Local Raw Materials for Fish Feed in Nigeria

For making more profits in aquaculture and fish farming business, Nigeria fish farmers need to cut down fish feed cost because it occupies a big part in the whole production chain. But fish feed cost should be only reduced on the basis of ensuring fish can get nutritional feed for good growth and health. Today, let’s discuss the way for Nigerian to use local raw materials to make fish feed pellets for lowering feed cost.

Significance of Using Local Fish Feed Raw Material

As the fastest growing food production industry in the world, aquaculture and fish farming industry in Nigeria also plays an important part in delivering high quality proteins to the market, so lowering the feed cost - main cost factor in aquaculture has great significance and value in stimulating the development of aquaculture. Meanwhile, with high price and unstable supply, imported fish feed has always restricted the development of Nigeria fish farming. Furthermore, from the perspective of environment and economy, people should focus on using local feed ingredients to produce nutritional and healthy aquafeed through fish feed extruder and other equipment, reducing feed cost as well as creating an effective value chain and pull whole aquaculture industrial chain.

Available Local Fish Feed Raw Materials

According to countless practical experience, a plenty of high quality feed resources exist in many places, so raw materials and ingredients required to produce high-grade fish feed are readily available in Nigeria. For example, leftovers in the process of livestock husbandry development, such as viscera, blood, bone and fur of pig, cattle, sheep and chicken, can become superior-quality feed after effective collection and proper fish feed production process. For those who want to make fish feed pellets for lowering cost without reducing feed quality and nutrition, it is very crucial to figure out the feasible feed ingredients in local Nigeria and grasp the access to safe, available and economical raw materials.

How to Produce Fish Feed with Local Raw Materials

With such abundant local resources, fish farmers may consider how to produce fish feed by themselves instead of purchasing feed so as to lower their farming cost and gain higher profits. First, choose scientific and nutritional aquafeed formulation; second, master advanced feed processing technology; Third, choose suitable fish feed making machine.  

Benefits of Small Scale Urban Fish Farming

If you love fish, you could easily turn your home into a fish farm. When you are trying to run a business, there is no denying that location plays a very important role. However, when you are trying to start a home-based fish farming business, or any other agriculture based business, living in the city could actually benefit you.

There are a number of customers today who are looking for locally grown organic food. This demand can allow you to enter the food business, without much trouble. You know that food is essential for life, and there will always be demand for organic food in the future.

Fish farming can be done in any place, and when you start your home based fish farming business, you are able to utilize every possible available space in your home, whether it’s your backyard pond, aquariums or fish tanks in your living room, or tubs in your basement.
Urban fish farming is more than just a hobby

Today, many people are starting to grow their own food at home, it gives them food security, fresh organic food, which is healthy and it also improves the environment. But when you start growing food and start enjoying it, you will find that there will be enough food to market it to others and still have some left over to share with your neighbors.

Therefore, urban farming is not just a hobby but it helps the economy and health of individuals as well as communities.

Techniques for raising fish at home

Home based fish farm could be started anywhere, indoors or outdoors. If you use tubs, you could place them in your basement, on your rooftop, balcony or patio. If you have a backyard, you could dig a pond, place your tubs outside, or get some other types of containers like aquariums, or you could even raise fish in a barrel.  

As mentioned earlier, living in the city could actually be beneficial for home based farming business. You are able to grow your own organic food, and also make a little bit of extra money by taking your food to the market. There are many stores, restaurants, and markets in your local community who would love to purchase food from you.

How to get started

To start your home based fish farm, first you need to learn a little bit about your market. Also try to learn about the fish you are planning to raise at home. Some fish do well in shallow water, in room temperature. Some fish like the warm weather and others can thrive during the winter, so determine what you want to raise, who your market is, and where you will raise your fish. It will all depend on your available space, how much time and money you have and the demand for fish in your area. Also consider what type of fish you should raise for maximum profits.

What you’ll need

You will also need a couple more, inexpensive things, such as air pump, lights, and such to get started. Get some containers, aquariums, or tubs. Next, contact a local fishery or hatchery to obtain your fingerlings. Once you get them, let them grow. Make sure they have plenty of air, food and light available. For indoor farms, arrange enough artificial lights and air pumps. They will grow into market size fish in a few months, depending on the species of the fish. Make sure to feed them regularly and according to their needs and check their health.

Small scale farming may not have all the benefits of a full-fledged business, but it doesn’t have all the risks and overheads of a large business as well. You could start small, with as many ponds and as many fish as you want. If you are confidant, you could expand the number of ponds, purchase more property hire more people and start a bigger fish farm.

Even if you don’t plan on selling fish, you could still raise fish in aquariums or tubs for your personal consumption. There is nothing healthier than home grown and raised fish, so be creative with your home based farm. Try to gather as much knowledge about fish farming as you can, and get started.

Remark: this article comes from worldwideaquaculture.com

Philippines Fish Farming Guidance

Fish farming is a local tradition for centuries in Philippines. More than half of total aquaculture production is seaweed while the rest is mainly finfish, shrimp, bivalves and other crops. The most important fish species cultured are milkfish, tilapia and black tiger shrimp.

Total aquaculture feed production consists mainly of milkfish, tilapia and shrimp feeds. Onset of diseases, fish kills due to bad culture practices, and the high cost of raw materials to produce high quality aqua feeds are the major problems that the entire fish farming industry must cope with.

Fish Feed Type & Formula
At present 15 different brands of locally produced fish feed are available on the market. Of these, over 95% are used for tilapia and milkfish culture, and others used for catfish and carp culture. Unlike the development of the shrimp feed industry which depended heavily on imported technology, fish feed producing grew to a large extent from local expertise and experience.

The largest fish feed manufacturers are Santeh Feeds, Acritarch, Universal Robina, and Feedmix. Only two fish feed manufacturers utilize extrusion technology to produce floating fish feed(here I recommend our single screw fish feed extruder); others are manufactured by pelleting and are of the sinking type fish feed pellets.

Moreover, there are no commercial feed manufacturers on the market. Most companies offer a single feed formulation for the culture of milkfish, tilapia, catfish, and carp, conceivably to reduce inventory cost and simplify stock management. Only few feed millers manufacture diets for specific fish species.This can probably be explained by the fact that these are not complete fish feeds and should be used with scientific fish farming methods.

All shrimp feeds are produced by pelleting; the only one feed plant in the country that originally utilized extrusion processing already being inactive. 
Recently, the rampant outbreak of diseases and low survival obtained in shrimp ponds have led feed companies to develop special feed formulations in addition to their regular product lines. 

Among the important changes made in these new diets are the use of better quality feed ingredients (e.g.white fishmeal), higher dose of vitamin C, and incorporation of anthoxanthin and immune-enhancers (e.g.1,3-D glucan, glucose-mannan compounds). These special feeds generally cost US$ 0.10-0.20/kg higher than regular shrimp feeds.
Aquaculture specifically requires high protein feed ingredients, such as fish meal and soybean oil meal, which have very little domestic production. Fish farmers are generally knowledgeable concerning the technical aspects of using commercial fish feeds as feed expenses account for more than half of their production cost.

The fish farming industry must work towards ways and means of efficiently managing and utilizing local feedstuff resources, such as by improving processing methods, increasing digestibility and nutritional value, extending shelf life and freshness, and by developing formulations specific for each species, culture system, and culture environment.

Efficiency in feed utilization can also be better attained by ensuring hydro stability and by employing appropriate feeding methods and strategies.
 

Related Reading:

Dutch Fish Farming Market - Manufactured Fish Feed Pellets
Useful Guidance for Catfish Farming in Nigeria

Common Fish Illnesses

The most common fish illnesses with suggested cures are listed here.

• Anchor worms: These are straight worm like attachments to a fish’s body. They are a parasite that will drain the fish. How to treat Anchor worm.
• Bacterial Infections in fish: Sluggishness, faded color, frayed fins, bloating, cloudy eyes, sores, abscesses, red streaks on body, reddening or inflammation of the skin or the fins, bulging eyes, rapid breathing are all signs that may indicate a bacterial Infection. Treat with an antibiotic. If one anti-biotic fails try a different type of antibiotic. There are 2 types gram positive and gram negative. 
  
• Blood parasites in fish: These are single-celled organisms that have infected the fish’s blood. They are not directly transmitted from fish to fish but require an intermediate host such as snails or leeches. When the only symptoms are listnessness and weight loss then it might be blood parasites. Treat by killing off all snails, leeches and any other invertebrates.
• Bloody Fins: Sign of red pest ( fish septicemia ) and is usually caused by an internal bacterial infection. Best cured with food dosed with an antibiotic. Remember to try two or three alternative antibiotics.
• Cotton wool disease: This is a bacterial infection that looks like fungus on the mouth, body or fins. More detailed description and treatment here.
• Developmental problems and hereditary disorders: Development problems are caused by environmental factors that harm the normal development of fish. Hereditary disorders are where genetic harm or mutation occurs.
• Dropsy: Recognised by bloating not caused by overfeeding or female laden with eggs, with scales that stick out. It is difficult to treat and contagious. Treat with antibiotics in the food. Diagnose and treat dropsy.
• Fin Rot: Fin Rot is a bacteria that attacks the fins. This bacteria is usually the result of environmental stress such as poor water quality or bullying by other fish. Best treated with a dose of aquarium salt and bactericide from your local aquarist.
• Fish pox: This is when the fish has raspberry like growths on the skin or fins. Treatment for fish pox.
• Fungus on fish: Cotton-wool like tufts hanging on fish’s body or fins. Causes loss of appetite and lethargy. Easily treated with antifungal medicines. Don’t confuse this with cotton-wool disease. More detailed information and treatment here.
• Gill disease: This is a range of diseases that have harmed the gills causing heavy breathing in the fish. Diagnose and treat gill disease.
• Hole in the head disease : This is a disease that affects mostly cichlids and gouramis. It is most common in discus, angelfish, oscars, dwarf gouramis and blue gouramis. It is recognised by small holes in the skin around the head having a whitish grey discolouration. Detailed article here.
• Ich: Fish has little white specks all over her body like measles but white. Fish itch and scratching against objects. It is highly contagious, but easy to cure. Raise the temperature to 84F or over and dose tank with Malachite green or Copper salts. Maintain dose for 14 days.
• Internal parasites in fish: Appetite dwindles, belly swells, faeces thin and stringy. Feed with antiparasitic food
• Lymphocystis: This is a viral infection and can be recognised by berry like growths on the skin. There is no effective treatment except by quarantining the other fish away from the infected fish. The tank needs to be thoroughly sterilised before using again.
• Mouth fungus: This is cotton wool disease but around the mouth area.
  
• Nutritional deficiency in fish: This only occurs in fish that live in aquaria. It occurs because the fish are fed the wrong type or quantity of food. This leads to vitamin, mineral, protein, or carbohydrate deficiency in the fish resulting in ill health. More about nutritional deficiency here.
• Pop-Eye: Usually sign of a bacterial infection. Fish antibiotic medication will usually cure this. Perhaps a second does with a different antibiotic will do the trick. However check for other symptoms as pop eye is usually a symptom and not a disease. Some parasitic infections cause pop eye too.
• Tuberculosis – fish variety: Sluggish behaviour, loss of color, no appetite, weight loss and skin defects are signs of fish TB. Treat with sulphafurazole, doxycycline, minocycline or erythromycin . Also be careful because it is possible for people to be infected through broken skin.
• Velvet: Symptoms include scratching, clamped fins, small gold to grey white peppery spots, loss of color, weight loss, and fast breathing. Cure with parisitic medication. For more detailed explanation of velvet.

Remark: this article comes from thefishdoctor.

Feed pellets to your fish in a correct way

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Fish Feed Production in Nigeria | Investment Opportunity in Nigeria

Nigeria, with a population of about 165,000,000 people is grossly underprovided with an essential food component, which is protein. For example, data from the FOS, CBN, and FAO indicate that from cattle, less than 2kg of beef is available to an average Nigerian per year and just mere 4kg of eggs per annum is available to each Nigerian.

Design Your First Backyard Aquaponic Fish Farm

Fish is a wonderful creature that has many uses. And you know what the best part is? You can easily raise fish in your backyard. Do you already have a backyard garden? If you answered yes, all you’ll need now is to design a backyard fish farm, and start raising fish. You can start with a simple design that doesn’t require many inputs, and gradually expand it as you get more comfortable with it. You can start a fish farm at any scale; it can be for your own personal consumption, or you can raise fish commercially for profit. PS: if you choose to raise fish for commercial profits, you should consider to use fish feed machine for making fish feed pellets so as to lower feeding cost.

Modern Project on Establishment of Fish Feed Production Plant

Fish Feed Plant Background & Necessity

Along with the development of aquaculture, aquafeed industry has also made a quite fast progress, especially in virtue of continue advancement of breeding technology, the culturing mode has turned into intensive cultivation from extensive fish farming, which provides vast space for fish feed production. In line with the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) report, the per capita fish consumption of human beings has exceeded beef consumption while farmed fish has surpassed wild caught. It is well known that fish feed plays a leading role in global aquaculture and fish farming field, making sure safe, abundant and affordable fish proteins, but meanwhile, the cost of aquatic feed is so high that affecting sustainable development of aquaculture industry. Therefore, it is necessary, economic and practical for fish farmers or feed plants to establish their own fish feed production line rather than buying or importing feed from elsewhere.