Fish Farming: Cure of Common Fish Diseases and Medications

 

So am here today as usual with a new update coming this time from our Nigeria Fish Farmers Group on Facebook.

If you are a fish farmer or you are intending to be this information will do you a lot f good, just stay cool and read the full details below.

Chinemerem Uche

2 hrs

CURE OF FISH DISEASE: 

FISH FARMERS
I remember when I posted here some time ago that fish rot disease a condition that kills the fishes in the artificial ponds can be treated with Ampiclox and calcium drugs, all I got was insults, unfounded criticism and outright dismissal of my claim by some people. Nobody asked why and how I arrived at my findings. 

Some went ahead to claim that there is nothing like fish disease and that fishes should be treated naturally instead of using drugs.

 I wonder where a farmer got the notion that there is nothing like fish disease. 

Fishes in artificial ponds and hatcheries do suffer high mortality due to gill, tail, mouth and babel rot. 

The symptoms of this sickness include continuous sluggish movement and swimming up the water surface, reddish mouth, weakening whitish babel (whiskers) and gradual decay of the tail and then death. When this attacks the farm, the deaths are usually massive.

This disease is caused by a bacteria and it is mostly common in the hatchery and nursery. 

I started fish farming in 2004 and I noticed it for the first time in 2010 it was so devastating that I had to close down my hatchery. How I discovered the cure has been published in my book, “CHEAP AND PROFITABLE MEANS OF FISH FARMING.”

Fishes in artificial ponds usually lack some trace elements especially calcium, magnesium and zinc. 

The usual feeds given to fishes are deficient in these due to processing. You will notice that fresh water always have the clayish aroma and clay is a host to some of these trace elements which helps the fish to build immunity. 

This condition is lacking in the artificial ponds hence the prevalence of the disease.

 I have also discovered personally that the disease is easier to treat in a plastic pond than in a concrete pond. It is also easier to treat in a pond of six feet by six feet in length and width and two feet in depth. 

The reason for this is because if your pond is not well segmented to allow for smaller fish population per pond, the mortality would be high and likewise the cost of treatment. 

The stress taken in draining an entire pond to treat the disease might also be much more. Therefore it is advisable for a farmer to try as much as possible to construct his pond in such a way that each segment would take between one hundred to one hundred and fifty fishes.

 This is also good for those who want to reduce the cost of feeding or reduce feed wastage. 

One you notice symptoms of fish rot in your farm, the best thing to do is to drain the water immediately and introduce the drugs. 

Six to seven tablets of each drugs are usually applied per one hundred fishes in a 6x6x2 feet pond. If the attack is severe, the drugs should be applied twice daily, preferably early morning before feeding and late at night.

Some people claim that fishes that survive the disease attack usually experience stunted growth. 

This is not true, in fact I have noticed a great growth spurt among fishes that survived the rot disease.

Farmers should share their experiences instead of castigating each other. 

As a farmer involved in fingerlings production and nursery, I cannot actually meet up with demands from my clients and so sometimes I outsource to other hatcheries to produce on my behalf.

 I have a lot of partners in Owerri, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Lagos and our collaboration has helped each other rather than tear us apart. We have a lot to gain by uniting in sharing our experiences and challenges. If Nigeria banns the importation of fish, she cannot currently meet up with her demand for fish, therefore there is no reason for farmers to antagonize each other because, just as the saying goes, the sky is too vast and wide that two birds cannot collide in a flight. You can reach me on 08064961010 for further consultation.