16.

PRODUCING FISH IN CAGES

LOCATING FISH CAGES

(435) You can build a cage and put it in a stream,

a river, a lake or a reservoir. You can also put it in
a pond and it will help you produce more fish
there.

(436) The water should be deep enough so that

when the cage is in place it will be at least 50
centimetres from the bottom.

(437) A cage should be in a place where the flow

of water is gentle and not fast. In addition, it
should be protected from the wind.

BUILDING A CAGE
(440) You can begin with a cage that has about 1
(438) A cage can be of any shape. It can be cubic metre (1 metre by 1 metre by 1 metre) of
round, square or long. space for the fish. Later, when you have learned
more, you can build bigger ones.
(439) A cage can be small or large depending on
the number of fish that you want to raise.
However, when you first begin, start by building a
small cage. You will need fewer materials and it
will be easier to take care of.
 (442) The openings in the material that you use to
(441) The best material to cover a cage is ordinary cover a cage must be small enough to keep the
fish netting. If you cannot get fish netting, you can smaller fish from getting out.
use either plastic mesh or woven material made
from split bamboo or wooden strips.

(443) However, if the openings are too small they

may become filled with dirt.

(445) You can build a simple cage by driving four

(444) Material with openings of 1.5 by 1.5 or more posts into the bottom under the water and
centimetres is suitable to keep in the smaller fish hanging a fish net inside.
and also to let fresh water through.

(446) You can also build a simple cage by putting

a square float on the water and hanging a piece of (447) If you want a better floating cage, you can
fish net inside. build a frame with floats and close it with fish net,
woven material or plastic mesh.

(448) You can use either bamboo or wood for the

posts, floats or frame. However, if you are using
wood, choose a kind that does not rot quickly
when it is in the water.
BUILDING A SIMPLE POST CAGE
(449) You can build a simple post cage using
bamboo or wooden posts and fishing net.

(450) Find a place where the water is at least 1.5

metres deep even during the dry season. (451) Drive four posts into the bottom to form a
square of 1.25 by 1.25 metres. The top of the
posts should reach about 50 centimetres above
the water.

(452) Tie a rope around the top of the posts to (453) Hang a piece of fish net over the rope inside
hold the fish net. The rope and the net should be the posts and make sure that it is at least 1 metre
at least 25 centimetres above the water. under the water at the deepest part.

(454) Tie the net to the rope all the way around the
cage using strong cord.

BUILDING A SIMPLE FLOATING CAGE

(455) You can build a simple floating cage using

any wood that floats well, such as bamboo. It can
be covered with fishing net, woven material or
plastic mesh.

(456) Tie four pieces of wood together using

strong cord or rope to form a float 1 metre square.

(457) Hang the float about 1.5 metres above the (458) Cut one long piece of material for the sides of
ground so you can work on it easily. the cage and one square piece of material for the
bottom.
(459) Depending on the material that you are
going to use, tie or wire the long side piece around
the outside of the cage.

(460) Then tie or wire the square bottom piece to

the lower edges of the sides in the same way.

(461) If you have used fishing net or woven (462) Carefully put the cage into the water.
material, tie a length of rope to the bottom of each
corner to be used to attach weights when the cage
is in the water.

(463) Fix the cage firmly in place. Tie a piece of (464) Now, if you have used fish net or woven
rope to one corner of the float and anchor the material, tie a weight to the rope at each corner.
other end to a stake in the bottom. The weight should not touch the bottom.
BUILDING A BETTER FLOATING CAGE
(465) You can build a better floating cage by
making a light frame of bamboo or straight pieces
of wood cut from trees and covering it with either
fishing net or plastic mesh.

(466) Tie four pieces of wood together using

strong cord or rope to make one side of the frame;
it should be about 1 by 1.25 metres.

(467) Now make another side of the frame the (468) Using four more pieces of wood, tie the two
same as the first. sides together 1 metre apart as shown below.

(469) Cut one long piece of material for the sides of (470) Depending on the material that you are
the cage and one square piece of material for the going to use, tie or wire the long side piece
bottom. around the outside of the cage.
(471) Then turn the cage on its side and tie on the (472) For floats you can use bamboo, banana
bottom piece in the same way. stalks, wooden blocks or, if you can get them,
plastic containers, pieces of polystyrene foam or
used tyre inner tubes.

(473) Tie on the floats 25 centimetres below the

top of the cage.
(474) Carefully put the cage into the water.

(475) Make sure that there is a depth of at least

50 centimetres of water below the cage, and tie
the cage firmly in place.

(476) To do this, tie a piece of rope to one corner

of the float and anchor the other end to a stake in
the bottom.

(477) The cage should float so that 25

centimetres of it is above the water and 1 metre
of it is below the water.

Note: If the cage does not float 25 centimetres

above the water, tie on more floats until it does.

(478) You can build an even better floating cage

like the one shown using pieces of squared,
rough-cut wood.

(479) This kind of cage can also be built with a

door that can be locked and with a special
opening for feeding the fish.

(480) A locked door makes it more difficult for

people to steal your fish; however, you may need
more floats for a cage with a heavy wooden
door.
PUTTING BABY FISH IN THE CAGE (482) If you are raising Nile tilapia you will need to
put in 150 to 200 baby fish for each cubic metre of
(481) When your cage is ready in the water you cage.
can put baby fish in it.

(483) After the fish are in you can cover the cage
with a fishing net. This will protect your fish from
fish-eating birds. To do this, stretch a piece of net
over the top of the cage and tie it to the top rope.

(484) When you feed the fish do not remove the

cover; however, you may have to open part of the
cover from time to time to take out any dead fish.

FEEDING FISH IN CAGES

(485) In a cage, there is usually very little natural (487) Feeding your fish well becomes very
food available to the fish, especially if you put the important when raising fish in cages.
cage in a stream, lake or reservoir.
(488) Use rich food, for example cottonseed or
(486) Movement of water may also carry the food groundnut cake and wheat or rice bran, mixed with
you give to the fish out of the cage before the fish fresh slaughterhouse wastes such as blood and
can eat it all. rumen contents.

(489) Mix dry food with some water to make it

stick together in the form of a moist mash.

(490) It is not easy to know exactly how much to

feed your fish. You must watch them carefully to
learn how much food they need.

(491) Put the food for your fish near the centre of
the cage so that they can eat it before it floats
away through the holes in the sides.

(492) Put in the food little by little so that you can (494) If you see that the fish eat all of their food
watch the fish and see that they are eating. quickly, give them a little more.

(493) If you see that the fish do not eat all of their (495) Remember that if you give your fish too much
food, give them a little less. food it will collect on the bottom and make the water
around the cage bad.

(496) So, check under the cage. If you see too

much uneaten food, you will know that you are
feeding the fish too much. When this happens,
move the cage to another place.

(497) Follow the recommendations given earlier

for ponds and pens:

feed your fish at least once a day

feed them at about the same time of the day,
preferably early in the morning or late in the
afternoon.

TAKING CARE OF YOUR FISH IN A CAGE

(498) You must always watch the fish to see that (500) If his happens, stop feeding your fish for a
they are healthy and swimming strongly. day or two.
(499) If the fish in your cage are not well, they will (501) When you begin to feed them again, at first
stop eating. give them small amounts of food and then slowly
more and more. When your fish begin to eat as
before, you will know that they are well again.

(502) If you find any dead fish floating in your

cage, take them out right away.

(503) Then, stop feeding your fish and watch them

carefully for the next few days.

(504) If no more fish die, you can begin to feed

them after a day or two.

(505) If fish continue to die, take them out as soon

as you can and ask your extension agent or
fishery officer for help.

TAKING CARE OF THE CAGE

(506) A cage can easily be damaged. If this
happens you may lose fish. It is very important to
check the cage every day to be sure that there are
no holes where your fish can get out.

(507) If you find any places where the fish can get (508) In addition, you must be sure that the
out repair them right away. openings in the cage material remain free of dirt and
plants so that fresh water can flow into the cage.

(509) You can clean the material of a cage using a (510) Also, do not forget to check for uneaten food
brush or a broom. However, do it very gently so thaton the bottom under the cage from time to time.
you do not damage the cage material.

(511) If you have put your cage on posts in the (512) If you have a floating cage, make sure that
water, make sure that the posts are firmly in placethe floats are tied firmly to the cage and that the
so that the cage cannot float away. cage is firmly tied in place so that it cannot float
away.
HARVESTING FISH IN CAGES
(513) If you have used baby fish 8 to 10
centimetres long or weighing about 15 to 20
grams and have fed them well, they will be ready
for harvesting in about five months. At this time
the fish will weigh 100 to 150 grams each.

(514) If you want to harvest only some of your

fish, use a small handnet and collect what you
want without moving the cage.

(515) If you want to harvest all of your fish and (516) When you have collected most of the fish, you
your cage is small enough, pull it into shallow can lift the cage out of the water and collect the rest.
water and begin to collect the fish using a small
hand-net.

(517) If your cage is too big to lift out of the

water, pull it into shallow water as far as you can
and collect the remaining fish.

Note: If you do not need all of your fish, harvest

only what you need and leave the rest in the
cage. Fish can be left in a cage as long as you
continue to feed them.
STARTING AGAIN
(518) After you have harvested your fish, clean
and repair your cage as quickly as you can so
that you can begin again.

(519) You can hold the baby fish that you have
caught in a small pen or in another cage for
small fish until you have finished the cleaning
and repairing.

(520) When you are ready to begin again, put in

150 to 200 baby fish 8 to 10 centimetres long for
each cubic metre of cage. However, be sure to
choose the biggest and best baby fish to put
back in your cage.

Summary

YOU HAVE LEARNED HOW TO PRODUCE FISH IN CAGES

To locate your fish cages best, look for

good water in a stream, river, lake, reservoir or pond
deeper water: there should be at least 50 cm water below the cage
gentle flow
protection from strong winds

To begin, prefer small cages such as 1 x 1 x 1.2 m

Build simple cages with locally available materials:

make post cages with 4 wooden posts and fencing material
make simple cages hanging from a floating frame
make better floating cages suspended from floats
use woven material or netting with 1.5 cm openings
anchor your floating cages securely

Stock your cages with 8 to 10 cm fish, 15 to 20 g each

To produce tilapias, stock each cage with 150 to 200 fish per cubic metre

Feed your fish well:

feed at least once a day, at the same time

 provide rich food in the form of a moist mash
check for uneaten food under the cages and adjust food ration accordingly

Maintain your cages in perfect condition:

keep the openings clear to maintain good water flow
watch for holes and repair promptly

Harvest your fish after 6 to 7 months:

use a hand-net to take out part of the fish

bring the floating cage to shallow water to harvest them all