Catfish African: cultivation and breeding

Surely everyone saw in the grocery stores on the fish stalls of a marble catfish. And very many people like this kind of fish, because its meat is rather juicy, soft and tasty. But not everyone knows that this fish can be grown quite easily or on a small fish farm. In the article we will consider the rules of breeding and growing fish in the subsidiary farm, but it is possible to grow catfish in the same way for personal consumption.

Catfish

In general, the "marble catfish" is not quite the right name for this fish. In fact, its name is the African Clarice Catfish (Latin Clarias gariepinus). These fish come from Africa. Even in the reservoirs of the Sahara you can catch the Nile clarias. In appearance, this is quite ordinary catfish: its long body in brown spots has a light belly. A distinctive feature of all soms is a long mustache. Clarify mustache has 4 pairs. This type of fish is able to process oxygen from the air, using the supragastric organ of respiration. To this end, the catfish emerges to the surface and is saturated with air. It is this feature that has made clarius so comfortable in breeding. There is no need to provide it with fresh water. Moreover, one kilometer of water can plant about 300 kilograms of live fish. Of course, this is possible only with the regular removal of feces.

To keep a large number of fish, you either need to purchase special pools, or have access to large enough water bodies. One of the features of the method is the possibility of further use of warm water from incubators, which leads to better results.

Manufacturers

For the most part, the parent herd is the fish that grow faster than others. Catfish African can participate in reproduction to 1.5 - 2 years. The female reaches sexual maturity by 6 months, but the best results are obtained at the age of 2 years.

Usually during breeding, the parent herd is kept in separate tanks, the water in which is heated to 23-25 degrees Celsius. The feed from the producers must be carefully balanced. The protein content of such feed should be at least 38%. In a day, producers should consume at least 1.5% of their weight.

The optimal number of producers in one fish box is 100 individuals.

Reproduction under control

Most often, to produce sex products of high quality, manufacturers are stimulated with hormone injections. Before the introduction of the hormone, it is necessary to distribute the females to various aquariums or swimming pools.

2-3 days before the spawning procedure, fish should be put on a hunger diet. With a single injection, the pituitary is used, in the calculation of 4.5 mg per kilogram of live weight of fish.

The African catfish, whose breeding has been decided by injection, responds well to Ovopel. It is administered once, using 1 granule per kilogram of fish. This drug is used in the form of a physiological mixture. Male before spawning is kept in one pond.

Spawning

For successful maturation of eggs, it is necessary to keep the female in the water up to the spawning temperature with a temperature of about 26 degrees. Full ovulation occurs 12 hours after the injection of the pituitary gland.

Catfish African - pretty nervous fish, so to get caviar females must be put to sleep. This is done by injecting an anesthetic. The most commonly used is Propiscin.

Caviar is obtained from each female separately. It is considered acceptable if the mass of eggs is not less than 20% of the weight of a particular individual. After the procedure, the female is placed in KMnO4 solution for about an hour. The preparation should be diluted at a rate of 0.5 g per 100 liters of water.

Milk for the most part take from gonads already caught males. The effectiveness of spermatozoa is maintained up to 24 hours at one temperature - 4 degrees.

Fertilization

The resulting caviar is divided into three parts. It is better not to mix caviar of different females. Each serving should weigh about 300 grams. Then take 3 ml of milk. Efficiency will be higher if the milk is from different males - this stimulates the process of fertilization. Thus, it is better to take 1 ml from 3 males. Milk and caviar to dip into the water and mix well for about five minutes.

Binding

After fertilization is carried out, the caviar should be rinsed well. To do this, use a solution of tannin. It takes about 10 grams per 10 liters of water. To fully drain the caviar, it is necessary to thoroughly wash it in the solution for no more than 30 seconds.

Incubation

After the caviar is decollete, its incubation begins in the trays on the framework or in special apparatuses. The incubation frames should be sheathed with a mesh with a mesh of about 0.5 mm. Caviar is spread on the net with a layer of 1 egg. At a water temperature of not more than 27 degrees, larvae appear. It takes about 25 hours from the time of fertilization to the appearance of the larva. Water in the trays is consumed at a rate of 10 liters per minute.

Holding larvae

Larvae should be kept in trays or small pools before resorption of the yolk sacs. You can place the larva in the pool for the first two days, then move it to the trays.

The African clarius catfish should be kept in the dark. After three days after the final resorption of the yolk sac, the film covered with mold should be removed from the bottom of the tray. If the larvae become active, the yolk sac is finally dissolved.

Stages of growing larvae

The first stage lasts about 3 weeks. Its ending comes when the African som is breathing oxygen from the atmosphere.

Planting of the larva in this period is about 100 pieces per liter of water. Water should be constantly saturated with oxygen, in the basin, its exchange should be adjusted. Feed the larvae with decapsulated Artemia or Tuberculosis. A week later the feed is introduced into the diet. Lighting should be muted or twilight.

The larvae are distinguished by cannibalism, so by the end of the first stage the content of fry naturally decreases to 25-50 pieces per liter of water. Sort of future fishes is needed in the third week. Such an intervention can anger the larvae, so sorting should be done very carefully. After that, the fish is left in an antibiotic solution for an hour.

The second stage lasts about 5 weeks. Usually this cycle begins with filling the pool with well sorted larvae. Their number should be approx. 300-500 mg. The larvae should be sorted into 2 parts in size.

Most often, the African soma is planted when the specific weight of fish and the volume of the basin are taken into account. The daily ration, divided by 3 meals, should be about 5% of the weight of the fish.

The next stage is about two months. Fish in this period should weigh 130-200 gr. The growth rate of fry depends on the density of planting. For a pool of 5 thousand liters, the density of planting is 2.5 pieces per liter. The water temperature is within 27 degrees.

During the third stage, the main food for the African catfish is floating. The feeding process is automated or manual. Water should be replaced after 2 hours.

Cultivation

Cultivation of catfish African to a marketable species takes about 50 days from the completion of the third stage of growing larvae. The average weight of fish to the end of the whole process can be up to 2 kilograms. During this stage, the som catfish is in the pools with a capacity of about 10 cubic centimeters. For two liters of water you can plant no more than 3 fish. This method gives approximately 400 kilograms of live fish per each cube of water.

Most often, the fish are fed with floating fodder at this stage. The volume of food is about 3% of the weight of fish. It needs to be fed about 5 times a day.

Excellent results can be obtained by using the "Reflex" feeders. One feeder of this type is applied to 10 squares of the pool area.

Manual feeding ensures a more even distribution of food. This leads to differentiation of the fish mass. The African catfish, which is diluted in a controlled way, shows significant weight gain in a relatively short period of time.

After the completion of all stages, the fish are sorted. Those who showed the best rates of weight gain and growth of individuals are left for further breeding, the rest of the fish is sent for sale. Pools and trays after the cultivation of fish are washed and cleaned until the next generation. Before new use, treat with antiseptic solution.

Given the rather high average temperature of water, African catfish can be bred only in the south of Russia. Currently, the catfish are cultivated in the Temryuk district of the Krasnodar Territory.