Catfish?

[Niloc]

I have bought some fingerling catfish at the local market here in Pai, Mae Hong Son. I have put then in a concrete tank in the garden and they seem to be doing really well, there are about fifty of them.

I am considering excavating a decent sized pond with the idea of breeding for the table and marketing.

I am unable to identify the variety, there is so much information on the net but most breeding and growing information is variety specific. Can anyone suggest what the variety is, they are just the black catfish you see in the markets.

Thanks for any help,

Colin

[BambinA]

if you shown the foto ,it would be easier to classify

i guess " Pla Dook "

this one is "Pla dook daan" Walking catfish, Batrachian walking catfish ;: Clarias batrachus

this one is "Pla dook ooi" Broadhead catfish, Günther's walking catfish ; Clarias macrocephalus

[Niloc]

Thank you BambinA, looking at the photos and asking my wife I am pretty sure it is "Pla dook ooi" Broadhead catfish, Günther's walking catfish ; Clarias macrocephalus which is enough to itentify it.

I am now going to ask the Thai Fisheries if they can give me some information on breeding and farming.

Thank you again for your assiatance...

Colin

[SamSipEt]

You mention breeding for the table so what would you’re favourite dish be?

I tend to like it served up in a soup with lots of lime juice, chillies and garlic garnished with sprigs of coriander – yummy!

[Niloc]

My wife makes an excellent masala curry with catfish. I think the fish is fried first but it comes out delicious!!

[RamdomChances]

Pla dook are just about the easiest fish to keep and grow, they eat almost anything. They dont do so well in clean sterile water, our pond gets run off from the farm so it's rich in cow manure, and "stuff" plants and insects thrive in it so therefore so do the fish.

You can buy comercial fish food in most towns and villages about 20-25 bhat/kg it comes in 3 sizes (S,M,L) for the fish while they are growing.

Comercialy pla dook are not that good as they sell cheap as they are so easy to grow. I did about 3000 pla dook and pla nin last year (my pond is about half a rai) ate a lot and just sold some from the shop and gave some away. I only fed them about half a kg a day if that. If your pond has no ecosystem you have to feed a lot more, we get quite a few fish farms buying cow manure from us to put in the ponds. I'm probably going to do a couple of hundred this year of assorted fish just for my own consumption, but wont bother with feed.

RC

[SamSipEt]

Pla dook are just about the easiest fish to keep and grow, they eat almost anything. They dont do so well in clean sterile water, our pond gets run off from the farm so it's rich in cow manure, and "stuff" plants and insects thrive in it so therefore so do the fish.

You can buy comercial fish food in most towns and villages about 20-25 bhat/kg it comes in 3 sizes (S,M,L) for the fish while they are growing.

Comercialy pla dook are not that good as they sell cheap as they are so easy to grow. I did about 3000 pla dook and pla nin last year (my pond is about half a rai) ate a lot and just sold some from the shop and gave some away. I only fed them about half a kg a day if that. If your pond has no ecosystem you have to feed a lot more, we get quite a few fish farms buying cow manure from us to put in the ponds. I'm probably going to do a couple of hundred this year of assorted fish just for my own consumption, but wont bother with feed.

Interesting. Any suggestions for something that is more commercially viable than Pla Dook in a similar sized pond i.e. half rai? Also given that Pla Dook have such a varied diet would that get in the way of stocking different species in the same pond?

[TBWG]

if you shown the foto ,it would be easier to classify

i guess " Pla Dook "

this one is "Pla dook daan" Walking catfish, Batrachian walking catfish ;: Clarias batrachus

this one is "Pla dook ooi" Broadhead catfish, Günther's walking catfish ; Clarias macrocephalus

Hi BambinA

If this is Pla Dook then what is Pla Chon? which is what I always thought was a catfish.

TBWG

[BambinA]

Hi BambinA

If this is Pla Dook then what is Pla Chon? which is what I always thought was a catfish.

TBWG

pla chon , snake head fish/Channa striata ... it has scales

pretty bloody different from catfish dear

[RamdomChances]

Any suggestions for something that is more commercially viable than Pla Dook in a similar sized pond i.e. half rai? Also given that Pla Dook have such a varied diet would that get in the way of stocking different species in the same pond?

Hmm, I think you will find that half a rai is'nt really big enough to provide any meaningful income,unless you really heavily stock it. I'm no expert on the matter though just going from what I've already done and talking to other people.

Pla dook sells for about 40 bhat a kg, large ammounts you can get an "agent" to come and catch them all and buy them wholesale, but when you think that fish food is 20 bhat a kg with a 50% food conversion ratio you would still need to feed tham 2 kg to gain one kg of fish meat. In a heavily stocked pond there would be much less natural food to go around plus you would have more deaths and may have to find a way to airate the pond

My mate used to have a big fish farm 3 ponds the biggest about 6 rai, he reconed he used to pull in a couple of 100 thousand a year from it keeping pla sawai and pla dook, but he a had a chicken farm as well, built over one of the ponds so the fish ate the chicken sh!t and he used to mince up and deat or injured chickens as well.

As for pla dook eating stuff I think they are mainly botton feeders/insects they seem to go well with the "vegitarian" types of fish pla nin, pla lat, bla tap tin (pla tap tin prefer running water apparently). Pla chon I'd like to do but they are meat eaters.Last year we had loads of baby fish, in the pond after a few months, so this year i'm going to try about 200 pla dook, 200 pla lat and then after about a month, when they are big enough put in about 20 pla chon, I recon the other fish will be to big for the pla chon to eat by then. I want to try and get a light put over the pond as well to atract insects. Some people who keep fish use those UV insect trap lights and then throw the insects in.

[SamSipEt]

Many thanks RandomChances for the great reply – I wouldn’t be doing it on a commercial basis but the missus always has her eye on a way to earn a few baht here and there and this struck me as a possibility. Not for an income more for pocket money really and we certainly won’t have a chicken farm on the land! The light over the pond sounds like a good idea – have you considered a solar powered set up where batteries are charged during the day to power the light(s) at night? I hear that the technology is improving and the costs are coming down quite quickly. Thanks again.

[Niloc]

May I add my thanks for a very helpful reply RandomChances. I guess I am in the same situation as SamSipEt, I just want something to keep the better half busy and interested with the opportunity of making a quid on the side!

Maybe we should all get together and start a co-operative?

[SamSipEt]

May I add my thanks for a very helpful reply RandomChances. I guess I am in the same situation as SamSipEt, I just want something to keep the better half busy and interested with the opportunity of making a quid on the side!

Maybe we should all get together and start a co-operative?

Great idea they feed, we fish (and probably have a beer or two), they cook and we all eat!

What a life

[Niloc]

Ok 31, I don't actually own the land yet but its right next door, 'Neighbour Insurance' and I should be able to take over and start digging my pond early in July.

There is a flowing channel along one boundry from which I will be able to pump and my wife owns a 3" petrol pump and enough hose to do the job.

I would be delighted to have you come up and help me complete the detailed design over a coldie or two.

I am in Pai, is that a problem?

Colin

[RamdomChances]

Sound like you have the right idea guys, just something to do mabye a bit of extra income and plenty of fresh fish. I'm still trying to learn how to use a throwing net ("swing" in thai) my neibour can throw it in a perfect circle...there must be a knack to it if you ever passing through Nakhon Sawan drop me a line and pop in.

RC

[SamSipEt]

over a coldie or two.

Great idea I'm always up for a beer or three. Pai is no problem ‘cos I’m in Chiang Mai but July is – I’ll be in Europe…maybe later in the year when the fish are biting