Fisheries Resources Development Desk (MoA)

Fish Pond Management

Ayele Birhanu - Fisheries and Aquaculture Specialist (MSc, BSc)
Mar, 2024
A/Ababa
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Outline

➢ Introduction
➢ Fish Pond Maintenance
➢ Pond Liming & Fertilizing
➢ Water Quality Monitoring
➢Predators Controlling
➢Fish Health and Diseases

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Introduction

❖ Pond culture is the most popular method of growing fish, because fish
are able to utilize natural foods.

❖ In fish culture there are ponds different in size & depth for different
purposes (spawning, brood-stock, fry rearing and grow-out).

❖ Management of fish ponds are from extensive systems, using only organic
or inorganic fertilizers to intensive systems, using high-protein feed,
aeration and continuous water exchange.

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……Introduction

❑ The pond area should be cleared & cleaned

• Trees➔ shaded the pond to limit photosynthesis(algae)
• Predator birds (king fisher, eagle, etc..)
• Frogs & other organisms reproduce in the pond attached
to the grasses around the dike.
• The pond bottom should be flat to make fish harvest easier.
• Mud deposit should be removed as it contributes to
decreases pond depth, limits photosynthesis & stressed fish
by turbidity which affect their gills & feeding habit.
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Maintaining Old Ponds

• Old pond should drained & dry after fish harvested and avoid
remaining fish & other small organisms including fish parasites.

• For the next season remove all unnecessary:

o aquatic vegetation, stones, branches, etc.. &
o if the pond is with deep siltation/mud completely
dry, dig & remove deposited & maintain the bottom,
inlet, outlet & walls.

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Maintaining Old Ponds, dry, dig the bottom &
remove siltation

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Liming

• After maintaining the old ponds and/or construct new ponds,

liming the pond is very crucial; b/c

• to increase the availability of nutrients,

• to increase pH and to buffer against daily pH fluctuations.
• to fertilize ponds before stocking.
• to disinfect the pond for next using.

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……Liming
• Liming the pond bottom & wall 2weeks before filling with
water

• Liming the pond is depends on the soil pH level :

o Ground limestone 114kg/ha

o Agricultural lime 227kg/ha

o Hydrated lime 114kg/ha (immediate rise pH)

o Quick lime 200 - 300kg/ha

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Fish Pond Fertilization

▪ To enhance primary productivity of the pond (algae

production) using organic fertilizer is preferable
• because of its easily available, nutrient contents & cost
wise(cheaper).
• poultry manure, cattle manure, compost.

▪ Chemical fertilizer, is cost to use.

▪ The manure is hanged using sac in to the pond water in one
corner and let the nutrients to defuse to the pond.

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Manure

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Stocking grow-out Pond

• Stocking of the fish is depends on species, fish size, culture type

& pond fertility.

• Tilapia is stocked in to a grow-out pond starting from size of

2cm TL at a density of 3-5fish/m2.

• Principally male tilapia are taken from hatcheries & transferred to

the grow-out ponds for production, where hatcheries is available.

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Water Quality Monitoring /Parameters

• In fish culture, water quality is the most critical issue which

could lead the farm to close.
– temperature, oxygen, PH & transparency/turbidity are the
basic issue for fish production.
• The water quality should be controlled regularly at daily base,
weekly & monthly base.

• The controlling methods depending

–Visual and using equipment,

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Feeding Fish & Water exchange

• Some fish require supplemental feeding.

• Always feed the fish at the same time & in the same part of
the pond.
• The fish will learn where to go to get food,
• Most pond owners feed fish at the rate of 2 to 5% of body
weight per day.
• Feed fish only 6 days each week
• Do not feed fish for at least one day before harvesting or
breeding artificially.
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Water Transparency
• Water transparency some time considered as water fertility
indicator, if algae.
• The transparency of pond water varies zero (in the case of very
turbid water) to very clear depends on the turbidity level the
amount of suspended matter (algae, stirred bottom, soil
particles, flood etc..) in the water.
• Measuring water transparency using secchi disk, Turbidimeter or
by hand to check algal density
• If the water is green secchi disk depth is less than 25cm, refresh
the water.
• The optimum algal density for herbivore species (Nile tilapia)
secchi disk depth should be 25– 30cm.
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Water Transparency Measures

Sechii disk

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Fish Ponds Covered by Algae & Effects
(Unmanaged ponds)

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…. (Unmanaged ponds)

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Well Managed Fish Ponds

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Temperature

➢ Water temperature has a significant contribution for the

survive, growth, reproduction, metabolism action & health of all
aquatic organisms (fish, algae, zooplanktons & etc..)

➢ In addition to these, it plays a great role to produce amount

of oxygen in the water body.

• Optimum for most of fish species is 20-30Co, specially for

tilapia 25-30Co is optimum.
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Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

➢ All aquatic organisms use O2 gas that constantly entering

water from two main sources, direct atmosphere &
photosynthesis.

➢ (DO) is the most critical water quality variable in a pond for

the survive of all aquatic life.

➢ Oxygen from the atmosphere continuously enters the surface

of a water body through a process known as diffusion.

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……Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

➢ Oxygen concentrations in the water will be increased from atmosphere

by wind, aerators (e.g. Paddle wheel) & photosynthesis (algae).
➢ For most species DO (5-8 mg/L) is optimum.
➢ Nile tilapia is required >4mg/L DO for fast growing.

➢ The exceeding of Oxygen or deficit, causes stress or kill of aquatic

organisms specially fish.

➢ Oxygen saturation is the potential that a water body has for holding
oxygen (%).
➢ Symptoms of DO depletion → fish gasping O2 on the surface of pond
water.
• Measuring by calibrated electronic Oxygen meter.
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PH`ws

➢ PH is a measures of ionized hydrogen (H+) in the water.

✓ Means, the relative acidity & alkalinity of the water &
measures.

➢ Its sudden changes will result in the fish suffering stress/ill

health & an early death.
Recommended for fish PH 6.0 – 9.0/6.5 – 8.5
• Measures using calibrated electronic PH-meter/ or litmus
paper.

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Electronic Equipment's for measuring water quality

1-Temperature

3- Conductivity meters
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PH Measuring Equipment's

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Ammonia

➢ What is Ammonia ?

➢ Ammonia (NH3+) is a colorless gas with a strong pungent

odor.
➢ Ammonia (NH3) may be taken up by plants or oxidized by
bacteria into nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3-).

• Ammonia will react with water to form a weak base.

• The term ammonia refers to two chemical species in water
(NH3, un-ionized & NH4+, ionized).
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.......Ammonia
➢ The toxicity to ammonia is primarily attributable to the un-
ionized form (NH3).
• In general, more NH3 & greater toxicity exists at higher ph.
• When dissolved in water, normal ammonia (NH3) reacts to form
an ionized ammonium (NH4+)
➢ Ammonia exists in two forms in the water:
• NH3 ( this is called unionized ammonia )
NH4+ ( this is called ionized ammonia )
➢ Sources of Ammonia:- Excess fertilizer, fish waste, fish feed,
livestock waste (from barnyards, feedlots, pastures, & rangeland),
dead insects or other animals, or decayed plant material.
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.......Ammonia

➢ Massive mortality of tilapia occurs within a few days when

fish are suddenly transferred to water with unionized ammonia
concentrations greater than 2 mg/L.
• Prolonged exposure (several weeks) to un-ionized ammonia
concentration greater than 1 mg/L causes losses, especially
among fry and juveniles in water with low DO concentration.
• The first mortalities from prolonged exposure may begin at
concentrations as low as 0.2 mg/L.
• Un-ionized ammonia begins to depress food consumption at
concentrations as low as 0.08 mg/L.

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......Ammonia

➢ Nitrite (NO2)

➢ Nitrite is toxic to many fish; because it makes the hemoglobin less capable
of transporting oxygen; chloride ions reduce the toxicity.

➢ Tilapias are more tolerant of nitrite than many cultured freshwater fish.
• In general, for freshwater culture the nitrite concentration should be kept
below 27 mg/L as nitrite.

• As a safeguard against nitrite toxicity in recirculating systems, chloride

concentrations are often maintained at 100 to 150 mg/L chloride

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Predator Controlling

• Predators in aquaculture is the discouraging; which could make

the fish farmers to be hopeless.

• It could damage a lot of fish production (25-80%).

• It’s possible to control; Such as Crocodile, Alligator, Birds, Otter

& Frog etc.. “theft”.

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Health and Diseases

• Fish are vulnerable to disease when environmental conditions ( water &

food availability) are poor & once a disease has entered the fish pond it
will be very difficult to eradicate it.

• In aquaculture prevention is cheaper than treatment & it avoids losses due

to poor growth & death.

• Good nutrition and proper water quality (with plenty of dissolved oxygen)
are the most important factors for good fish health needed to cope with
disease.

• Tilapia are more resistant to viral, bacterial & parasitic diseases than other
commonly cultured fish, especially at optimum temperatures for growth.

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SEE YOU AGAIN

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