How Much Can Start A Fish Farm With 1000 Juveniles

INTRODUCTION

I’ve received several emails, comments, calls, and direct messages from beginners/potential farmers requesting a full breakdown of how much they truly need to kickstart a fish farm (catfish, to be precise) with 1,000 juveniles from scratch. This question is a very comprehensive one that requires diligent research into both setup costs and consumables.

YOU CAN ALSO READ: How To Choose The Best Pond That Suits You!

Let me reiterate that fish farming is a very capital-intensive business that requires sufficient setup funds, running or operational funds, and emergency funding. This is because what you’re about to invest in are living animals that will breathe, eat, grow, fall sick, produce waste, and die if not well managed. A livestock enterprise demands precision, careful planning, effective management, patience, and consistency to grow and become the empire you desire. If you lack any of those key traits I’ve mentioned here, I would highly recommend that you scroll up and ignore reading further. This is because you will definitely lose your capital and eventually blame the industry or even your village people.

To succeed in fish farming, you must provide an honest answer to the question above. To do so, you must begin by identifying the key areas that will absorb most of your capital. Identifying these will give you clear insight into what your journey truly entails and how to prepare for it. It will also provide clear data on how much capital you need to raise for startup, running costs, and emergency funding.

KEY AREAS THAT ABSORB MOST OF YOUR CAPITAL

The key areas that absorb most of your startup capital in fish farming include the following:

Land
Water and its storage facilities
Pond
Seeds
Feeds
Power/Electricity
Labor
Logistics
Other Consumables and Farm Tools
Emergency/Crisis Funding

LAND:

This is very crucial to your new business as it directly affects whether or not the business will hold. To start your farm, you must choose a good location with either a rented or owned piece of land that is well-gated, secured, has good access to the road, is in proximity to your targeted customers, has access to a reliable water source, and is also very accessible to logistics services.

You do not need to procure land if you’re just starting your farm. It’s advised that you begin with a rented facility or space and allow your business to grow to the level where procuring land becomes feasible. This approach enables you to monitor the business, its growth, the realities surrounding the new venture and your chosen location, and forecast its lucrative nature for you as an entrepreneur before investing more into its infrastructural demands. You can even start from your backyard, but always ensure that other critical areas are considered, such as access to a quality water source, security, and proximity to power and your target market.

WATER:

Another important area that requires heavy funding is providing unlimited access to quality water sources. You heard me right: “unlimited access to quality water.” This is non-negotiable for your new business as it is truly the heart of your business’s survival. Having access to poor water quality or an unsustainable source can ruin your finances, as your livestock (fish) cannot live or thrive in such conditions. So, to thrive, you must secure your investment by ensuring that your chosen location has unlimited access to quality water sources.

For beginners with very limited funding, you are required to make this a priority by ensuring that the land or space you are going to rent for your fish farm must have a deep well or borehole with the recommended water quality parameters before making any payment. Not defining this beforehand will expose you to heavy spending on water balancing reagents and feed treatment kits.

PONDS:

Your fish need a water-holding vessel to thrive, and these are called ponds. The pond serves as a universe that holds the fish’s habitat (water), without which the business will most likely fail. While choosing your pond type, it’s very important to note that quality, cost, available space, and individual goals must be prioritized.

Your primary vision/goal for your business must align with the type of pond you choose. Do you want to start small with limited resources? Then consider going for plastic tanks and tarpaulin ponds. For farmers who have access to enough money and are ready to hit the ground running, you can procure your own land and build earthen or concrete ponds. For farmers who don’t have enough money for pond construction, you can search for livestock farms that have empty ponds for rent, lease them, and start from there.

SEEDS:

This is very critical to your success. Ignoring this is simply inviting losses and pain to your investment. The quality of your catfish seeds (fingerlings, post-fingerlings, juveniles, and post-juveniles) directly determines the results of your farm produce. When starting your new fish farming venture, avoid trying to cut down the startup cost by looking for cheap and unreliable seeds from untrusted hatcheries; you’re directly tearing down the house you’ve built.

Make sure you start your farm with quality, disease-free, active, and immune juveniles from a reliable source. Don’t be tempted to buy from that cheap option you don’t know much about their stock or their track record. Buy quality, and see how your little efforts will translate into a very great harvest. Stock with the best quality while applying your cost-cutting measures.

FEEDS:

This was actually supposed to be the first on the list, but here we are. Feed actually consumes roughly 60-80% of your operational budget, making it the most cost-intensive part of your business. You need to make ample provisions for this, as poor planning here can ruin your profits.

While planning to set up your fish farm, it’s highly recommended that you procure this consumable in bulk—at least 50-75% of the total needed feed—at once. Doing this will save you from unplanned hikes in feed prices, prevent emergencies of running out of feed, and also give you a significant advantage in forecasting your selling price and fast-tracking your production cost.

POWER/ELECTRICITY:

This is another important part of your business, as it cannot thrive or even operate without it. To access clean, healthy, and habitable water for your fish, you must have sustainable access to enough power at all times. To achieve this, you can rely on generators (not recommended but sustainable), solar power (very sustainable but expensive), and grid electricity (recommended but not sustainable in most parts of Nigeria).

LABOR:

You will most likely need extra hands to run your farm, and that comes with an additional cost. From fish sorting, pond washing, farm cleaning, fish weighing, and sales management to farm security, all these tasks cannot be handled by one person. Therefore, it’s necessary that you hire additional hands as farm staff, farm attendants, marketers, or as farm security.

LOGISTICS:

From moving procured ponds to the site, to transporting farm produce to their final destination, all require a logistics/transportation medium to achieve. To ensure seamless running of your new business, a budget must be made for all logistics and transportation services, whether for the livestock, yourself, or the farm staff. Doing this will help streamline your operations and promote speed in your day-to-day business activities.

OTHER CONSUMABLES AND FARM TOOLS:

This might seem minor, but it holds a critical place in your day-to-day business activities. You must budget for farm tools like pumping machines, scooping nets, nets for covering your ponds, sorting tables/nets, weighing scales, basins for fish measurements, aerators, water testing kits, and other consumables like fish drugs, water pH balancing agents, and fish supplements.

EMERGENCY/CRISIS FUNDING:

A lot of existing or practicing farmers are very guilty of this one. Most beginners or even practicing farmers always concentrate on the startup capital while ignoring the need for keeping emergency funds. This is not only dangerous but shows how unprepared you are as an entrepreneur. For your business to thrive, you must make funds available at all times. Mapping out a certain amount of funds for emergencies will not only save you from unplanned downfall but will give you the confidence to navigate through trying times. This shouldn’t be a choice; rather, it’s a MUST-HAVE for all livestock farmers who truly want to succeed in their aquaculture journey.

YOU CAN ALSO READ: The Basics of Snail Farming in Nigeria

THE COST BREAKDOWN

Please note that this cost research and breakdown was done using a rented land, tarpaulin ponds, a generator as a source of power, a single staff who also doubled as security, and a targeted harvest weight of 1kg (average).

LAND RENT: The land rent in a suburban town costs N100,000 per annum.

POND CONSTRUCTION: To raise your 1,000 juveniles to an average weight of 1kg, you will need a total water volume of 10,000 liters, with a buffer space of 30 percent, making it 13,000 liters of water. For effective space, growth, and sorting, it’s highly recommended that you start your fish farm with an average of 3 ponds. This is because fish do not grow equally and also need space for maximum growth.

In this research, three tarpaulin ponds were used with the following measurements: 2 units of 10ft by 10ft by 4ft deep, each costing N160,000-N165,000, and 1 unit of 10ft by 5ft by 4ft deep pond, costing N125,000-N130,000.

Total cost for pond construction: N445,000

WATER: In this research, a land with access to a quality water source was rented, and therefore no extra cost was incurred for providing adequate water.

So, the total cost of water provision was N0.

4. SEEDS: In this research, standard Juveniles were procured at the cost of N80 per one, with an extra 2 percent added to cover mortality.

Therefore: Total amount paid = N80,000, and Total seeds received = 1,020 pieces.

5. FEEDS: For this research, we used Coppens 2mm, Skretting 3mm, Bluecrown 4mm, 6mm, and 9mm, respectively, with the breakdown below:

3 bags of Coppens 2mm at N75,000 each × 3 = N225,000
10 bags of Skretting 3mm at N31,000 each × 10 = N310,000
25 bags of Bluecrown 4mm at N27,700 each × 25 = N692,500
15 bags of Bluecrown 6mm at N26,200 each × 15 = N393,000
18 bags of Bluecrown 9mm at N24,900 each × 18 = N448,200
(A Total of 71 bags was used)
TOTAL COST OF FEED = N1,715,000

6. POWER/WATER CHANGING COST: In this research, the farm relied on a petrol/gasoline generator for operations.

Generator procurement: N400,000
Amount of fuel required per pond:
For 10ft by 10ft pond = 2.1L
For 10ft by 5ft pond = 1.1L
Cost per Liter = N920

Fueling Calculation: For effective fuel cost calculation, we further divide the running procedures into the following:

1ST ONE MONTH OF OPERATIONS: During this period, we only used two ponds (one 10ft by 10ft by 4ft deep pond and one 10ft by 5ft pond) for seed nursing, and we changed the water every 2 days.
Therefore: 30 days ÷ 2 days = 15 times a month.
At 15 times a month with an average of 3.2L of fuel per change of water;
Total fuel = 15 times × 3.2L = 48L of fuel for the month.
At N920 per liter, a total of N44,160 (48L × N920) was used on fueling for the first month.

2ND, 3RD, 4TH, AND 5TH MONTH: Here, we activated all three ponds, and our water changing routine changed to every 3 days.
Therefore: 30 days ÷ 3 days = 10 times a month.
To calculate for the 4 months: 10 times × 4 = 40 times for the 4 months.
At 40 times with an average of 5.3L of fuel per change of water;
A Total of 40 times × 5.3L = 212L of fuel for the 4 months.
212L × N920 = N195,040.

Note that: Oil changing cost N3,500 monthly, and two servicings cost N10,000 (N5,000 each).

TOTAL COST OF WATER CHANGING (Fuel & Maintenance): N44,160 + N195,040 + N17,500 (5 months oil change) + N10,000 (servicing) = N266,700

7. LABOR: A single staff member was hired with a salary of N40,000 a month. He worked for 5 months, making his gross pay N200,000.

8. LOGISTICS: Ranging from pond transportation, seed transportation, feed transportation, and logistics for staff and tools, everything cost N126,750.

9. OTHER CONSUMABLES AND FARM TOOLS: This might seem minor, but it holds a critical place in your day-to-day business activities. You must budget for farm tools like pumping machines, scooping nets, nets for covering your ponds, sorting tables/nets, weighing scales, basins for fish measurements, aerators, water testing kits, and other consumables like fish drugs, water pH balancing agents, and fish supplements.

A total of N13,400 was spent on drugs.
N10,000 was spent on water pH balancing reagents.
N5,000 on a water pH tester.
N28,000 on big basins (N7,000 each).
N7,000 on scooping nets.
N16,000 on pond covering nets.
N50,000 on a big weighing scale.
N15,000 on pumping machine servicing.

TOTAL COST OF OTHER CONSUMABLES = N144,400

TOTAL SET-UP COST = N3,077,850

10. EMERGENCY FUNDING: (The emergency funds should be 10 percent of your total budget): At 10 percent = N3,077,850 ÷ 100 × 10 = N307,785.

THEREFORE, THE TOTAL COST REQUIRED TO KICK-START A FISH FARM WITH 1,000 JUVENILES TO AN AVERAGE WEIGHT OF 1KG IS = N3,385,635.

BEYOND THE NAIRA

While you are interested in getting the exact amount needed to start your farm, it’s very crucial to note that most of the infrastructural investments shouldn’t be expected to be recovered in the first batch of your production, but rather through a capital recovery window over time.
Ensure you arm yourself with the much-needed knowledge about fish biology, water chemistry, disease management, and market dynamics. This is literally priceless and a must-have before investing any kobo into the business.
Fish farming is NOT a “set it and forget it” business. It demands consistent attention, monitoring, and quick action, and therefore requires patience and time for it to grow and become a sustainable venture.
Don’t just farm catfish; understand your target customers, their peak periods, and their desired sizes through market research before even stocking your ponds. Know who you will sell your fish to and at what price, as that will give you clear data on what the business looks like and whether it’s a profitable venture for you.

YOU CAN ALSO READ: Causes Of Lesions Among Catfish And Its Treatment.

IN CONCLUSION

Starting small with 1,000 juveniles is a very smart, manageable way to learn the core principle of catfish farming and gain enough experience in it operations, management and marketing. While the needed amount might be important, remember that with good management, proper feeding, and consistent care, your fish will convert that feed into solid profit. Budget wisely, learn continuously, and you’ll see yourself building a successful and rewarding fish farming venture!