FOREWORD

This Manual titled “The A-Z Of Catfish Farming With Low Start-Up Funds” is an A-Z Manual according to our experience at Corporate Fish Farm. The manual is not contesting its’ claims with anyone or any other book or “authority”. It is derived and limited only to what we have practised and found beneficial at our farm.
You may call us “laymen”; but we have “learnt to walk the ropes” from successful fish farmers and we are practising the methods learnt successfully and have decided to come to the aid of other “laymen” with a simple, easy-to-read manual, free from unnecessary hard-core scientific explanations but inclusive of all the essential things they need to know to run a profitable fish farm.
The principal author of this Manual did not study Fisheries in the University (he studied Economics 27 years ago), so we are no “professionals” to contest our claims with anyone. We also know that different fish farms adopt different methods in the management of their farms and a lot of these methods contradict each other – and yet each claims to be the right method because each has experienced good results from practising its’ method. For example, some believe that only deep green or brown eggs are the ideal signs to watch out for in order to identify a good female brood stock (i.e. matured female fishes that produces eggs used for hatching), others believe golden eggs are the ideal sign; some believe there is nothing wrong in fertilizing eggs of small-sized female fish, others believe in using only big-sized female fish to ensure the fries also grow big; some believe you can’t make profit feeding fishes to table-size with imported feeds only, others claim they make good profit using only imported feeds...etc.
At our farm, we practise a particular method which we have found to be successful and which we have painstakingly put together in this manual titled “The A-Z Of Catfish Farming With Low Start-Up Funds”. IT IS OUR OWN A-Z MANUAL BECAUSE IT INCLUDES EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT CATFISH FARMING – NOT BECAUSE IT INCLUDES EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT CATFISH FARMING. We do not know everything about catfish farming but you are invited to visit our farm for the confirmation of our modest success.
In the manual, we endeavoured to cover topics from the beginning to the end of catfish farming i.e. from pond construction (indeed from vat construction which is a cheaper type of pond, using planks and light tarpaulin) to the marketing of the fishes. We discussed on how to identify good male and female brood stock, how to inject the female fish, remove the male sperm and fertilize the female eggs with the male sperm, how to prevent early mortality with the fries, water management to ensure rapid growth, how to feed and manage fries, fingerlings, juveniles and table sizes; the basic principles you must follow to ensure good harvest and lots more. Every topic is discussed in simple English and technical terms explained in ways that carries along every educated person regardless of his or her discipline and every activity discussed is supported with relevant pictures. In one word, we prepared the manual in a way that laymen in fish farming will find interesting, easy to understand and most importantly...........easy to practise. Finally we have a regularly updated list of table-size fish buyers available for everyone that buys the manual. Not only that, we will sell fingerlings and juveniles (start-off stock only) at reduced prices for all those that buys our manual. May the manual bring beneficial reward to all who buys it.

Foreword
Constructing Your Vats Or Concrete Ponds
Preparing To Fertilize The Eggs
Spawning
Management Of Fries
Management Of Fingerlings
Management Of Juveniles
Management Of Table-Sizes
Marketing
Conclusion