Fish Pond
A successful aquaculture practice with a good harvesting is usually
due to proper construction preparation and maintenance of the fish pond.
Types of fish ponds
Within the fish farming pond system there can be different pond
components, namely nursery, rearing, production, segregation and breeding
or spawning ponds. The area percentage of these ponds in a fish-farming
complex can be:
Nursery pond – 3%
Rearing pond – 11%
Production pond – 60%
Segregation pond – 1%
Breeding pond – 25%
Nursery ponds are shallow, while the others are moderately deep. In
larger production ponds, water can be maintained at a depth of 2 and 3
metres. A fencing around the fish farm, may be constructed for protection.
Preparation of pond
Before the culturing of fish, the pond should be conditioned.
1. Conditioning
A layer of lime (calcium hydroxide) is spread over the bottom, for
two weeks. It removes the acidity of the soil, facilitates desirable
geochemical cycles and kills unwanted soil organisms.
Water may be let in slowly after two weeks and filled to the desired
depth. The quality parameters such as temperature, oxygen content, pH, turbidity, hardness, alkalinity and plankton growth should be checked for
their optimal levels, before stocking the fish.
2. Manuring
After 15 days of liming, the fertilization is to be done in order to
develop the fish food organisms (phytoplankton and the zooplankton: macro
and micro). Manure may be of organic or chemical nature. Organic manure
may be urine or sewage rich in nitrogenous matter,cow dung, pig dung,
poultry manure and plant manure such as green manure, compost, oil cake
etc. If the organic carbon is less, cow dung for the stocking pond is applied
at the rate of 2-3 tonnes / ha. Poultry manure at the rate of 5000 kg / ha is
known to enhance zooplankton induction. Use of chemical fertilizers should
vary according to the concentration of phosphorus and nitrogen in the soil.
The standard combination of NPK as 18 : 10 : 4 is generally
recommended for freshwater ponds. For a production pond of medium
fertile soil; urea at the rate of 200 kg / ha / yr or ammonium sulphate at the
rate of 450 kg / ha / yr may be applied in split up dozes, alternating with
organic manure.
Management of fish farm
Feed and water quality are the two major factors governing the
productivity of the fish culture pond. Besides, seed quality, stocking and other
management measures also determine the extent of fish production.
Water quality involves the regulation of
Temperature at 25-33o
C, dissolved oxygen, pH (6.5 – 9.0 ),
hardness, alkalinity, turbidity and plankton culture etc..
Feeding
Apart form natural food, most cultured species take artificial feeds.
In general artificial feed should contain 30-40% protein, 5-10% fat,
50-60% carbohydrate, less than 5% cellulose, 10% water, vitamins and
minerals. Animal and vegetable ingredients can be used in formulating feed
pellets. Fishmeal, prawn meal, soybean meal, silkworm pupa, wheat,
tapioca, slaughter house wastes, rice bran, aquatic weeds, oilcakes etc are good feed ingredients. Usually Indian farmers give rice bran and oil cakes in
powder form to major carps.Carnivorous fishes such as murrels and
catfishes may be provided with trash fishes. For adult fish, daily
supplementary feeding can be at 2% of its body weight.
Routine Management and Diseases
Analysing water parameters, replenishment of water, aeration,
regular feeding, observation for mortality and disease symptoms should be
routine checks in the management of aquaculture ponds. Diseases can be of
viral or bacterial origin or may be due to ectoparasites or endoparasites.
Related Topics in Zoology:
Bio Zoology All Important Topics
- Livestock and Management
- Important cattle breeds and their characteristics
- Milch breeds (or) Dairy breeds
- Dual purpose breeds & Draught breeds
- Exotic breeds of cattle
- Common diseases and control in Cattle – Contagious diseases
- Non-contagious diseases – Cattle
- Techniques adopted in cattle breeding
- Poultry Breeds
- Farming methods
- Poultry byproducts
- Fish Pond
- Edible Fishes Of Tamilnadu
- Medical Lab Techniques – Stethoscope
- Sphygmomanometer
- Haemocytometer
- Urine Sugar analysis
- ECG Electrocardiogram
- Computed Tomography CT
- Endoscopy (Laproscopy) techniques , Artificial Pacemaker
- Autoanalyser