong><\/li>
      • Foreign\nexchange earner <\/strong><\/li>
      • Recreation<\/strong>\u2013there\nare certain species of fish that serve the aesthetic values like gold fish in\nbig hotel receptions.<\/li>
      • Research\n<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        • Raw\nmaterials to industries <\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Cod\nliver oil for pharmaceutical industries<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          • Waste\nland utilization<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            Integration:\n– crop, animal and fish farming- residues of plants like kales and carrots are\nused for fish feeding, whole fish produce manure-fertilizer for fish pond<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Seeds\n\u2013replacement in the natural source-fingerlings of extinct species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            It\nis used for improving quality of fish by hybridization through genetics<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Terminologies\nused in fish farming.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Capture fisheries<\/strong>\n-refers to catching fish from their natural habitat e.g. river, lakes, oceans,\nsea streams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Culture fisheries<\/strong>–\nrefer to fish produced through human intervention in the organisms\u2019\nproductivity. (Artificial habitat) e.g. Dams, ponds-man made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Monoculture<\/strong>–\ngrowing of only one kind of fish in a pond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Polyculture<\/strong>–\ngrowing of two or more kinds of fish in the same pond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Monosex culture<\/strong>–\ngrowing of one sex of one species of fish in a pond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Spawning<\/strong>–\nthe release and fertilization of eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Stocking<\/strong>\n\u2013 the act of placing fish into the pond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Stocking density<\/strong>–\nthe total number of fish which can be stocked.(Reproduction rate $ food\navailable).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Stocking rate<\/strong>–\nthe number of one species put in a pond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Classification \/ Types\nof fisheries<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            1. Fresh\nwater fisheries.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

               Comprises\nof lakes, rivers, springs (capture and culture fisheries). Fresh water\naquaculture dominates fish farming in Kenya and can be divided into:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               • Cold\n water culture involving culture of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)<\/em>\n in highland areas and<\/li>
               • Warm\n water culture involving the culture of Tilapine<\/em> fishes, the African\n catfish, common carp and a variety of ornamental fishes in low land\n regions of the country.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                 There\u2019s\npermeability of water into fish through:-gills, buccal membrane and alimentary\ncanal because<\/strong> mineral salts are\nhigher inside fish than outside , hence osmotic pressure is higher inside than\noutside, thus water goes inside through the above areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                 Fresh\nwater fisheries which is further divided into inland capture and inland culture\nfisheries<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                 Limitations of capture\nfisheries.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                 \uf0d8It\nis easier to get fish out of a pond than to catch fish from a river or stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                 \uf0d8Fish\ngrowth cannot be controlled by giving extra growth and protection from natural\nenemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                 \uf0d8The\nfarmer cannot grow only those that he wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                 \uf0d8Does\nnot allow fish farmer to produce cheaply and to have a supply of fish available\non his own land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                 Advantages of culture\nfisheries.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                 • It is easier to get fish out of a pond\nthan to catch fish from a river or stream.<\/li>
                 • Fish growth can be controlled by giving\nextra growth and protection from natural enemies.<\/li>
                 • The farmer will only grow those that he\nwants.<\/li>
                 • Allows fish farmer to produce cheaply\nand to have a supply of fish available on his\/her own land.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                   FACTORS\nCONSIDERED IN CITING OF FISH POND<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                   • Water availability<\/li>
                   • Accessibility to the market<\/li>
                   • Ready market for the fish<\/li>
                   • Good drainage<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                          ATTRIBUTES OF A GOOD FISH PONDS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                     • Presents of dykes<\/li>
                     • Inlet at a shallow end and outlet at a\ndeep end<\/li>
                     • Gently sloping end<\/li>
                     • Proper and good drainage<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                       ROUTINE POND MANAGEMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                       • Check leakage on the walls of the pond,\nrepair immediately<\/li>
                       • Filters should be attended to regularly<\/li>
                       • Check how fish are responding to feeding\nto check health status<\/li>
                       • Feed the fish depending on stocking\ndensity of the pond<\/li>
                       • Add fertilization if necessary<\/li>
                       • Check the predators e.g. hammer carps,\nAfrican fish, eagle king fish, pelicans, alligators<\/li>
                       •  Check oxygen levels, ph. on daily basis to see\nwhether there is any turbidity <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                         FISH HEALTH MANAGEMENT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                         \u201c<\/strong><\/em>As<\/strong>\nthey say prevention is better than cure\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                         Fish health is influenced by three factors:\nenvironment, stress and pathogens (diseases). To have healthy fish you will\nneed to have enough good food available, enough oxygen in the pond, protect\nthem from predators, avoid too high stocking densities and handle fish well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                         Make sure you get feeds and fingerlings from a\nreliable source and always disinfect your pond with lime to kill anything that\ncould carry diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                         Health management is more difficult and needs some\nexperience. Always seek advice from expert when abnormalities, signs of\npathogens or parasites, are observed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                         Common sources of stress for fish include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                 1.\nPoor nutrition<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                 2.\nPoor environmental conditions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                 3.\nOvercrowding in ponds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                         Signs and symptoms of fish diseases<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                         Diseases can be observed through changes in the fish\nappearance, behaviour and at an advanced stage: death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                         Through observation the followings signs can be\nseen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                         1. Fish\njumping out of the water<\/li>
                         2. Parasites\non the scales\/skin of the fish (might need a magnifying glass or\nmicroscope).  <\/li>
                         3. Large\nnumbers of fish crowding around an inlet of freshwater<\/li>
                         4. Loss\nof appetite by fish<\/li>
                         5. Individual\nfish of unusual colouration\u2014often very dark in appearance<\/li>
                         6. Individual\nfish swimming in circles (\u201cwhirling\u201d)<\/li>
                         7. Retarded\ngrowth<\/li>
                         8. Distended\nstomach<\/li>
                         9. Fish flipping on water surface, scraping\nor jumping<\/li>
                         10. External parasites visible on the fins,\nbody, or gills of fish; parasites (worms) visible on\/in internal organs<\/li>
                         11. Excess\nmucus on skin<\/li>
                         12. Peeling skin, ulcers, lesions, and\nerosion of fins.<\/li>
                         13. Fish\ndeaths increasing over time<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                             FISH FARMING 1.0. INTRODUCTION. Fish farming\/ fish culture is the growing of fish in ponds to allow feeding, breeding, growing and harvesting in a well-planned way without fish escaping. There are 30,000- 40,000 different types of fish in the world that differs in size, shape, habitat and habits. It\u2019s a form of aquaculture- farming of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[37,38],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetanimalhealthcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetanimalhealthcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetanimalhealthcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetanimalhealthcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetanimalhealthcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vetanimalhealthcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113,"href":"https:\/\/vetanimalhealthcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105\/revisions\/113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetanimalhealthcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetanimalhealthcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetanimalhealthcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}