How to Start Catfish Farming in Cameroon

Wondering how to start Catfish farming in Cameroon??? if yes, then this article was specifically written for you.

In this article you will be tutored on how you can start your own successful catfish farming business in Cameroon. We will give you all the catfish farming tips to enable you start your own catfish farming for profits.

Somebody may likely want to ask, BUT WHY CATFISH???

There are many kinds of fish growing in Cameroon, however, many people like farming catfish because its meat is juicy, soft and tasty. This has made catfish a treasured delicacy among many Cameroonian’s cultures.

And as far as the aquaculture business is concern, catfish farming is among the most lucrative in Cameroon and given the fact that fish constitute the staple meal of most homes in Cameroon, it no brainer that investing your money in Catfish farming in Cameroon will give you a high return on your investment.

The readily available markets for catfish, e.g. with hotels, restaurants, retail stores etc also makes Catfish farming an evergreen business that’s profitable 365.

Catfish also sells very fast because it is cheaper than meat, so there is a high demand for it and due to the fact that Catfish grows quickly, farmers would easily start enjoying the fruit of their labor pretty soon. The period of growth from larvae to commercial fish is only 6 months.

Just imagining yourself handling hundreds of thousands or millions in 6 months from now.

Another interesting thing about catfish farming, is that, their feed is not expensive and easy to get.

Catfishes are omnivores and eat almost everything.

In Africa, catfish eat both fruit and antelope meat, which remains after the “crocodile dinner”. So You will not spend much on the feed or find it difficult to get Catfish feeds in Cameroon.

This simply mean less expenditure and high profit margin.

Catfish farming business is a simple and flexible animal husbandry based business that you can start anywhere, particularly in tropical climate like ours. Also, catfish farming business can be operated in your place of residence, especially for those that have a spacious compound.

Yes, you can start catfish farming at home in Cameroon and this fish can be grown quite easily even at a small fish farm.

In this write-up , I will be explaining so many things you need to know about catfish farming business in Cameroon and how you can make your catfish business successful.

Without any further delay, let’s get down to business.

So what is catfish farming in Cameroon all about???

For the benefit of the ignoramus, Catfish farming is the growing of one or more of the ray-finned fish for mainly commercial purpose and it involves constructing concrete or tarpaulin ponds, filling with fingerlings and feeding them until they are sizable enough for sale in the market.

In the world all over, there are so many catfish species, some of them include: pangas catfish, greasy grouper, bighead carp, grass carp, silver seabream, common catla, Nile tilapia, etc.

However most of them are not suitable for fish farming in Cameroon. The most common catfish in Cameroon are: tilapia and raising catfish, the later catfish is the most common in Cameroon.

The African catfish is delicious, easy to keep and grows fast enough and  Catfish farmers can even increase the speed of fish grows by adding special feeds.

Catfish farming is increasingly becoming an attractive form of agriculture for many Cameroonians especially young people.

In this article, you will be taken step by step on how you can start a catfish business with all the catfish farming tips. Also, you will be given major hints of starting and developing a catfish farming business. Below, you will see how a catfish business can be operated.

Steps to start catfish business in Cameroon

Follow these steps to start a catfish business in Cameroon…

*** Determine the size of Your catfish farm
*** You must understand catfish farming market in your area
*** Proper Drainage
*** Understand the cost of starting catfish farming business
*** Get to know your rivals (competitors)
*** Build the catfish pond
*** Feeding the catfish
*** Be vigilant about catfish diseases
*** Keep records of your catfish business including income and expenses

Above are the summary, read each points in details below.

1. You must understand catfish farming market in your area

This involves knowing the level of demand of catfish in your area. You may have to do little investigation from market men and women, hotels, cold stores and restaurants, and from other stakeholders who buy and sell catfish. Also find out the price of a fully grown catfish and the period of the year catfish is in great demand.

To win on the market of catfish business you also need to know more about your competitors.
You need to have a strategy and analyze catfish farms nearby and their work.

2. Get to know your rivals (competitors)

For you to make a headway in catfish business, you need to know those you compete with . You must know their capabilities such as how big they are, the catfish species that they grow, their customers and in fact their marketing strategies. Also you will find out the market that is not yet served, how the markets are responding to the services given to them. Can you attract the market further by improving on your services?

Mind you, if your findings indicates that catfish farming is too saturated in a particular city, you can consider setting it up in a town where there’s a high demand and less suppliers.

The cash fish business needs a ready market so you can quickly sell your produce.

You need to have a constant turnover of catfish, in order to avoid overcrowding of your tank or pond because it can lead to some disease outbreak and fish plague, and result to loss of money.

This point is very important. Don’t say i didn’t warn you.

3. Understand the cost of starting catfish farming business

It is very important to have a proper knowledge of how much it will cost you.

The cost will depend on the season, the size of business you want to run and the cost of materials at the time.

Your key expensive will include: construction catfish tank (pond), buying quantity of catfish to start your business, buying feeds and probably drilling a borehole for proper water supply. All these should be embodied in your business plan, if you have any.

You can arrive at specific costs by going out to ask questions in the form of market research.

If possible, find out also the range of profit that can be made in catfish farming business in your area. Consider all important items needed for the operation of your catfish and also your production plan annually, such as feed, fuel, equipments and machineries, work force, supplies, utilities, repairs and emergency funds.

As a beginner, you can start with catfish juvenile, nurture them for good and rapid growth and make handsome profit when you offer them to the market.

The advantage of starting with big catfish is that you save on the cost of feeds because you buy in bulk or you convert part of your business into producing catfish feeds.

4. Determine the size of Your catfish farm and location

At this stage, I assume you have already done your feasibility studies (research about the business), understand your competitors and you are determined to start a commercial catfish farming in Cameroon.

In this case you need to construct a concrete catfish pond. The exact size will depend on the capital you want to start with. There are many sizes of catfish farm you can build.

When searching for a place to build your catfish pond, choose a place with proper drainage.

It is very bad to channel drain waste from your farm to public places, therefore before starting a cat fish farming business, you need to consider where to locate your catfish farming business in order for you not to dispose your farm waste without being a nuisance to other members of the public. If it is in your home or a place you acquire, make sure that you make a suitable plan for drainage.

Your business should not do any harm to the environment.

Try to choose the proper place taking into account the size of the future farm, necessity of water supply and of course, not to spend a small fortune.

5. Build the catfish pond

Building your catfish pond largely depends on the size of business you want to operate.

You can go with either a small pond or a large one.

It is important that you select the best location needed for your catfish farming business. Not having enough space for the ponds can cause big disaster for you.

Please don’t build it yourself if you don’t have the experience.

Use services of experts (construction engineers), who will build a fish farm following all construction requirements. Ensure a well and proper drainage.

If you can’t hire an expert, get an expert advice so that you can construct the type of pond that will enable your fish to have a healthy growth.

You can also consider the option of starting your catfish farming in plastic tanks especially for those who wish to start catfish farm at home.

But mind you, Catfish farming in tanks is an option for temporary business, if you want to have a real profitable long- term business, you should think about catfish farm in a pond.
However, in order to avoid harm and money loss, it is better to start from small, to understand how this business works.

So to keep a large number of fish, you need either to purchase special tanks, or have access to large enough earthen pond.

6. A BOREHOLE OR A WATER SUPPLY NEARBY

A water supply is one of the main necessity in fish farming, water must be changed regularly, so ensure the constant source of water.

Catfish is a freshwater animal and you should assure the high-quality water.

Do not use rainwater or CAMWATER.

Your ponds will be supplied by water from this water reservoir (borehole) and it should be connected to the ponds through a special plumbing system to make things easy for you.

7. BUY FINGERLINGS

After you have constructed your pond and dug a bore hole, what you need to do now, is to buy fingerlings for your pond.

Fingerling is a broad term applied to a juvenile fish that is about the size of a finger.

This small size fish called fingerlings, can be likened to chicks in the poultry business.

You will need them to kickstart your catfish farm.

So how do you get/buy the fingerlings in Cameroon???

There are two possible ways: either to buy fingerling from another specialized catfish farm or to grow them by own forces.

Remember that it is not an easy one. If you choose another farm growing fingerling from larvae, you must be sure in the quality of the fingerling you buy.

So its preferable to buy the fingerlings and not the larvae.

If you did your research well at step 2, then you already know the price of fingerlings in your city.

7. FEEDING THE CATFISH (FINGERLINGS)

The bolo don start…

In a day, each catfish should consume at least 1.5% of its weight.

Feed is very important issue especially if we are talking about fingerlings.

You must feed the catfish with quality feeds that contain proper nutrients such as lysine, argimine and methionine.

Also, the water must always be fresh , either from borehole or river.

Treated water like tap water or even rain water cannot be recommended, otherwise, it is a question of time, your catfish pond will be empty because your catfish would all die.

Moreover, don’t use acidic water of any kind, to know this, you need HP meter that reads acidic level in water.

African catfish reaches a table size, which is an average weight of 1-1.5 kilo, in 5-6 months. Catfish can participate in reproduction at the age 1.5 – 2 years.

The female reaches sexual maturity by 6 months, but the best results are obtained at the age of 2 years.

Usually during breeding, the parent herd is kept in separate tanks and the feed must be carefully balanced. The protein content of such feed should be at least 38%.

Finely ground meal and flour-type feeds containing 40-50% of protein are used. To lower the cost for feeding you should try catfish farming manual feeding production.

Excellent results can be obtained by using feeders. One feeder is used for 10 squares of the tank/pond area.

Manual feeding ensures a more equal distribution of food. This leads to differentiation of the fish mass.

The African catfish, which is diluted in a controlled way, shows significant weight gain in a relatively short period of time.

After the completion of all stages, the fish are sorted.

Pools and trays after the cultivation of fish are washed and cleaned until the next generation. Before new use, treat with antiseptic solution.

Of course, Feed is the largest operating cost, we do not count expenses for a pond or a tank.

8. Be vigilant about catfish diseases (Prevent diseases:)

Catfish can develop symptoms of unhealthiness.

When you begin to notice inactivity, change of colour, bloated body, cloud eyes, open sores, red streaks, etc, take adequate action.

You must be very observant about the catfish you rear to avoid epidemic of a particular disease and deal with any disease when it is noticed.

To avoid loosing your catfish farm, you must pay attention to your farm, ask pertinent questions and obtain phone numbers from mentor and experts.

Fish also can get sick, so you should be attentive to your fish. When you have noticed such symptoms as open sores, loss of color, inactivity, cloud eyes, frayed fins, difficult breathing, red spots on the body or inflammation of skin and others, probably it is a bacterial infection.

Erratic swimming, darting, scratching etc. are the signals for fungal infections.

Visible spots, warms, inactivity, scratching, loss of appetite, excess mucus are signs of parasitic infections.

Watch over your wish constantly to prevent mass loss of your fish. Treat your catfish as your children.

9. Keep records of your catfish business including income and expenses

Every business requires record keeping and Catfish farming is not an exception.

Maintain accurate records of number of fish in a particular pond, how much it cost you to buy fingerlings and how much you sold. Make it a habit to record all transactions of your business. So that you will be able to determine your level of profit at any time.

10  Get A Proper training (Last but not the least)
Catfish farming in Cameroon is a serious business that needs skills to prevent loss, so it is better to be well trained. We are not talking about one-day seminars.

A high-quality training in Catfish farming can last for about a month.

I will conclude this post by giving you a summary of the requirements for catfish farming…

CAT FISH FARMING REQUIREMENTS/EQUIPMENT

1. Capital
2. Proper Training
3. Tanks or ponds
4. Borehole/Water Supply
5. High Level-Tank
6. Feed Distributor
7. UV lamp
8. Clarifiers
9. Bio filter
10. Pipes, Fittings etc.

Catfish Farming is very Lucrative And Profitable to Venture Into.

Starting this Business is a Very Good Idea….

Catfish farming business in Cameroon is easy and profitable business and anybody that is determined to succeed should venture into it.

However, like i mentioned earlier you cannot go into it without proper knowledge of the catfish farming terrain (hands on training), otherwise you end up in regrets.

If you are willing to get this training and become an expert in catfish farming within a month and run your Catfish farming business smoothly, just simply WhatsApp Us or leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading, we wish you success in your business.