The Secret to Choosing the Best Milkfish Seeds for Cuan!

Faktor penentu keberhasilan budidaya ikan bandeng adalah dengan bibit ikan bandeng yang tepat. Bibit ikan bandeng yang berkualitas berasal dari indukan yang berkualitas juga. Dengan memilih bibit ikan bandeng yang berkualitas, Bapak/Ibu dapat meraup keuntungan maksimal dari hasil panen.

This article will discuss the secrets of choosing the best milkfish seeds so that you get the maximum profit. Come on, see below!

Milkfish Seed Business Potential 

Freshwater milkfish cultivation is a type of cultivation that has high economic value, relatively low capital, and easy-to-use technology. Indonesia has quite a large potential for milkfish production, where 1.5 billion larvae are produced each year and 6 million ha of potential land is available for milkfish cultivation. Indonesia produces 784,941.13 tons of milkfish with a value of IDR 15.56 trillion in 2021.

The potential for the milkfish business is even more tempting to run, because the consumption of milkfish is very large. According to FAO data (2020), in the 2015-2018 period the contribution of aquaculture to the world's total milkfish production reached 98,76%. According to this data, Indonesia is the world's first largest producer of milkfish.

The large number of milkfish cultivators in several regions is an indicator that milkfish is one of the leading commodities. The business potential of milkfish seeds in Indonesia is very good, because so far natural seed production has not been able to meet the growing needs of milkfish cultivation. The role of the milkfish hatchery business in overcoming the problem of shortage of seeds is very important.

How to Choose Quality Milkfish Seeds

Milkfish seeds are one of the determinants of the success of milkfish cultivation. Therefore, you are advised to choose quality seeds. The following is how to choose milkfish seeds for freshwater milkfish cultivation:

1. Uniform Size with Uniformity Level > 95%

Uniform seed size will be more effective and avoid competition for feed. If there is a struggle for food for seedlings that are not uniform in size, then the big fish will get bigger and the small fish cannot get bigger.

2. Fish seeds are not physically disabled and injured

Healthy seeds are an important factor in milkfish cultivation. To find out the physical condition and whether there is a disability, you can directly see it physically. If the shape is unnatural, the milkfish seeds may be deformed or diseased.

3. Free from Disease

Examine the health of the milkfish fingerlings carefully from a health perspective so that viruses, fungi, parasites, and bacteria can be detected in the fish's body. Disease in fish is very dangerous because it can spread to other fish so that it can cause mass death.

4. The movement is agile and agile

Healthy milkfish seeds have agile and agile movements. An easy way to see healthy fish is to look at where they swim, healthy fish swim against the current. Conversely, if the fish is unhealthy or weak it will be in the water disposal section or stay at the bottom of the tub.

5. Transparent body color and full stomach contents

The characteristics of healthy milkfish seeds are transparent body color and full stomach contents. Full stomach contents indicate that the seedlings are responsive to the feed given.

Tips for Success in the Milkfish Seed Business

The milkfish seed business is a very promising opportunity. This is because there are still many business actors in milkfish cultivation who are constrained by nurseries. This fish seed business has the key to success.

You must pay attention to the factors that can affect the spawning and growth of milkfish fingerlings. The following are the factors that influence the success of the milkfish seed business:

1. Selection of Milkfish Broodstock

The broodstock of milkfish is one of the factors for the success of the milkfish seed business. Quality milkfish seeds come from quality breeders.

Milkfish broodstock can only spawn after reaching the age of 5 years with a length of 0.5-1.5 m and a body weight of > 5 kg. The number of eggs released by milkfish mothers ranges from 0.5-1 million eggs.

2. Milkfish Spawning

The process of spawning milkfish needs to be given assistance because it is difficult for milkfish to spawn naturally. The technique that can be used is hormonal engineering technology.

The hormone used is LHRH (Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone). This hormone is usually given in the form of hormone pellets by injection.

How to inject hormones into milkfish:

• Place the milkfish on the foam pad.
• Clean the mucus that coats the right side of the mother's back.
• Remove one of the scales with a small knife, then insert the knife to make a hole.
• Insert the hormone pellet into the hole with the help of an implanter.
• Return the broodstock to the rearing tank.

3. Hatching Eggs

Spawning occurs at night and requires at least 300 tonnes of water with a salinity of 30 per mile. The spawning tub is aerated, then fertilization of the eggs occurs to produce a zygote.

The eggs will float in the spawning tub water, so they must be transferred using an 850 micron filter to the egg incubation tub. Here are the egg incubation steps:

• The eggs were incubated for 6 hours in an incubation tank with a salinity of 30 permil.
• When finished, increase the salinity to 40 permil with the aim of making scraping easier.

After incubation, the eggs will hatch. Hatching milkfish eggs must be rinsed with fresh water. The eggs will hatch within 24-26 hours and then undergo a developmental process by gradually becoming larvae. Furthermore, ready to be maintained or sold.