Catfish farming...

[1FinickyOne]

My nephew wants to farm catfish, I think in the large above ground pool/tanks? 

 

Does anyone know the cost of these tanks and chances of success... he works hard and is a good guy and I am considering funding him... 

 

Any help appreciated. 

[bwpage3]

One of the issues is an above ground pool/tank, the water can get so warm it sucks the oxygen out and kills all the fish.  The shallower the tank the more prevalent this problem. I think any water temp over 29c the fish are are in the danger zone. Shade would have to be a guarantee. Need pumps that can move the water frequently. Cost of electricity as well to run the pumps 24/7.

 

Second issue is the feed/cost.

 

You problem need to help him figure out how many fish can he raise per tank, how much do they sell for, how many can he sell, etc. and see if there is a viable business case.

 

 

[1FinickyOne]

3 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

One of the issues is an above ground pool/tank, the water can get so warm it sucks the oxygen out and kills all the fish.  The shallower the tank the more prevalent this problem. I think any water temp over 29c the fish are are in the danger zone. Shade would have to be a guarantee. Need pumps that can move the water frequently. Cost of electricity as well to run the pumps 24/7.

 

Second issue is the feed/cost.

 

You problem need to help him figure out how many fish can he raise per tank, how much do they sell for, how many can he sell, etc. and see if there is a viable business case.

 

 

Thanks for the reply... he says he has done the research and has an example of a friend of his who has been successful... I am looking for some answers/questions before sitting down with him.. I will also propose a hydroponic connection as the fish poop is good for the plants... I also wonder if tilapia sells better than catfish??

[khwaibah]

Did you say catfish??? Up to 3 feet long.

 

Keeping an eye on them.

They were moved into a new pond.

[khwaibah]

2 hours ago, kenk24 said:

I also wonder if tilapia sells better than catfish??

 

Over all they prefer tilapia but you will not go wrong with catfish. 

 

One of our big boys.

[1FinickyOne]

2 hours ago, khwaibah said:

 

Over all they prefer tilapia but you will not go wrong with catfish. 

 

One of our big boys.

 

2 hours ago, khwaibah said:

 

Over all they prefer tilapia but you will not go wrong with catfish. 

 

One of our big boys.

Wow... !! We have a good sized pond here too.. nearly 1 rai.. Where are you located and how long have you been at it? I assume you sell these too? You can pm me if any of this is too personal...

[bodga]

2 hours ago, khwaibah said:

 

Over all they prefer tilapia but you will not go wrong with catfish. 

 

One of our big boys.

isnt t hat the giant Mekong  Catfish?

[khwaibah]

51 minutes ago, bodga said:

isnt t hat the giant Mekong  Catfish?

No. It is a Catfish, Striped (Pangasianodon Hypophthalmus)

[khwaibah]

1 hour ago, kenk24 said:

 

Wow... !! We have a good sized pond here too.. nearly 1 rai.. Where are you located and how long have you been at it? I assume you sell these too? You can pm me if any of this is too personal...

Kap Choeng Surin is the location. Wife is taged up with the Department of Agriculture and Department of Livestock. We are fortunate to have both offices about 2 km from us. The DOA was over yesterday talking with her on her certified veggies and fruits that she is selling in TOPS market Surin this is where she is now. Check out info..

 Also ...

 

Edited June 26, 2020 by khwaibah

[kickstart]

We have a few cat fishponds in this area ,all ponds no above ground tanks ,they all seem to do well ,but they are lucky and feed minced up chicken carcass  from our local chicken factories ,one farm feeds pigs blood ? from a local  pig factory .

All this keeps feed costs down ,as far as I know they do not feed any fish feed, which is not cheep .

So I have been told to make a profit you need to sell cat fish above 35 baht/kg ,maybe more if you feed fish food ,around here Lopburi, the Price has dropped to 25-30 baht/kg ,talking to one guy who has been doing it for a few years ,he said he is just making some money ,but a new entrant working with borrowed money would be struggling.  

[Time to grow]

You should check out the aquaponics thread. I run a small aquaponics farm near Nakhon Sawan. For what it's worth, 90% of my income comes from the vegetables and I eat the remaining 10% in Tilapia. I don't know how the Tilapia farms turn a profit. It cost me more to feed them then they would fetch at the market.