Raising your own baby fish in cages

184. You can raise baby fish in a cage. To do this build a cage just like one of the ones shown on pages 50 to 66.

Cage

185. However, the material you use to cover the cage should have smaller openings to keep in the baby fish. So be sure to use material with openings of 0.5 by 0.5 centimetres.

Water flow

186. Materials with such small openings will get dirty more quickly. So, you must be sure to clean it often enough so that fresh water can flow into the cage.

187. You can put up to 1 000 baby fish 1 to 2 centimetres long in a cage of 1 cubic metre. However, do not put in more than you need to use or sell.

Note
If you have more baby fish than you can use or sell you can dry them in the sun. After you have dried the baby fish, grind or pound them and mix them with crushed cottonseed, groundnut cake or rice bran to feed to your big fish, your poultry or your pigs. You can also use the dried baby fish to fertilize your farm garden.

188. Feed your baby fish two or three times each day just as you do with your big fish. You can give them

· termites
· rice bran
· cottonseed or groundnut cake.

Food for fish

189. Feed your baby fish carefully. Break their food into very small pieces and sprinkle it little by little on the surface of the water. Watch very carefully that they eat well and stop giving them food as soon as they stop eating.

Sprinkle food

190. With a cage, it is important to give the baby fish only what they will eat and no more. Uneaten food under a cage is very bad for baby fish.

191. In 30 to 40 days the baby fish will grow to 8 to 10 centimetres long and you can put them in a pond or another cage.

192. To do this take them out carefully using a smooth plastic containers.

plastic containers