Cattle fish culture

Two for one

A one-hectare fish pond needs about 10-15 tonnes of dung and urine per year to maintain its fertility. New ponds need higher doses of dung and urine. In general, the dung and urine of two cattle are sufficient to maintain a one-hectare pond.

Caution

Your pond water should be brown. If the water suddenly turns dark green because of algal growth, stop the inflow of dung and urine until the water turns brown again. Stop the flow of dung and urine during persistent cloudy weather (2-3 days of continuous cloudiness). You do not have to stop the flow of dung and urine during rain.

Raising fish and cattle together is quite profitable. Although wastes from cattle are not as rich as wastes from poultry and pigs, cattle farmers can still use cattle dung and urine to maintain a fish pond.

Cattle waste as pond fertilizer If you own cattle, construct a shed close to your pond. The shed should have a bricklined floor with good drainage toward the

Dung and urine slurry

As a better alternative, mix dung and urine thoroughly, dilute with water and, using a bucket, evenly broadcast the mixture into your fish pond. Dung in the form of biogas slurry is even better. Apply 80-120 kg of fresh slurry per hectare of pond each day. (See Biogas as a rural energy source.)

Production

About 2,500-3,000 kg of fish can be produced from one hectare of pond each year. The cattle provide milk and labour. Buffaloes can also be raised instead of cattle.