Fish fry for the pond

If you have the opportunity to build or rent a reservoir, you can do a very interesting and quite profitable business - breeding fish. For example, if you take carp, the 200-gramme of the male, when fed from April to October, will gain about 1 kg. Due to the high taste qualities of this fish, the demand for it on the markets is quite stable.

Pond for breeding fish

For breeding fish, in particular crucian carp, it is possible to use a natural or artificial pond equipped on its own plot. The most optimal size of the pond is 6x6 meters, the depth is not less than one meter. For breeding thermophilic species such as carp, the optimal depth is 2 meters, and for fish that require only cool water, for example trout and sturgeon, 3 and more meters. Part of the coastal zone must be made shallow, as in the spring in these areas the water warms up better and the fish on there spawns.

After equipping the reservoir, the first step is to strengthen the shore so that the soil does not slip into the water at atmospheric precipitation. To do this, you can sow the edge of the shore with grass, which will well strengthen the soil. The bottom must also be planted with vegetation, necessary for feeding the fish and for the life of microorganisms. You can take algae from any natural body of water.

Breeding fish

Beginners are better able to breed carp, because it is the fastest growing fish that most water bodies are suitable for. In addition, it is not very demanding on the conditions of detention, it has very high taste qualities and it is much easier to sell it at retail outlets.

Carp is unpretentious and omnivorous fish, but if the temperature of the water drops below 8 ° C, it practically stops eating and accordingly grows. The most optimal water temperature is 20 - 29 ° C. Active weight gain carp occurs from April to October.

Where to buy fry?

For stocking a fish pond, it is possible to purchase fry in a fish farm or a special store. As a rule, fish fry begin to be sold in the spring after the ice drift. You can buy one-year-olds, whose weight is 50 - 70 grams, or two-year-olds weighing 200 - 250 g. When buying, you need to consider some factors that will affect the survival rate of fry in the place of their colonization. First of all, try to learn as much as possible about this fish farm, how long has it been working? How often do fry for ponds? Does the farm have a license for this type of activity? If possible, find and talk with regular customers. Also it is necessary to visit the chosen farm and see what the conditions of fish fry contain. This important information will help to avoid significant losses of planting material during transportation and settling in a body of water.

An approximate calculation of the growth of carp fry for the season (April to October):

• Carp fry weighing 20 g can gain weight up to 250 g.
• Planting material (50 - 70 g) - up to 700 g.
• 200 - 250 grams of fish are harvested in the season up to 1000 - 1200 g.

As you can see, the fish grows fast enough, so it can bring a good income.

Prices for fry and feed

A healthy male carp, weighing from 25 to 50 grams, costs about 150 rubles per kilogram. The cost of 100 pieces of planting material is 350-450 rubles. The average price for fish feed is 5-7 rubles / kg.

Carriage of fry

Fry fish are transported in sealed containers. Most often use barrels of 50 liters with a wide mouth.

When transporting fish, it is recommended to take water from the same pond where it was earlier, since water from wells, wells and water pipes is not suitable, since it has a low oxygen content.

In hot weather, it is better not to transport the fry. The best time for transportation is early morning or evening. Before the fish fry will be released into the pond, it is necessary to equalize the temperature in the tanks to make it equal to the temperature of the pond water. With a difference of more than 2 degrees, the fry can experience a temperature shock. To do this, you need to gradually add more cold water from the reservoir into the tank, where the carp fry are, until their temperatures are equalized. After this, you can safely produce "new settlers" in a pond for further cultivation.

Food for carp breeding

Carps eat mainly plant food, as well as small aquatic organisms and insects. Especially this fish loves young shoots of cattail and reeds. But in order for it to grow well and gain mass, it must necessarily be fed with special compound feed (better granulated). For each age, a suitable feed with a certain granule size is sold. Also, you can feed the fish with wheat grains (preferably slightly germinated). She has a sweet taste, her carp eat well and very quickly gaining weight.

For a better growth of fish, you can install a cultivator of flies of larvae on the pond, which will provide the fish with a free full-value protein feed. Carp with such established cultivators grow faster.

Another way to attract insects is through the use of light traps. They are the most ordinary lamps with a shade. They are hung over the water at a meter height and switched on for the night. Light contributes to a strong attraction of various insects - butterflies, mosquitoes, beetles. They fly to the light and, burning themselves on the heated light bulb, fall into the water, where they are eaten by the fish.

It should be remembered that when feeding carp with mixed fodder, do not overdo it. The fish must consume the food completely. If it remains too much, it will sour, which will sharply worsen the quality of water in the pond.

Feeding carp is recommended in the feeding troughs, since it is much easier to control the amount consumed by the fish.