Tips on ponds
Rectangular ponds are easier to build and the fish are easier to catch compared to round ponds.
Do not dig ponds in the path of a river to avoid flooding and washing away of fish.
Apply a thin layer of agricultural lime to the bottom of the pond. This will help to eliminate pests like leeches.
Fill the pond with water so that the shallow end is 0.5 metres deep and the deep end is 1.5 metres deep
Pond fertilisation
Pond fertilisation encourages the growth of tiny plants called algae and tiny animals that provide food for your fish. Algae turn the water green, which makes it harder for predators, such as birds and snakes, to see and catch your fish. To fertilise your pond you may use animal manure or chemical fertilisers.
Seed selection
A fingerling seed is a tiny, newly hatched fish weighing between 20 and 80 grammes.
Purchase tilapia fingerlings from an established fish farm within your area.
Place fingerlings in a bucket of fresh water.
Move the fingerlings to your fish pond as soon as possible (within 6 hours).
Pond stocking
Add three tilapia fingerlings for each square metre of pond area. A pond 10 metres by 10 metres has an area of 100 square metres and so would need 300 fingerlings.
To stock the pond with fingerlings, gently lower the bucket containing the fingerlings into the shallow end of the pond ( If fingerlings are not introduced into the pond gently, they may die from stock).
Gradually tip the bucket to allow the fingerlings to swim into the pond.
Supplementary feeding
For the first month, the young fingerlings will eat the natural food in the pond.
After the first month, feed the fingerlings twice daily.
Suitable foods include rice, maize or wheat bran (a quarter of a kilogramme fed twice daily). Other foods include:
Sliced kale (sukuma wiki) or chopped sweet potato vines
Termites and ants
Small lake shrimps
Small left-over fish caught by fishermen
Local fishmeal (omena/dagaa/mukene dust).
