Many people are starting to raise fish in their backyard ponds because of the various benefits they get from fish farming. Aside from the beauty and the enhanced look of your backyard landscaping, having a backyard pond would also give you a steady supply of food. The good news is that many people are able to provide a steady supply of healthy food to their families from home ponds. Raising your own fish would also ensure that your fish are grown without any harmful chemicals, antibiotics or GMO.
Aquaculture can be done according to your needs and abilities. If you wish to feed your family through homegrown fish, you could easily dig a pond in your backyard and start raising fish in it. You could also use pools, fish tanks, or aquariums to raise fish either indoors or outdoors. If you own a bigger property you can take it a step further and start fish farming commercially.
In commercial fish farming, you can utilize either an intensive or extensive strategy. You probably won’t have the amount of space or the equipment that a commercial fish farm has when starting out with your home pond. In this case, you will have lower production and profit than a commercial fish farm. If you start with a large amount of land and dig several ponds in it, then you can start as big as a commercial fish farm or commercial aquaponic system. There are star-tup costs, costs for supplies, overheads, equipment costs, and learning processes associated with commercial fish farming. Make sure to check those out before you decide to start a commercial fish farming business on your own.
Fish farming at home
You can start your own home version of a fish farm with a just small pond in your backyard. If you are fortunate enough to have a big enough pond in your backyard, you can easily stock it with appropriate fish. There are several types of fish you can grow such as different types of trout, carp, catfish, and tilapia. The type of fish you raise in your pond would depend on where you live and the size of the pond. Tilapia and some other species of fish do not grow very well in cold weather. You could consider bluegill, crappie and bass, which are both viable choices for larger ponds.
You need to take special care to maintain the recommended depth and size of your pond for the type of fish you want to grow in order to avoid overcrowding the fish. Also, if you live in an area where your pond water can freeze in the winter, try to connect a water heater to it. Planting aquatic plants will provide food and shelter for the fish during summer.
If your ponds are ecologically balanced then you will need very little pond management. A well balanced fish pond will almost run on autopilot. If you put several types of fish together in a large enough pond, you may not have to feed your fish at all, except for the purpose of connecting with your fish.
Fish can be classified in three ways according to their eating habits: the bottom eaters, the top eaters and the mid eaters. The top eaters are always visible. They eat the green algae or the stuff floating on the top of the pond. You will rarely see the bottom eaters on the top of the surface. They are the ones who keep the bottom of the pond clean. For fast growth and quicker harvests, you may want to feed your fish once in a while. But make sure you don’t over-feed your fish because overfeeding causes most of the problems related to fish diseases, bacteria, and water quality degradation.
Feeding your fish
Your fish will be able to feed on plants and insects that fall into your pond water. But if you are concerned about feed shortages or if you want your fish to grow faster, you may supply them with organic fish feed. Most fish food supply stores will carry organic fish feed. Observe how your fish react to the supply of food you give them. If you give them food and they quickly devour it, they are probably facing shortages of food and need to be fed regularly.
Fish is very healthy and a type of food that can provide a good supply of protein for you and your family. Eating fish also supplies you with the ingredients you need to stay healthy such as Omega-3 fatty acid, which is good for your brain and heart. Eating fish regularly keeps your blood pressure under control, keeping you healthy and young. We recommend that you eat fish at least three times a week. Also, grow your own fish rather than buying it from the supermarket. This would help the eco-system as well as the environment to stay sustainable by reducing negative impacts. Most people don’t realize that when they buy locally grown food, they not only help the farmers, but they also help the ecosystem by saving energy that would have been wasted in packaging, transporting, storing, and marketing the food that comes from the supermarket.
We will be posting tips on fish farming regularly, so please comeback often. We’d appreciate it if you put down a few words in the comment box to let us know what you thought about this blog. Your comments really inspire us.
Source: WorldWide Aquaculture
