Barramundi Fish Farm: Startup Business Plan for Beginners

Commercial farming of barramundi fish is not a new business idea. In fact, barramundi fish or sea bass is very common and popular all over the world.

Moreover, the commercial farming of this fish is gaining popularity faster, mainly due to its high popularity and price in the market.

Barramundi fish is a very fast growing species of fish and commercial farming of this fish can be very profitable.

This fish is very hardy, tolerates crowds well and has a wide physiological tolerance.

Commercial barramundi fish farming has many advantages. The high fecundity of barramundi females provides plenty of material for hatchery fry production.

And seed production in a hatchery is relatively easy. The fish feed well on pellets and the fry are very easy to wean from the pellet.

They grow rapidly and reach a productive size (from 350 grams to 3 kg) in just six months to two years.

Currently, barramundi fish are farmed throughout most of their range, with most production being in Southeast Asia (usually in small coastal cage farms).

Barramundi fish inhabit fresh, brackish, and marine habitats, including streams, lakes, billabongs, estuaries, and coastal waters. They are opportunistic predators; The adult diet is dominated by crustaceans and fish.

However, barramundi fish are very suitable for industrial production. And commercial farming of barramundi fish is very profitable if you do it perfectly.

How to Start Raising Barramundi Fish

Getting started with barramundi fish is relatively simple and straightforward. You can easily start this business even if you are a beginner. Here we try to outline more information about how to start a barramundi fish farming business.

Site selection

You don’t have to be picky when choosing a location to start a barramundi fish farming business. In fact, you can choose any site to start this business.

You can even start this business in your garden or on your roof. By the way, it will be better if there is no noise and pollution in the selected area.

Construction and size of the pond

Once you have chosen a good location, you need to build a pond to start raising barramundi fish. The pond can be of any type and size.

It can be a plastic tank, a concrete tank or an earthen tank. But earthen ponds are considered good for commercial farming of barramundi fish.

The size of the pond can be any, depending on the plot of land you have. You can even start growing barramundi fish in small aquariums. But for commercial barramundi fish farming, you must select or construct a pond of at least one acre of land.

Basin preparation

Prepare ponds carefully before burying fish in them. Prepare the pond by adding lime and organic and inorganic fertilizers. Although it is not necessary, because barramundi fish feed on external food.

Seed collection

In parts of Asia, barramundi fingerlings are still harvested from the wild. But most of the seed comes from the hatchery.

Today, hatchery production technology is well established throughout the growing area of ​​this fish species, and fingerlings are available in almost all regions. You can contact any hatcheries in your area to collect seeds.

Raising the young

Barramundi broodstock are usually kept in floating cages or in concrete or fiberglass tanks. They can be kept in freshwater and saltwater, but should be placed in saltwater before the start of the breeding season to ensure final gonad maturation.

Derived stock is usually fed junk food or commercially available bait. To improve the nutritional composition of the broodstock diet and prevent vitamin deficiency diseases, a vitamin supplement may be added or mixed with the bait prior to feeding.

Juveniles are usually reared at the 30-45 day rearing stage, when they reach a height of around 5-10 cm, and then placed in the main rearing tanks.

Stocking in the main pond

Juveniles prepare to land in the main pond when they reach 5–10 cm in body length. Barramundi fish can thrive when overcrowded. Although a stocking of around 20,000 fish per acre is recommended for best fish growth.

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Barramundi fish can be fed both trash fish and pellet food. But they are usually fed junk food, which is cheaper and more readily available than pelleted food.

They are usually fed trash fish twice a day at 8-10% of their body weight for fish weighing up to 100 grams. And the feeding rate is reduced to about 3-5% of body weight for fish over 600 grams.

You can add vitamin premix to junk food at 2%. You can also add rice bran or cracked rice to increase feed volume at minimal cost. Feed conversion ratios for barramundi fish fed trash fish are high, typically between 4:1 and 8:1.

When fed pellets, barramundi fish are usually fed twice a day during the warmer months and once a day during the winter. Hand feeding is the most common way to feed barramundi fish (but larger farms may use automatic feeding systems).

Harvest

Catching barramundi fish raised in cages is relatively simple: the fish are concentrated in parts of the cage and removed using a net. But growing fish in ponds is more difficult. And in this case, you will have to seal the pond with a seine net or you will have to collect the drainage.

Marketing

In some areas, barramundi fish is sold fresh in the market. In addition, immediately after harvesting, the fish must be sent to the market. But in some areas, the fish after being caught are placed in an ice slurry.

Fresh barramundi fish is usually transported wrapped in plastic bags inside polystyrene containers with ice. In addition, the fish is usually transported alive in tanks on trucks.

Barramundi fish is very popular as a food fish. It is very important from an economic point of view, enjoys great popularity and value all over the world. So you can take advantage of this great opportunity by commercial barramundi fish farming. It is very profitable and the return on investment (ROI) is very high. Good luck!

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