If you're looking to start a new business, catfish farming can be a good investment. However, you must also educate yourself and take the necessary steps to ensure your farm will be successful. Catfish exhibit some of the same human emotions when it comes to breeding. Where candlelight, soft music and wine might do for us, catfish need clean water and both a large area and large breeding pool of other fish.

Choosing the Type of Farm

Before you start breeding, you need to determine whether your farm will be either commercial or individual. The difference in the two really boils down to cost. A commercial catfish farm could set you back up to a half a million dollars at the beginning, but you can get up to fifty percent of that financed. An individual farm means you will be fronting all the cost yourself.

Water Sources

It is important to the survival of your catfish that you choose the right water. You don't want to invest your time, effort, and money only to realize that your water is poisonous. Water sources high in alkaline can not only harm your fish, but it can prevent them from breeding. You want to make sure it has a steady current with a pH level below 7.0, and it should have a temperature below 78 degrees Fahrenheit. You will need to change the water regularly. It is imperative to breeding to keep the environment as pristine as possible. New water put into the aquarium should be cooler than existing water, and it should be existing water that you have kept out over a period of time.

Housing your Catfish

You will need to get an aquarium that will accommodate the size of the fish as well as the number of fish you are breeding. A small aquarium is not a good choice ,since it will inevitably hamper the breeding process. You will want your fish to have wiggle room. Since Catfish are bottom dwellers and feeders, they need large, round gravel in the bottom of the tank, such as pea gravel. Sharp gravel damages their mouths. Often times when fish are taken out of their usual habitats, especially those in the wild, they are reluctant to spawn. You will want to make sure there's "plenty of fish in the sea,"so to speak, by having a vast number of partners for them to breed with.

Diet

Diet is very important to the success of your breeding. Water temperature, size, and age all factor in how much you feed your catfish. Divide daily feedings into two or more feeds. Since catfish are nocturnal, you will need to feed in the evenings just before turning the lights out. They need a diet balanced with crude proteins, high quality lipids, and carbohydrates. Catfish also can benefit from vitamins and minerals, which you can provide through a store bought mixture. Specific feed for catfish include bloodworm, which is a segmented marine worm that is a bright red color due to the levels of hemoglobin in their body. You can also feed them a store-bought mix of flakes and pellets. To get your catfish in a more amorous mood, you can feed them black worms, which are known as an "aphrodisiac." Once you have breeding success, you will need food for your newly hatched fry, or catfish babies. Micro-worms and small shrimp are a good choice. You will need to grind the mixture into a fine consistency.

After Breeding

When a male begins guarding his eggs, you should remove the female. The incubation period for the eggs should be around 7 to twelve days. You should not feed the male during this time. Once the fry, or baby catfish, become mobile, you should remove the male. You will feed them either microworm or pre-soaked ZM-100 powdered dry food. After a period of two months, they should be able to eat what normal catfish eat.

Selling Your Catfish

Once you have bred, hatched,and grown your catfish, you will want to sell them. You can check your local agricultural magazines for want ads, and you can also find want online at websites such as www.agriseek.com. You can also get information from the Cooperative Extension Service.

Final Thoughts

Beginning catfish farmers should consider starting s a part-time business as a supplemental means to income. It will require time, money, hard work and ultimately good marketing skills to get your product out there.

Source:

eHow.com: How to Breed Catfish

University of Arkansas: Small Scale Catfish Production

University of Florida: Catfish Diet