Putting the fish into your pond

67. The first time you stock your pond you will need to find some baby fish.

68. You can get them from a fish- culture station or from another fish farmer.

Get baby fish

69. If you use Tilapia nilotica you will need two baby fish for each square metre. If each side of the pond is 10 metres long (100 square metres) you will need 200 fish (about 2 kilograms or 5 pounds).

Use Tilapia nilotica

70. Be careful not to put too many fish in your pond. Stocking a fish pond is like planting a field. If plants are too close together they grow badly. If there are too many fish in your pond they will grow badly, too, and they will stay small.

Don’t put too many fish in a pond

71. If you want to use a different fish, ask your extension agent for help.

72. Before you put the baby fish in the pond, be sure that the water where they are is not hotter or colder than the water in the pond.

73. You can find this out by putting one of your hands in the water with the fish and the other in the pond.

74. If one is hotter or colder slowly put water from the pond in the water with the fish until they are both the same.

Put the baby fish in the pond

75. If you do not do this the fish may die when you put them in the pond.

76. Do not pour the fish into the pond. Gently put the container into the water, tip it a little, and let the fish swim out by themselves.

Put the baby fish in the pond