Tilapia
Although unknown to many, starting and running a tilapia fish farm is quite cheaper and easier than expected.
TABLE OF CONTENTS For Tilapia Fish Farming Business Plan / Feasibility Study PDF / Word
1.0 Tilapia Fish Farm Executive Summary
1.1 Tilapia Fish Farm Objectives
1.2 Mission
1.3 Proposed capacity
2.0 Tilapia Fish Farm Products and Services
2.1 Products and Service Description
2.2 Competitive Comparison
2.3 Technology
2.4 Sourcing and Fulfilment
2.5 Future Products and Services
2.6 Company Locations and Facilities
3.0 Fish Farm Market Analysis Summary
3.1 Main Competitors
3.2 Target Market Segment Strategy
4.0 Tilapia Fish Farm Management Summary
4.1 Management Team
4.2 Equipment/Machinery Requirement/ Land & Building/Seed
4.3 Personnel Plan
4.4 Raw Material Requirement
5.0 Tilapia Fish Farm Financial Plan
5.1 Important Assumptions
5.2 Key Financial Indicators
5.3 Analysis from Fingerlings to Adult Size Tilapia Fish
5.4 Projected Profit and Loss for 30,000 male Tilapia Fish
5.5 Market Information
5.6 Mortality Losses
5.7 Threats
PLUS If You Act Now, You Will Get These BONUSES
COMPLETE GUIDE TO TILAPIA FISH FARMING IN NIGERIA
FLOATING AND SINKING CATFISH FEED FORMULATION AND PRODUCTION
Sustainable fish farming is a huge trend, as a result of the fact that pollution and overfishing has led to a decline in fishery yield.
Nevertheless, the hunger for lean and clean protein in one that has been on constant increase globally and tilapia fish meets these requirements. It has little fat, rich in protein and tastes good. This demand makes tilapia fish farming one in which profit maximization is guaranteed. Fortunately, you don’t need to have a degree before you embark on this fruitful business plan. Every relevant information you need about tilapia fish farming is contained in our “Tilapia Farming Guide”.
COMPLETE GUIDE TO TILAPIA FISH FARMING IN EARTHEN AND CONCRETE PONDS IN NIGERIA
There is a ready market for those who want to raise tilapia commercially. It can be sold to restaurants and grocery stores. A research in the industry has shown that most of the retailers in tilapia industry get or buy their supplies from farms far away from their shops. This includes higher transportation cost and increases transaction cost. So a strategic position which brings the fish closer to the retailers will be a very welcome idea to the retailer and increase patronage. Tilapia cuisines are very popular among the various ethnic groups, and it is sought greatly by restaurants, hence the ready market.
A breeder has the luxury of deciding on whether to be simple or complex. It all depends on how strict or lenient he wants to be. He can exercise rigid control over water quality and food supply to affect greater yield, or decide to leave most of the fish growing process to nature.
The most common commercially raised tilapia genus is Oreochromis. To begin, a farmer can buy tilapia fingerlings and raise them, until they reach a commercial size or he can bread his own stock. Tilapia’s feed on almost all food sources and can thrive solely on pallets. They also do well if fed with vegetables, aquatic plants and meat.
The pond culture is the most commercially employed methods because it is one of the best and does not require much capital. But a breeder also has the choice of tanks and cages. More complex methods of fish growing are the most effective, but they are also expensive. The most important fact is that, the fish farm has to produce the greatest yield in the smallest area available at the minimum cost.
TILAPIA CULTURE IN PONDS
Ponds when compared to tanks are not so costly. It is also beneficial because it makes room for natural biological productivity to occur in the system. It also makes provision for innovation such as the use of cages or net enclosures to allow more effective collection and growing of fry. However, the breeder has to be careful of overpopulation as overpopulation puts pressure in the system and could retard the growth of the fish to its full potential.
Sexing tilapia is very important. Male tilapia grows bigger and yields a higher profit for aquaculture. Therefore the fish has to be sexed as early as possible and the females destroyed. Manual sexing of tilapia is quite tricky and needs specially trained personnel. Even the experienced personnel will normally get at least 2-5% wrong.
For a tilapia fingerling to be normally sexed by looking at the genital papilla it has to reach a weight of 25 grams (one ounce). The genital papilla is located right behind the anus of the fish. If the genital papilla has one single opening, you have a male tilapia. This is because males have only one opening and both urine and milt passes through this hole. But if the genital papilla has two openings you have a female tilapia because tilapia eggs do not pass through the same hole as urine. If you find it difficult to ascertain the sex of the tilapia, try placing a drop of dye such as food colouring or methylene blue on the genital region. The colour normally will make it easier to distinguish the openings.
GROWTH RATE
Several factors are necessary for the proper growth of tilapia, and it is imperative to duly consider all those factors. For instance, oxygen levels, water temperature and quality as well as the general health of the fish is important in ascertaining the growth rate. The food they are provided with and the quantity also goes a long way in determining growth rate. An optimal stocking density also has to be picked.
The climate in your part of the world and the salinity level in the water you plan on using should also be taken into account. In addition, it is important to choose species, strain or hybrid that is fitting for your particular fish farm. An environment has to be ideal for the particular strain of your choice. You don’t have to just fall for the many producers who advertise about strains with a super-fast growth rate. The strain you chose has to match with your climate, environment, salinity level in the water and the location well as type of fish farm.
MIXED-SEX OR MONO-SEX CULTURE
Male and female tilapias kept together will readily breed and produce a lot of offspring. This greatly reduces the growth rate of the adult fish as they could competing for food with the fingerlings.
There are three methods used to prevent this they include:
Raising a mono-sex culture consisting of males only
Harvesting the mix-sexed culture before they reach sexual maturity or soon afterwards
Raising the mix-sexed culture in cages or tanks that disrupts preproduction
GROWTH RATE IN MIXED SEX CULTURE
In a mixed sex tilapia culture, the fish is normally harvested before the fish reaches sexual maturity or soon afterwards. This restricted culture period makes it very crucial to make the fish grow fast. This is because they have to reach their full size within a limited time frame. It is therefore very common to avoid dense stocking of mixed sex tilapia cultures. It is also necessary to avoid using stunted fish because such fish will reach sexual maturity while they are still too small for the food market.
Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and their hybrids are common in mixed-sex culture as they attain a marketable size before they commence spawning.
When the fish is provided with a suitable environment and proper nutrition, and when the right species or strains are chosen, a fast growth rate enough to allow fry produced in the spring to reach a commercial size by autumn in temperature regions. For a 4-5 month long culture period, it is common to stock 2,000, 6000 one month old fry per acre in growout pond. With a stocking density of 4,000 fry per acre, the average weight at harvest can then be expected to be around 0.5 pounds (220 grams), if supplemental feedings with protein rich food has been carried out.
GROWTH RATE FOR ALL MALE FINGERLINGS IN MONO-SEX CULTURES
The male tilapia grows faster and attains a larger size than the female. The male batches can be gotten through hybridization, hormonal treatment or manual sexing and separation. However, none of these methods can ensure 100% males in any batch.
For maximum yield, the amount of females in the growing unit should not exceed 4%. More than one method is therefore employed by farmers to make sure that there is a low degree of females in the growing area. A predator fish of a suitable size can also be used in the growing area to devour any offspring so as to ensure a healthy growth of the adult and to avoid competition.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Tilapia Fish Farm Executive Summary
1.1 Tilapia Fish Farm Objectives
1.2 Mission
1.3 Proposed capacity
2.0 Tilapia Fish Farm Products and Services
2.1 Products and Service Description
2.2 Competitive Comparison
2.3 Technology
2.4 Sourcing and Fulfilment
2.5 Future Products and Services
2.6 Company Locations and Facilities
3.0 Fish Farm Market Analysis Summary
3.1 Main Competitors
3.2 Target Market Segment Strategy
4.0 Tilapia Fish Farm Management Summary
4.1 Management Team
4.2 Equipment/Machinery Requirement/ Land & Building/Seed
4.3 Personnel Plan
4.4 Raw Material Requirement
5.0 Tilapia Fish Farm Financial Plan
5.1 Important Assumptions
5.2 Key Financial Indicators
5.3 Analysis from Fingerlings to Adult Size Tilapia Fish
5.4 Projected Profit and Loss for 30,000 male Tilapia Fish
5.5 Market Information
5.6 Mortality Losses
5.7 Threats
PLUS If You Act Now, You Will Get These BONUSES
COMPLETE GUIDE TO TILAPIA FISH FARMING IN NIGERIA
FLOATING AND SINKING CATFISH FEED FORMULATION AND PRODUCTION
