Farming methods

Farming methods
• Pond culture
• Cages
• Pens enclosure
• Raceway
• Rope
• Raft
• Monoculture
• Polyculture
• Sewage fed culture
• Organic aquaculture
Cage culture
 Rearing of fish from juvenile stage to commercial
size in a volume of water enclosed on all sides.
 Cage culture is suitable to water areas which
cannot be drained.
 Cages of metal, bamboo, mesh or nylon mesh are
left in flowing water
 Used for salmon, Trouts, Yellow tail, Sea bass,
Murrels.
 Cage culture originated in Kampuchia 200 years ago
 Types and layouts of cage farms
1. Floating type of cages
2. Submersible type of cages
 Floating type cage
Consist of:
1. Floating unit in the form of a framework and
• Floating unit contains empty barrels, styrofoam
polythene pipes or pontoons of plastic.
• Floating units are built into framework impregnated
with wood, bamboo spars, Al bars.
2. Flexible mesh net cage bag suspended under it.
• Net is commonly made up of Nylon.
• Cages of under water net volume of 200 and 500 m3
are preferred.
• It is common practice to have double netting: outer
for predators and inner for fish stock
Bamboo framework
Buoy uni

Barrels

Cage bag

Float

Net

Weight/Sinker
Floating cage structure
• When timber is used as framework, 6 or 8
sided structures are made.
• Such cages are linked together by flexible
joints.

Hexagonal Floating cage with wooden framework

Six sided floating cage (six inflatable rubber buoys are used and kept in
place by six fiberglass poles radiating from a steel plate above the cage,
looking like inverted umbrella

A nylon net is stretched between the laths to prevent leaping

fish from escaping.
Arrangements of floating cages

Top View
 Submersible type of cage
• Generally used in areas subjected to typhoons
and cyclons.
• Used in Japan for yellow tail rearing.
• Can withstand the wind and waves.
• The shape of cage is maintained by attaching
weights of upto 10 kgs at each corner of cage
bottom.
• Cage can be lowered or raised in water using
ropes.
Submerged cage
 Spindle shaped submersible cage

In hurricane affected areas, Spindle-shaped’ collapsible net

cages are used. These cages are held in position by circular PVC
rings of different diameters.
Under normal conditions, the cages floats on the surface but when
cyclones or tycoons occur, they can be sunk to the bottom by
increasing the weights or removing floats
Suitable sites/ conditions for cage farms
• Areas with sufficient movement of water for
adequate mixing and aeration.
• Polluted sites are avoided.

• Cages should be installed in the sides of

central walkway to facilitate day to day work o
the farm.
 Precautions in using and designing
cage farms
• Designing should be based on conditions
prevailing at selected sites.
• Cages should be easy to handle.
• Mooring blocks should be heavy.
• Provision should be made for regular, manual
and mechanical removal of the wastes.
• Nets should be changed regularly due to
fouling of nets.
 Advantages of cage farming
1. Fishes can be stocked at high density rate.
2. Enclosed fishes are protected from
predators
3. Water flowing through the cage brings food
supply and carries away water.
4. Management and capital investment is less.
5. Effective use of existing water bodies
6. Technically simple
7. Easier stock management and monitoring
 Disadvantages
• Cages occupy a space (can disrupt access to
navigation), reduce land value.
• Increase sedimentation rate.
• Can introduce diseases
• Uneaten food affect water quality
 II) Culture in Pens
• Pens (enclosure): a small enclosure used for
confinement or safekeeping of animals.
 Pen culture is defined as raising of fish in a volume of
water enclosed on all sides except bottom
• Transitional structure between ponds and
cages.
• Formed by damming a bay, fjord (an arm of
sea), estuary, river, lake or reservoir.
• Site: Pens are those where barriers can be
constructed, in order to reduce the costs and
inc the ease of operation.
• Sites must be sheltered against high winds.
• Depth> 1 m.
Area: enclosure area = 2-7 ha.
Barriers: for blind end- one or one series of
enclosure.
For continuous flow- two or two series, one
upstream and other downstream
 Types of barriers

• Site material dependent barrier

Barrier (Dam) made up of stones, sand, soil or
concrete.
such barriers are provided with Screens,
which are made of vertical Al or galvanized
metal bars with 1 cm spacing. These prevent
the escape of fish.
 Nylon net barrier
• Some enclosures are used to partition off
areas of open water body, intertidal area of
sea.
• Enclosure is formed on one side by shore and
other 3 sides by a wall of nylon netting .
 Wire-mesh barrier
• Galvanized wire mesh or chain links are used.
• The net is embedded in the sand or silt at
bottom, sealing it properly, to prevent entry
of predators.
 Types of enclosures
• Bamboo scaffolding enclosure
• Floating net enclosure
• Single layered pens of nylon webbing
• Double layered pens
 Bamboo scaffolding
• In shallow eutrophic bays and in lakes of
China, Bamboo scaffolding of various sizes
(2.5 m high, 5-10 m wide) are built.
• Inter space of 1 cm between 2 bamboo splits
is essential for exchange of water.
 Floating net enclosure
• the enclosure is held in place by concrete
block sinkers of 500 kg wt.
• The net if kept floating by floats attached to
headrope.
• Horizontal net is stretched at the top of
enclosure to prevent fish from jumping
 Single layered pens of nylon netting
• Such enclosures are supported by Palm poles
(3 m length, 15 cm wide and 5 cm thick) which
are pointed at one end.
• These poles are driven into mud at 50 cm and
are 1.5 m apart.
• A 20 mm rope serves as head rope and foot
rope.
• Mesh size of nylon net is about 10-20 mm
 Double Layered pens
• Suitably used for nurseries for fish or prawn
seeds.
• These pens have inner- nylon enclosure
Outer- bamboo mats.
Advantages
1. Pen culture s a continuous process due to
continuous supply of water.
2. Greater production is assured in a limited
space with rich food and oxygen supply.
3. Greater growth is possible as energy is saved
towards locomotion and feeding etc.
4. Ease of harvest
5. Availability of natural food and exchange of
materials with the bottom
 Disadvantages
• Unfavorable weather- damage the pen-culture sites.
• During summer or southwest monsoon, pen culture
site may be polluted with dinoflagellates.
• Organisms like Balanus and algae adhere to bamboo
poles and cause biofouling.
• Certain sps of crabs may cut and damage nylon
webbing enclosure.
• Predator fishes may damage the seed and growing
fishes.
• the abundance of sea weeds disturb by lowering
oxygen level through release of hydrogen sulphide
on death and decay.
 Sewage fed farming
• Fertilizer value of sewage in fish farming has
been widely recognized in several countries.
• Sewage is: a cloudy fluid arising out of waste,
containing mineral, organic and inorganic
matter either in solution or having particles of
solid matter floating or in suspension or in
colloidal and pseudo-colloidal form of
dispersed state.
Component of sewage
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• Raw sewage ↑ BOD, organic carbon,
Ammonia, Carbon dioxide,
hydrogen sulphide, bacteria
↓ DO
It is inimical to fish life.
Only diluted and pre-treated sewage can be
used as fertilizer
Sewage is rich in nutrients: Phosphorous and
nitrogen.
It promotes primary productivity .
It develops algal bloom-causes first trophic level
consumers (zooplanktons) to flourish
 System adopted for sewage-fed fisheries
• In India WB, TN are states where sewage-fed
fisheries is practicing.
• IN WB- irrigating fishponds with sewage or
the sewage is let into ‘Bheries”- allowed to
settle for 15-20 d so that water become clear
and loses its foul smell.
 Treatment of sewage for Pisciculture
• Raw sewage – detrimental to fish.
The strength of sewage is determined by the amount
of oxygen required to oxidized the whole organic
matter and ammonia present in it.

Treatment
Treatment
processes
processes

1. Mechanical treatment Primary treatment

2. Chemical treatment
Secondary treatment
3. Biological treatment
4. Dilution of sewage
WASTE WATER TREATMENT
Primary treatment
Removal of solid particles by
i)Screening Coarse screener
for large floating
(for larger coarse particles) garbage and
ii)skimming (floating solids) twigs.
iii)sedimentation
(for suspended particles whose Fine screener
density is greater than that of
liquid).
Secondary treatment-Removal
of organic and inorganic soluble
matter. Involves:
Activated sludge
Filtration Mechanical
Skimming
Oxidation pond device.
 Mechanical treatment
Use of screening and filtering devices.
Involves :
• SKIMMING - to remove suspended matter
having a relative density lower than that of
liquid part of waste.
• SEDIMENTATION - to remove the suspended
matter having a relative density greater than
that of liquidity.
• Non-settleable solids are coagulated and
removed
• Initially Primary clarification is done by
bringing waste waters to primary
sedimentation tanks so as to remove or
reduce suspended solid content

Biological treatment
After removal of suspended solid content, the
waste water is put to biological treatment for further
process:
 Activated sludge process
• It is a process for treating sewage and industrial
wastewaters using air , bacteria and protozoa.
Activated sludge process for removing carbonaceous
pollution includes :
• Aeration tank where air (or oxygen) is injected in the
mixed liquor.
• Settling tank (final clarifier or secondary settling
tank) to allow the biological flocs (the sludge
blanket) to settle, thus separating the biological
sludge from the clear treated water.
Activated sludge process
Organic waste brought to reactor (active
microbes), oxygen provided, taken to settling
tank. In this process aerobic and facultative
bacteria play a very important role.

Activated sludge process

Anaerobic digestors Aerobic and facultative

stabilization ponds
Anaerobic stabilization ponds or anaerobic
digestors
• Used for high strength organic waste,
containing high quantity of solids.
• Degradation is carried out through anaerobic
bacteria.
• After degradation, solid settle, gases escape
and final effluent is discharged for another
treatment or passed into a fish pond.
Aerobic and facultative stabilization ponds

• Mineralization of organic matter takes place

in presence of oxygen, involving an algal-
bacterial combination, where the oxygen is
supplied by algae for bacteria which carry out
the decomposition process.
Filtration
There are two types of filtration process, viz., mechanical filtration and
biological filtration such as trickling filter which uses filter medium grains
covered with biofilm.

Filter
Medium
Grain

Bio
film

Trickling Filter.
Influent Treated
Water Water

carbon removal through biological filter.

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 Trickling filter
• A trickling filter, (trickling biofilter, biofilter,
biological filter and biological trickling filter) is a
fixed-bed, biological reactor that operates under
aerobic conditions. Pre-settled wastewater is
continuously ‘trickled’ or sprayed over the filter.
As the water migrates through the pores of the
filter, organic waste are aerobically degraded by
the biofilm covering the filter material.
Trickling filter
• The trickling filter consists of a cylindrical tank and is
filled with a high specific surface area material, such
as rocks, gravel, shredded PVC bottles, or special pre-
formed plastic filter media. A high specific surface
provides a large area for biofilm formation.
• Organisms that grow in the thin biofilm over the
surface of the media oxidize the organic load in the
wastewater to carbon dioxide and water, while
generating new biomass.
 Chemical treatment
• This process aimed at coagulation or chemical
precipitation.
Involves:
• Deodorization
• Disinfection
Chemicals like ferric chloride, chlorine, copper
sulphate are used.
PROCESSES ADOPTED FOR SEWAGE TREATMENT BEFORE
RELEASING IN FISH POND

Dilution A positive DO balance is maintained and the concentration of harmful

ingredients such as CO2, H2S, NH3 etc can be kept below lethal limit by introduction
of sewage in a freshwater body in various proportions like 1 parts of sewage to 5
parts of freshwater or 10 parts of freshwater with 4 parts of sewage are practiced.

Storage The oxygen required for biochemical reaction is obtained from freshwater so
sewage is stored with freshwater for few days to oxidize the organic matter which
make the fluid fit for pisciculture.

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 Dilution of sewage

• Diluted by adding freshwater.

• Should be done effectively, to maintain DO balance
and CO2, NH3, H2S kept below lethal limits.
 Waste stabilizing ponds
• Ponds where sewage is retained until the
waste are rendered stable and inoffensive for
discharge into receiving waters.
Types of
oxidation pond

Anaerobic Facultative
Aerobic ponds
ponds ponds
 Aerobic Pond

• 0.3 m deep.
• Aerobic conditions are always maintained.
• Waste material is stabilized through micro-
organism.
 Anaerobic pond
• 2.5- 3 m deep
• High organic load
• Anaerobic conditions prevailing throughout
pond
Facultative pond
• 0.9- 1.5 m deep
• Aerobic-during day and some hrs during night.
• Anaerobic –at bottom in late hrs of night.
• Used in India.
 Permissible physico-chemical parameters
Physico-chemical parameter Optimum value
Turbidity 12-250 mg/l
pH 8.4-8.6
Total alkalinity 85-96 ppm
DO 8.4-11 ppm
Free Carbon -dioxide nil
Hydrogen sulphide nil
Phosphate 0.1 ppm
Chloride 17-22 ppm
Ammonia nitrogen 0.37-0.74 ppm
i. Sewage is passed in to the pond from the canal through bamboo sluice. It is left to
stabilize for 15 to 20 days.
ii.The self purification of sewage takes place in presence of atmospheric oxygen and
sunlight.
iii.When the water turns green due to photosynthetic activity, the pond is considered
as ready for stocking

A schematic diagram of sewage – fed

farming.

Open channel through which sewage is

flown to the pond. 54
 ADVANTAGES
1. The sewage fed fish culture uses the waste recycling process and
maintains the good environment around the urban area.

2. Manuring and supplementary feeding is not required due to high

content of nutrients in sewage.

3. Input cost is very low and production is very high.

4. This is the biological method of treating waste water before its final
disposal in river.
DISADVANTAGES
1. The sewage contain high load of organic and inorganic matters and
toxic gases which may harm fish consumers.

2. As the raw sewage is used in fish ponds, there is a chance of infection

and pollution to enter into human body through food chain. But this risk
can be minimized if good managerial practice is followed.
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III) Monoculture
Only one fish species is reared in a culture system
Trout, tilapia, catfishes, carps, shrimp

IV) Polyculture (Composite fish farming)

Two or more different fish species are farmed
 Polyculture practices give higher yield than monoculture
The principal requirements of different species for polyculture
are
 Different feeding habits
 Should occupy different columns in a pond system
 Should attain marketable size at the same time
 Should be non predatory in behaviour
 Organic farming using organic fertilizers

• Organic fertilizers- plant and animal origin.

Nutrients in them are available directly or
after decomposition and transformation by
microbes. Organic fertilizers

With lil or no With carbohydrates With carbohydrates

carbohydrates content only & nitrogenous
matter
 1. Organic manures with little or no
carbohydrates
Includes: liquid manure from stable, byres, dried blood,
slaughterhouse offal, guano
• Ponds treated with Liquid manure procured from stables
and byres (Cow-shed) imparts fertility for good fish yield.
• Applied in small doses once or twice every 8 days in
deeper parts of ponds → stimulated growth of
phytoplankton, filamentous algae and zooplankton.
Increased yield through use of
• Guano (manure from birds excreta)
• Blood meal
• Mixture of slaughterhouse offal and superphosphate
 Organic manures containing mainly
carbohydrates
Includes: Mustard oil cake, mahua oil cake, cotton seed
meal, soybean meal, compost
I) Mustard oil cakes, used singly or in combination with
cowdung are suitable.
• Mahua oil cake serve as fertilizer leading to the
development of plankton.
II) Green manuring: Undecomposed green plant tissue is
turned into soil by sowing a nitrogenous or other crop
on dry pond bottom.
In Orrisa, green manuring is practised by growing Sesbania
sp (leguminous plant) on pond beds.
 Merits of green manuring
• Induces microbial activity in soil, thus raising the
productivity.
• After the decay, the humus compounds produced increase
the absorptive capacity of soil, promoting aeration,
drainage, granulation.
• If leguminous plants are used, the soil nitrogen is restored.
• It increase availability and solubility of lime and phosphoric
acid.
• After decomposition, it provides inorganic nutrients
directly to soil.
• III) Compost: formed by dumping organic wastes,
vegetables debris, cut grass, cow dung, aquatic
weeds etc. in large pit covered by soil.
• While dumping the layer of abut 30 cm high are
alternatively dusted with superphosphate of lime.
• The anaerobic bacteria, in the presence of nitrogen,
cause effective humification→ results in ↓ % of C/N
(1:10). (Done by adding sodium nitrate /1000 kg of
compost).
• Water is also added to maintain humidity.
• Compost if up-turned after 5-8 weeks and ready to
use after 3 months.
• Dose recommended: 5000 kg compost/ha
 Organic manures with carbohydrates and
nitrogenous matter
1. Farmyard manure: widely used. Cow dung and
pig dung are useful for conditioning the soil of a
new pond and providing a readymade mass of
organic matter containing necessary nutrients.
2. Poultry manure: has imp soluble inorganic salts
required for imparting productivity to water.
Leads to integrated fish farming.
3. Sewage as fertilizer
4. Sludge as fertilizer