Experience Successful Tilapia Farming in Philippines

Tilapia farming in\r\nbrackish water pond

The brackish ponds in Pampanga are usually quite large with\r\na pond of 3 - 15 ha and previously used for milkfish and shrimp\r\nproduction. When these ponds were used for tilapia farming, the farmers\r\nhad no significant modification. For example, most ponds remain shallow,\r\nleading to higher temperatures during the summer.

High temperatures mean higher evaporation rates of water,\r\nthus, increasing salinity and accumulating organic matter. High salinity\r\nponds always kill tilapia, especially during the stocking period. Another\r\nfactor is that these very large ponds have inefficient water supply and\r\ndrainage systems. Water enters and exits through the same\r\nopening. Typically, the water near the gate has the best water quality,\r\nwhile about half or two-thirds of the pond has poor water quality, filled with\r\ndead algae, faeces, leftovers and even dead fish. This condition is not\r\nconducive to the growth and survival of farmed fish.

Practical ways to\r\nminimize mortality and losses for farmed tilapia include:

1. Dig deep into the pond at least 1.5 to 2 meters. It\r\nwill make the water more stable in temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen\r\nand will take longer for fish waste to accumulate. Although it may be\r\ncostly in the short term, it is a long-term solution to reduce mortality and\r\nincrease pond productivity.

2. Provide a separate drainage port opposite the water\r\nsupply port (if possible). A 1-hectare pond with a width of 1.5 - 2 m\r\nshould have a gate that can drain 750m 3 of water per hour so that up\r\nto 30% of the water can be changed during a tidal cycle when the outside water\r\nquality is good.

3. If there cannot be an additional outlet, connect two\r\nadjacent ponds by installing two gates along the dyke separating the two ponds:\r\none gate is installed on one end of the dyke and the other. The middle\r\ndike serves as a bulkhead. At one of the gates, install a paddle wheel,\r\npropeller or pump to move pond water. This has proven to be very useful\r\nespecially when the water from the outside is of poor quality and the addition\r\nof new water is not possible. Water receives more oxygen while releasing\r\nammonia and toxic gases in the process. The rate of decomposition of\r\norganic matter increases without competing with the source of oxygen with fish.

4. Split very large ponds into small ponds. The smaller\r\nthe pond, the easier it is to manage water quality. It may require some\r\ncost to do, but again, the results may offset it.

5. Provide emergency aerators, reservoirs or spare water\r\npumps. Although this can be expensive, it is an effective way to manage\r\nwater quality when there is no immediate clean water source not only during the\r\npond culture or construction period but also in emergency situations. 

6. When raising tilapia in saltwater ponds, farmers need to\r\nbuild and provide adapted ponds and this pond must be provided with aeration\r\nsystem. This is one of the most serious problems in brackish water ponds\r\nthat need to be addressed. The hatcheries were not built to provide\r\nfingerlings for salt water. The acclimation to salinity should be done\r\nslowly at a maximum rate of 0.5-1 ppt per day. This also serves as a means\r\nto avoid predation from exotic birds and fish during the fry stage.

Growing tilapia in\r\nfreshwater ponds

Although tilapia farming started in freshwater ponds, many\r\nfarmers were not well informed about the principles of pond\r\nconstruction. Here are some things to be reset to minimize the risk of\r\ninclement weather:

1. Deepen the pond to a minimum of 1.5m, which makes the\r\nwater temperature more stable during hot or cold seasons. Water quality degradation\r\nis also slower than in shallow ponds. If a pond owner can manage to have a\r\ndepth of 2.5 or 3 meters, this is even better. Yields per hectare can be\r\nup to 66% higher.

2. In the cold season, pond temperatures quickly rise or\r\nfall, which again causes stress on farmed fish. The hatchery should have\r\nan average depth of 1.2m for the pond and not 0.6 meters as is usually\r\nrecommended. And the condition of the depth of the pond must be from 1.5\r\nto 2 meters deep. 

3. Provide emergency aeration equipment, backup water\r\nsources such as deep wells, reservoirs, etc. As a precaution, when water\r\nquality declines rapidly because farmers tend not to control feeding to keep up\r\nthe harvest time or take advantage of the high market prices. As a result,\r\ndead fish occur.

4. Supply nursery pond.

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5. Provide physical barriers against all external animals\r\nand predators. The pond is surrounded with a net fence that has been\r\nproven effective.

Source : tepbac.com