Complete: 7 Ways to Cultivate Tilapia in a Tarpaulin Pool

Budidaya ikan nila bisa menjadi pilihan Sahabat Pembudidaya untuk ternak ikan selain budidaya ikan lele yang masih banyak peminatnya. Usaha budidaya ikan nila cenderung lebih mudah dilakukan karena Bapak/Ibu bisa melakukan budidaya ikan nila di kolam terpal.

Ikan nila merupakan salah satu jenis ikan air tawar yang banyak disukai masyarakat karena dagingnya yang lembut dan kaya akan nutrisi baik. Selain banyak peminatnya, ikan nila gampang beradaptasi pada kondisi lingkungan apa saja sehingga mudah sekali untuk dikembangbiakkan.

This article will thoroughly discuss the business opportunities for cultivating tilapia in tarpaulin ponds, the advantages, and how to cultivate tilapia in tarpaulin ponds for beginners and other Cultivator Friends.

Tilapia Cultivation Business Opportunities in Tarpaulin Ponds

It can be said that the cultivation of tilapia in this tarpaulin pond is quite promising, seeing that not many fish cultivators have looked at this tarpaulin pond.

In fact, what you need to know is that the capital to develop a tilapia fish farming business in tarpaulin ponds is quite cheap, namely a minimum of IDR 2 million. 

Even though the business capital is low, the profit from tilapia cultivation has the potential to be high because the selling price in the market is quite high, exceeding the price of catfish.

Comparison of the amount of capital required and the potential profit that will be obtained is also easy to estimate because selling price of tilapia quite stable for quite a long time. 

Some of the sources of demand for tilapia include requests from housewives, collectors, vegetable vendors, restaurants, and fish food processors.

Advantages of Tilapia Cultivation in Tarpaulin Ponds

Compared to other types of freshwater fish such as catfish, tilapia, or goldfish, it seems that tilapia farming has many advantages in terms of breeding, capital, and profits.

1. Starting with Small Capital

As previously mentioned, the capital required for tilapia farming is quite low, even with only Rp. 2 million, you can start this business. The capital in question includes raising tilapia in tarpaulin ponds, buying tilapia seeds, and caring for tilapia which can finally be harvested within a minimum of three months.

2. Promising Demand and Target Market

It can be said that tilapia cultivators have the potential to generate millions of rupiah in profits because consumption of tilapia tends to be high in line with the high demand for tilapia. 

Demand for tilapia can come from household consumption, restaurants or places to eat to the manufacture of fish-based processed foods.

3. It's easy to find the best tilapia seeds

Starting from good standard tilapia seeds to the best tilapia seeds, you can easily get them anywhere with various prices for tilapia seeds. What needs to be underlined is that the better the tilapia seeds, the more expensive the tilapia seeds will be.

Nevertheless, the price of the expensive seeds is commensurate with the quality of the fish, such as the small potential for death and the thicker, tastier flesh and heavier weight.

4. Tilapia Can Survive Any Type of Environment

Tilapia has physical resistance that is strong enough so that it is resistant to any type of fish disease and can be raised through any media, for example, tilapia livestock in tarpaulin ponds.

5. Selling Price of Tilapia Fish

In contrast to catfish, the selling price of tilapia in the market tends to be more stable. Rarely the selling price of tilapia goes down. Even if it goes down, the difference in selling price is not too much different from the previous selling price so that cultivators can predict the profit that will be obtained when harvesting tilapia.

6. The Many Types of Tilapia

The purchase price for tilapia seeds and the selling price for tilapia also depend on the type of tilapia that you breed. The following are the types of tilapia and their advantages, including the following:

• Local tilapia originating from Taiwan and has been bred in Tondano, North Sulawesi. This type of fish is the most common and often found in the market.
• The BEST tilapia (Bogor Enhanced Tilapia Strain) is a type of fish resulting from crossbreeding of 4 fish species. Procurement of feed for BEST tilapia is much cheaper than the others. In addition, seed enlargement also does not require a long time. 
• GIFT red tilapia (Genetic Improvement of Farmed Tilapia) is a type of tilapia resulting from crossing 8 types of fish. GIFT red tilapia is claimed to have a stronger immune system than local tilapia with a longer productive age of 1.5 to 2 years.
• Tilapia Nirvana or the wanayasa tilapia is a type of tilapia resulting from crossbreeding of the GIFT tilapia and the Philippine GET tilapia. Nile tilapia is the favorite tilapia for most fish cultivators because it has a quite expensive selling price and thick excess flesh. The weight of this fish can reach 650 grams per head.
• Nile tilapiaAnother cultivator's favorite tilapia is nile tilapia which has a maximum weight of more than 500 grams and a length of 8 cm in less than 6 months. This fish is suitable for those of you who want to produce male fish seeds.

How to Cultivate Tilapia in a Tarpaulin Pool

If you are interested in starting tilapia farming in tarpaulin ponds, here's how to cultivate tilapia in tarpaulin ponds for beginners or Friends of Farmers who already have fish farming experience.

1. Determine the Location of Tilapia Fish Cultivation

Actually, there are many media that can be used for tilapia farming. Apart from raising tilapia in tarpaulin ponds, you can also do this in earthen ponds, cement ponds or aquariums. 

Regardless of the medium, the first thing to pay attention to is the location where tilapia is cultivated. Here are some things that need to be considered in determining the location of tilapia cultivation:

• Ideally, the location for tilapia cultivation is close to a residence so that it is easier for you to monitor the condition and development of tilapia on a regular basis.
• Keep tilapia cultivation media away from weeds and large trees.
• Make sure the tilapia cultivation location is easy to get good natural lighting.
• Make sure that the tilapia cultivation location is far from waste, trash, or other disturbances from wild animals.

2. Making Tarpaulin Pool Media

If you have decided to cultivate tilapia in a tarpaulin pond, here are ways and tips for making tilapia cultivation media using a tarpaulin pond:

• Make sure the location for cultivation is clean from grass, stones or other debris and the ground is flat.
• Prepare several materials for making tarpaulin ponds such as thick tarpaulin, sand, cement, mild steel or bamboo frames, bricks, and pipes.
• Determine the size of the tarpaulin pool. Ideally measuring 2 x 3 x 1 meter or 4 x 6 x 1 meter.
• Build the pool foundation using sand, cement, and bricks. Also build a pond frame from mild steel or bamboo that has been prepared, then prepare the pipes as a channel for water in and out.
• If the pond foundation has been completed and is dry, then cover the foundation using a tarpaulin.
• Before storing tilapia, it is best to do a tarpaulin resistance test. Fill the water in the tarpaulin pool and look to see if any part of the pool is leaking.
• The last part that needs to be considered is the water temperature for tilapia that is needed, ranging from 25 to 30 degrees Celsius or a pH ranging from 6.5 to 8.

3. How to Choose Tilapia Seeds

As previously mentioned, there are various types of tilapia seeds with their respective advantages. Each type of tilapia seed has different best quality. 

To choose which is the best tilapia seed, you can follow the following methods, including:

• Buy tilapia seeds directly at tilapia brooders, tilapia fish cultivators directly or at fish markets.
• Choose tilapia seeds that are at least 12 cm in size.
• Choose tilapia seeds weighing approximately 30 grams.
• Make sure that the seeds are the same color and size for each seed.
• Pay attention to whether the tilapia seeds are active, agile, not disabled, and free from disease.

4. How to Spread Tilapia Seeds in a Tarpaulin Pool

The things that need to be considered before sowing tilapia in a tarpaulin pond that is ready as a medium for fish farming are the size of the pond and the number of seeds that will be sown later. 

If you plan to raise 1,000 tilapia fish, then you should use a tarpaulin pond with a size of 4 x 6 meters.

Meanwhile, if you only raise approximately 500 tilapia, then you can make a tarpaulin pond measuring 2 x 3 meters. The difference in the size of the pond is intended so that the tilapia have enough space when they grow up.

Meanwhile, Cultivator Friends cannot just scatter tilapia seeds in a tarpaulin pond, here's how:

• The tarpaulin pond which is already filled with water is sprinkled with probiotics first to accelerate the development of micro-organisms. This stage can take 7 to 10 days.
• After spreading the probiotics is complete, do not immediately spread the seeds in the tarpaulin pool. So that the tilapia seeds are not shocked and can adapt, it is better for Farmers' Friends to place tilapia fish in a plastic filled with water and air.
• Then, place the plastic on the tarpaulin pool water for a few minutes, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
• Finally, slowly release the tilapia seeds into the tarpaulin pool.

5. Provisions for Feeding Tilapia

Feeding tilapia fish that are still small or still seeds with large tilapia is of course different. For feeding small tilapia, you should use a type of fish feed that is smoother and smaller in size, such as crushed pellets.

Meanwhile, for tilapia that are large or ready for harvest, you can provide feed in the form of a mixture of pellets and some natural foods such as rice field snails or chopped green vegetables. Following are the provisions for feeding tilapia further:

• Choose artificial feed or pellets that have a protein content of 20 percent to 25 percent.
• The types of pellets to choose from include floating pellets or sinking pellets.
• Give feed for 2 to 3 times a day with an amount according to the number of tilapia in the tarpaulin pond.
• Give feed with a dose of 2 percent to 3 percent of the total weight of the fish.

6. How to Care for Tilapia Fish Correctly

In addition to providing feed and probiotics, there are several things that need to be considered in caring for tilapia, including making tilapia protected from pests and diseases and a water replacement system.

Make periodic observations of fish to avoid pests and diseases by paying attention to the amount of fish slime production, paying attention to scales, fins and gills. Also pay attention to how the fish's body color changes and grows and the fish's appetite.

If you find tilapia infected with certain diseases or pests, immediately separate the tilapia from the others and store it in a special isolation pond. Routinely give medicine to sick tilapia to get healthy soon.

Meanwhile, how to change the water for tilapia ponds include:

• Drain the pool until the water remaining as much as 30 percent of the pool.
• Then, refill the pool until it is full.
• Give the best probiotics or fish supplements to help the development and growth of fish.
• Change the water regularly every 2 to 3 weeks.

7. Entering the Tilapia Harvest Period

The last method of cultivating tilapia in a tarpaulin pond is to harvest the results of tilapia cultivation. Generally, the harvest period lasts for 3 to 6 months until tilapia has an ideal weight of 500 grams. It is possible that the tilapia harvest period can be accelerated by providing nutrients to the feed and special vitamins for tilapia.