12 Catfish Farming Equipment For Success

So you want to start a catfish farming business and want to know the Catfish farming equipment required to successfully start. The secret of every successful venture in life points to the mastery of the basics.

Are you a fish farmer or are you interested in the catfish business because you heard of how lucrative it is? You made the right first move to enquire instead of jumping into a business you no little or nothing about.

Catfish farming is not all about the fish and water, there is some very important equipment you need to have to successfully farm catfish. In this article, I will identify and explain useful types of catfish farming equipment for success in catfish farming

Types of Catfish Farming Equipment For Success

The pond is the most important of the 12 main types of catfish farming equipment and it’s compulsory to start a catfish business. The pond is an artificial or near-natural habitat for rearing a catfish.

Ponds vary, ranging from Concrete, tarpaulin, and plastic ponds to near-natural ponds e.g Earthen and Cage ponds, to even rarely used ponds like fiberglass tanks.

1. Pond

To start a catfish farm, you need at least two ponds one for juvenile catfish and the other for mature catfish. The number of ponds you will construct or set up is dependent on the quantity of fish you intend to farm, your financial strength, the size of your land, water availability, etc. For a detailed explanation of Catfish Pond read Types of Ponds For Fish Farming

2. Water Pumps

The water pump is a very essential type of catfish farming equipment. The water pump is used for supplying and draining water through the pipes to and out of the pond. The Water pump is especially needed if you are farming catfish with a concrete pond for draining water.

Water pumps are not cookies that a child can buy, they are expensive, and a piece can cost over N80,000. So because of its high cost, if you’re a beginner in the business of catfish farming I advise you to hire until you can come to the financial strength of buying yours although buying yours in a way can help you cut expenses and earn with time.

There are two types of water pumps used in catfish farming, they are centrifugal and turbine water pumps.

3. Pipes

The next type of catfish farming equipment you will need in your catfish farm is pipes. Pipes are used for used to supply (transport) and drain water to and from the pond.

For a farmer using tarpaulin, concrete, and plastic ponds, the pipes should be permanently set up in the ponds during their set-up.

4. Power Supply

Water pumps as we said earlier are very important in catfish farming but they don’t work on their own they need a reliable source of power supply to work. And water is the oxygen of the catfish. generators or solar panels are the best sources of power supply for a catfish farm.

5. Dip Net

A dip net is another important type of catfish farming equipment every catfish farmer should have on the farm.
Dip nets are used for sorting and harvesting catfish for weighing/selling.

6. Plastic Buckets

The next type of catfish farming equipment we will look at is the Plastic bucket. Plastic buckets are used in catfish farming for hatching, improvised incubation, sorting, and transporting. Plastic buckets are mainly used for transportation, transporting catfish (broodstock) from one farm to another.

When using plastic buckets to transport catfish, it is advisable to make openings on the cover for aeration so that they will not die.

7. Water Tester

Water testers are catfish farming equipment used to check the pH (acidity and alkalinity) of the water. It is very vital as it can be a determinant for your success in the catfish farming endeavor.

Water testers come in different types, either manual or automatic. And surprisingly they are not expensive as one will imagine. A good water tester costs less than N10,000 (below $26).

Water testers are very important catfish farming equipment as they are most needed in the hatching of fingerlings and the early stages of juveniles because their survival is dependent mainly on the nature of their water.

8. Fish feeder

Another amazing type of catfish farming equipment is the Fish feeder. By nature, they are normally automated. Honestly, Agritech is the future. Fish feeders can either be analog or digital.

Fish feeders work in set intervals, more like a stop clock timing. Anyways, before you leave your catfish to the aid of the fish feeders, you have to fill it with the fish feed and set the time interval.

Unfortunately for a beginner, fish feeders are costly. A good automated fish feeder can cost up to N40,000, but it’s worth its price, especially with large-scale catfish farmers.

9. Weighing Scale

This catfish farming equipment is underestimated by farmers. They think that it is not important but unfortunately for them, it is.

How will you know the size of your catfish? How will you know if they are feeding well? How will you estimate their price? These questions have their answers on the Weighing Scale. A good farmer who wants to be true and credible in his catfish sales needs a weighing scale.

Weighing scales come in two types: Analogue and Digital. Digital weighing scales range from the cammry products which cost more than N15,000 to the simple kitchen digital scales of N5000 and below.

A brand new analog weighing scale costs N15,000(20kg) to N30,000(50kg). I will advise you to buy your scale instead of being cheated by farmers that buy with their scales.

10. Thermometer

The best temperature for farming catfish ranges from 75 to 85°F. The yield of catfish also depends on the temperature, in that case, the thermometer is very essential on the farm. A very good digital pond thermometer costs below N15,000.

11. Seine reel

Seine reels play a crucial part in the catfish farm when the fish are mature for harvesting. During the harvesting time of your fish, the seine will enable you to gather the catfish from the water by sinking to the floor of the pond.

The seine functions flawlessly with the support of a tractor. With the assistance of a tractor onshore and with a power take-off, you’ll see that the reel will begin collecting in the exterior edges of the seine, hence gathering catfish into its nets. The Seine reel comes with nets.

While the seine loads up catfish into the net, the reels will enable it to yank the fish inside the seine to the waterfront where the people in charge will thus transfer the catfish to the grading equipment.

12. Aerator

The last type of catfish farming equipment we will be discussing is the Aerator. As the name sounds so is the meaning. Aerators are equipment used to supply oxygen to the catfish in the pond.

Aerators are costly, one costs about N90,000 to buy. For beginners(it’s optional), other methods like weekly sorting, grading, and proper water drainage and replenishment will help increase the oxygen content of the pond.

Conclusion

Catfish farming is a very lucrative agricultural business, but you can’t start it empty-handed you would need equipment.

The types of catfish farming equipment you would need are Pond, water pumps, pipes, dip nets, a generator, plastic buckets, water testers, fish feeders, weighing scales, thermometers, and seine reels, and aerators.