Ten Times Bigger: The Unexpected Outcome of Our First Catfish Sorting, What You Need To Know

Hello Hive,

Good day, @homesteading family. It’s really been some days off here, and I must say I’ve missed this space. Trade fair activities have kept me busy, but I welcome you back to my blog today.

Today, I’ll be taking us through how we sorted our catfish juveniles for the first time and the shocking discovery we made in the process.

Our fish are eight weeks old now and almost ready to be sold. Sorting is necessary because buyers usually prefer uniform sizes, and every tank naturally contains three categories:

Standard size (post-fingerlings in our case)

Idle size, which represents early juveniles

The big boys, popularly called shooters

Now, to the shocking part: during sorting, we discovered some fish that were almost ten times bigger than their standard size. Believe it or not, they were also eight weeks old.

So what happened?

Catfish are naturally carnivorous, and cannibalism starts right from the hatchery stage. Some fish, a few in number, prefer to eat their smaller tank mates instead of the feed provided. These aggressive ones are called shooters, and we usually remove them at least once a week.

However, due to our very busy schedule in the days leading up to sorting, we didn’t have the chance to select shooters. The result? A few shooters had grown extremely large from feeding on smaller fish. Only God knows how many they ate ooo. The more shooters you have, the higher the rate of cannibalism, and that’s precisely what happened.

Important Notes on Sorting Catfish

Sorting is stressful for the fish because it disrupts their everyday activities. For this reason, it is best done early in the morning, before the sun rises high, although it can technically be done at any time of day.

After sorting, the fish are separated into three groups in smaller bowls. We increase feeding for the smaller ones, and within a week, they usually grow into early-juvenile size. Depending on your market, you can sell them at this stage; however, our target market typically buys early juveniles.

Before sorting begins, we add a few drops of palm oil to the water. This helps reduce stress for the fish. (In another post, I’ll explain how palm oil helps de-stress catfish.)

Additionally, please refrain from feeding them immediately after sorting. They need time to settle, and feeding stressed catfish is not advisable.

Some fish farmers use sorting or counting tables covered with Formica to make the surface slippery. We see a large, smooth tile, and it works perfectly, too.

In a week or two, our catfish will be moving to new homes in grow-out ponds, where buyers will raise them to table size for consumption.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog.
Cheers.