Fish Farming Business Plan in Nigeria is written to bring to your perusal the rudiments of and step to step guide on fish farming in Nigeria.

Objectives of fish farming in Nigeria

There are various species of fish that people who go into fish farming should consider, these include:

1. Sea trout
2. Cyprinids
3. Pangas catfish
4. Freshwater Fishes
5. Silver seabream
6. Common carp
7. Catla
8. Greasy grouper
9. Bighead carp
10. Nile tilapia and lots more.

The insatiable demand for fishery products in Nigeria has tremendously promoted the steady growth and expansion of the industry.

As lucrative as fish farming could be, a lack of proper information pertaining to the business could result in great loss.

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This is why it is best to consult an expert to guide you in implementing Fish Farming in Nigeria. The Expert will help you in areas such as:

1. Pond type (based on your farm location)
2. Vitamin
3. Maintenance of ponds
4. Fish feeds
5. Marketing and lots more.

According to aquaculture experts, fish farming is the act of rearing fish for commercial purposes. Fish farming is also known as pisciculture. It involves breeding and raising fishes in tanks, ponds, or enclosures domestically, for commercial purposes.

However, most fish species are not suitable for the fish farming business in Nigeria, either because of their nature, low demand by consumers, or profitability.

Having analyzed these factors, the most common fish species reared in Nigerian fish farming are tilapia and catfish.

Tilapia and catfish survive very well in Nigeria’s climatic conditions. They grow well and fast (bringing good profit to farmers) and are heavily consumed by the market.

If you have been thinking of how to start fishing farming then, this article will go a long way, in equipping you with enough information to help you achieve your aim, and as well guide you on some DO’S and DONT’s of the fish farming business.

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The steps you need to take to start fish farming are as follows:

1. Acquire a good location and housing system depending on the scale you intend starting with

You may decide to start in your spacious backyard, with a tank or construct a pond (consult an expert pond engineer to help you do this) on a small scale. Also, you can buy/lease land and construct numerous fish ponds.

Your location should be close to potential buyers and markets. Fishes need comfortable places to stay healthy.

The more natural and comfortable the fish pond is, the higher its rate of healthy survival. Fish ponds vary in size and cost. Ensure you secure a comfortable one with a proper drainage system to facilitate convenience.

2. Get a Good Source of Water

Just as oxygen is important to humans, water is highly essential to the survival of fishes. If a fish is taken out of the water, it becomes helpless and dies subsequently within an hour.

Bad water could affect their productivity and growth. The best thing to do is to construct a borehole or have access to a well/river water to ease the availability of water from time to time.

Please note that fishes don’t need chemically treated water. It can reduce their productivity and as well as lead to poisoning.

You will also need an overhead tank as a reservoir from which water is supplied to your ponds.

This will be channeled to your ponds through the plumbing system for easy flow of water into your ponds when needed (as fishes require constant changing of water from time to time to make the environment fresh and friendly to them).

3. Get Healthy Juveniles

Juveniles are the little fishes you’ll need to grow to market size. It is the development stage of fish after fingerling. Where you get your juveniles is very important because, if they are not healthy enough, then you are heading for a loss.

There are fish farmers that specialize in hatching and selling fingerlings and juveniles respectively.

Ensure you patronize a reputable one so as to avoid getting an unhealthy juvenile. Thus, it is advisable to get your juveniles from such farmers and as well, purchase the high-yield species.

4. Choose the Right Fish Feeds

The quality and quantity of food given to your fish matters a lot. Feed them well with quality fish feed. Ensure they don’t stay hungry to avoid eating themselves for survival.

There are three categories of fish feeds you can consider for fish farming and they are:

1. Natural fish feed

This is found naturally in ponds. Examples include; detritus, bacteria,

plankton, worms, insects, snails, aquatic plants, and fish (feeding on themselves).

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2. Supplementary fish feed 

This includes materials such as terrestrial plants, kitchen wastes, or agricultural by-products locally available and given to the fishes.

The supplementary feed should not be the basic source of the meal for fish. Serious commercial fish farmers don’t rely on supplementary feed. They go for the complete fish feed. Because supplementary feeds may not produce the desired results on fish.

3. Complete feed

This is a feed type made by experts who combine various

Nutrients/supplements to suit fishes at different stages. Though, it is expensive amongst other fish feeds, very favorable to fish and could help fish farmers get desired fish sizes within a short time frame thereby leading to increased profit.

4. Start Marketing Your Fishes at the Tender stage

Do not wait till the fishes are oversize before looking for potential buyers. Inform

people when the fishes are still tender. When they get matured to desired sizes, you already have people who could buy and bid for more.

5. Get Training Knowledge is power

No man is an island. You need to acquire information from time to time to enable you to know more about the business. Apprenticeship comes before mastership. You have to get yourself attached to a fish farm for an adequate and proper apprenticeship. Also, take your time to learn about the trade properly.

Do not forget that your investment needs to yield profit. Therefore avoid trial and error.

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For a proper fish farming business, here is some additional guidance you need to know about Fishery:

1. Replace pond water after two or three days with fresh water

2. Buy healthy fingerlings and juveniles from reliable farms.

3. Feed your fish at least two times a day.

4. Do not change pond water instantly after feeding fish to avoid vomiting.

5. Buy your own Pelletizer to make your own feed as this will help reduce expenses.

6. Give fishes vitamin supplements to keep them free from diseases

7. Buy the popular brand feed on sales such as Raanan, Livestovit, and Aquafeed

8. The feed could also be either flour meal or small pellets size

9. Separate fishes by size as they grow to avoid bigger fishes eating smaller ones.

10. It is advisable to attend seminars to gain more knowledge from aquaculture experts.

We hope this article was helpful to you!