Tips for Cultivating Sangkuriang Catfish Seeds

The best quality sangkuriang catfish seeds are the forerunner to the success of sangkuriang catfish cultivation. Sangkuriang catfish is a type of catfish with the advantage of being able to produce large quantities of eggs and develop quickly. That is why many cultivators are interested in cultivating sangkuriang catfish.

The origin of the Sangkuriang catfish itself stems from research conducted by the Sukabumi Center for Freshwater Fish Cultivation (BBBAT) which married second-generation female brooders and sixth-generation male sires from African catfish. The results of this marriage produced male African catfish coded F2-6 which then mated with the second generation of female African catfish to produce Sangkuriang catfish.

From the results of this marriage, the sangkuriang catfish has several superior properties, including fast daily weight growth at 3.35% for 3 months of the enlargement process and the activity of moving fish which is often done at night. 

Therefore, let's review the potential and characteristics of quality sangkuriang catfish seeds.

Sangkuriang Catfish Seed Business Opportunities

Even though you rarely hear of the sangkuriang catfish and tend to hear more about African catfish farming, the demand for sangkuriang catfish is quite large in the field. Even today, the existing catfish cannot meet local market demand.

The biggest demand for catfish comes from big cities such as Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi. Demand can exceed 75 tonnes or 2,250 tonnes per month. Sangkuriang catfish seeds themselves experienced an average increase in demand of 21,64%-46% per year.

This huge demand is because the cultivation of sangkuriang catfish seeds is claimed to be quite profitable. When compared between sangkuriang catfish and dumbo catfish, sangkuriang catfish has an advantage in terms of the speed of seed growth. 

At the age of 5-26 days, the daily growth of seedlings can reach 29.26%, higher than ordinary African catfish. The standard length of the sangkuriang catfish ranges from 3-5 cm. As for the age of the seedlings of 26-40 days or the equivalent of a three-month enlargement period, the catfish will experience a growth of 3.53%.

Another advantage of the sangkuriang catfish that can affect its cultivation business is that it does not need too much feed, less complicated pond water maintenance, and more frequent egg laying in large quantities.

Price of Sangkuriang Catfish Seeds

The following is the estimated price of sangkuriang catfish seeds per 2022.

*Prices may change at any time, depending on the area.

Characteristics of Quality Sangkuriang Catfish Seeds

To make it easier for you to distinguish the type of sangkuriang catfish from other types of catfish such as African catfish, python, and pearl catfish, here are the physical characteristics of the sangkuriang catfish:

1. The body size of the sangkuriang catfish is longer than the dumbo catfish and shorter than the pearl catfish. How to measure body length is to compare the size of the body and head.
2. Sangkuriang catfish skin color is darker than African catfish and lighter than pearl catfish. The hallmark of the sangkuriang catfish when stressed is the appearance of white and black spots on its body.
3. The head of the Sangkuriang catfish is flatter in shape than the Dumbo catfish with a larger mouth size.
4. The head of the Sangkuriang catfish is longer than other types of catfish because the head can reach a third of the body.
5. Sangkuriang catfish has 3 single fins and 1 paired fin.

To choose quality sangkuriang catfish seeds, you can pay attention to several aspects such as the health condition of the seeds, the movement of the seeds while swimming, the size and origin of the seeds. The following is an explanation of each of the characteristics of high-quality sangkuriang catfish seeds.

1. The Origin of Catfish Seeds

As a cultivator, of course you want seeds that come from quality sires. To maintain the quality of offspring, you should choose catfish seeds that come from the cultivation of catfish seeds. This is because catfish seedlings that come from seed cultivation usually have a well-recorded history of cultivation, especially if they are cared for intensively.

2. Health Condition of Catfish Seeds

When buying catfish seeds, you should ask the seller about the disease history of the seeds. That way, you can anticipate when the seeds get sick. The basic characteristics of catfish seedlings in good health are having a proportional body size, shiny skin color, and free of blemishes or wounds.

3. Movement of Catfish Seeds

Nimble catfish seeds are a sign of quality fish seeds. The more difficult it is to catch the seeds, the higher the quality of the seeds. If the seeds don't swim agilely and are actually easy to catch, the seeds may have certain diseases or viruses. 

Another way to see the movement of catfish seeds is to store several catfish seeds in the same container, then tilt the container. If the seeds swim against the current, then the seeds are healthy and of good quality.

4. Body Size of Catfish Seeds

The last feature is that the size of the sangkuriang catfish seeds must be uniform. This is important to minimize the risk of mass death from cannibalism. Generally, large catfish will prey on small catfish. If this is left alone, losses due to mass death can occur.

Tips for Sangkuriang Catfish Breeding Success

There is one important piece of information that you need to know so that the sangkuriang catfish cultivation process is successful and makes a profit. This means that sangkuriang catfish seeds originating from sangkuriang catfish broodstock marriages can be cultivated and raised for the purpose of consumption needs. But because of this, these seeds cannot become candidates for new sires or be mated.

Why is that? Because the marriage of the two seeds will produce offspring whose quality is decreasing and not as good as the first seed.