How to Start Tilapia Fish Farming for High Performance

Starting tilapia fish farming is very easy and simple. Tilapia is a fast-growing fish species, and diseases or other problems are relatively less. You don’t need much knowledge to start this business, even beginners can also start growing them. However, here we are trying to describe more information about commercial tilapia production.

Tilapia is the second most farmed fish around the world, with commercial farming done in more than 85 countries. Approximately 98% of the tilapia produced every year are grown in farm-raised aquaculture environments.

In the United States, around 9 million kilograms of fish are produced by just 100 farms. With such concentration of the production in the hands of few commercial growers, for anyone looking to turn this into a business opportunity, it begs the question, “Is farming tilapia profitable?”

Farming tilapia can be profitable when done correctly. However, tilapia farmers still have to account for the rising startup and operating costs in the industry. A tilapia farm operator’s success will depend on how well they can keep their costs low without adversely affecting the health and growth of the fish.

If you’re planning to start a tilapia farm, read on to learn about the essentials of tilapia production and some tips on how you can make your business profitable.

1. Select A Good Location

First of all, you have to select a very good location for your farm. It will be better if the selected land is far from the residential area. Selecting a calm place that is free from noises will be good.

2. Determine Production System

After selecting a good location, determine the systems of growing tilapia. You can start growing tilapia in a variety of conditions. You can start growing tilapia fish in ponds, cages, raceways, and also in tanks.

Currently, some people are also growing this fish in trash cans. But for commercial production, you have to choose either ponds or tanks.

The exact number of ponds or tanks for commercial tilapia fish production depends on your budget. It can be one or several tanks or ponds.

3. Pond or Tanks

You can start growing tilapia fish either in an earthen pond or in tanks. The tanks or ponds can be of any size or shape depending on your budget.

In the case of growing tilapia in an earthen pond, the size can be any. But the depth should be around 1.2 meters.

Contact an expert in your area if you are willing to start growing tilapia fish in tanks.

4. Ideal Conditions

Naturally, tilapia fish can be found in ponds, lakes, marine habitats, watercourses, estuaries, and seafaring conditions. They generally grow well in tropic conditions with water temperature ranges between 25°C and 30°C. Some varieties can also tolerate cold temperatures down to 8°C to 9°C.

Controlling water quality is very important for the commercial tilapia fish farming business. Tilapia fish can survive in dirty water. But you don’t want to produce harmful or poisonous fish on your farm, right?

Bacteria, viruses, pathogens, and other infectious organisms are harmful to the human body. So, you should avoid dirty water. Always ensure fresh and good quality water.

Read Also: Healing Powers and Health Benefits of Tilapia Fishes

Best Tilapia Species

There are numerous tilapia species available throughout the world. But all of these species are not good for commercial production. Some common, popular, and economically important tilapia fish species are;

Abbassa & Akosomb: Hybrid from Nile tilapia

Andersonii: Very tasty. The best-tasting species with a small head.

Blue Tilapia: Reach body weight between 2 and 4 pounds within a year.

Monosex Tilapia: It’s a hybrid. It grows very fast, you can grow it twice a year.

Mozambique Tilapia: These tilapia can’t grow in cold or salty water. They can reach over 2 pounds in a year.

Nile Tilapia: Its growth rate is good. The fishes approximately reach between 1 and 2 pounds after five to seven months.

Rendalli: It’s an attractive species for the fish farming industry and is largely herbivorous.

Stocking Density

How much fish can I stock in my pond? It’s a very common question, especially for the people who want to start this business. Let us explain this.

Suppose, you have a pond measuring 40 meters long and 20 meters wide, and a water depth of 1.2 meters. Such a pond can hold around 960 cubic meters of water.

Now, you can stock around 10 tilapia fish per cubic meter. So, your 800 square meter pond with a 1.2-meter depth is ideal for stocking and growing 9600 tilapia fish.

Feeds and Feeding

Feeding the fish with very good quality and nutritious food is very important. The exact amount of food can vary depending on species, growing conditions, and many other factors.

On average, for commercial production, 1.7 kg of food is required for producing and harvesting 1 kg of meat.

Currently, there are many companies available to produce commercial feeds for the farmers. You can use such commercial feeds for better production.

Although, you can feed the fish with homemade pellets. You can use rice bran, oat groats, corn, canola meal, alfalfa meal, linseed meal, and some vegetables.

Breeding

Tilapia fishes are naturally very good breeders. They will breed easily and produce fingerlings if you give them the scope to do so.

Caring

Taking good care of the fish is very important for proper growth and maximum production. Along with feeding them good quality food, always try to take good care of them. Try to maintain water quality. And also check their health regularly.

Harvesting

You can expect to harvest fish when they reach harvesting weight. It’s not possible to tell the exact time, it depends on the species and some other factors.

For large species, you can start harvesting when the fish reach around 400 grams of body weight. You can use common harvesting methods for catching all fish.

After harvesting, sort the fish depending on their size. And try to sell as soon as possible. Live tilapia fishes have very good demand.

Marketing

Marketing tilapia fish is very easy because it has a good market throughout the world. So, you don’t have to worry much about marketing. Probably, you will be able to easily sell your products in the local market.

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