How to Cultivate Gurame Fish in Ground Pools & Tips for Success!

The advantage of cultivating carp in earthen ponds that other types of cultivation media do not have is that the pond ecosystem resembles the fish's natural habitat, thereby helping to reduce the stress level of carp while helping its natural growth. Apart from that, natural food is also available which you can use to reduce the cost of fish feed.

Carp is a type of freshwater fish that has many fans because of its delicious meat. Even processed carp itself is one of the mainstay menus of luxury restaurants. No wonder the selling price of this fish is quite fantastic.

Seeing this is certainly a business opportunity for you. When comparing other types of cultivation media such as tarpaulin and concrete ponds, the method of cultivating carp in earthen ponds is quite easy and has many benefits. Let's look at the following explanation.

Gurame Fish Cultivation Business Opportunities in Ground Pools

There is no need to question how high the business opportunity for carp cultivation is. This is because the demand for carp from various lines continues to increase every year, for example traditional markets, simple restaurants, restaurants, supermarkets or supermarkets, to the household scale.

To start cultivating carp, you need to calculate costs for several needs such as buying carp seeds, feed, medicine, vitamins, operations, and developing cultivation media. There are 3 media for carp cultivation that are often used as choices, namely tarpaulin ponds, concrete ponds and earthen ponds. Of the three types of pools, earthen pools are the cheapest. 

Not only that, earthen ponds are the only type of pond that is capable of producing natural feed naturally. That way, you can reduce the cost of fish feed due to the abundant availability of natural feed. 

In addition, earthen ponds are considered to be able to reduce fish stress levels because their ecosystem closely resembles the fish's natural habitat, so that carp are more relaxed and comfortable.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Cultivating Gurame Fish in Ground Pools

Carp cultivation has many advantages from a business perspective, including high selling prices, middle to high-level target market, and relatively few competitors, making it easier for you to dominate the market. However, the weakness of carp cultivation that you should be aware of is that this type of freshwater fish is susceptible to disease, has a longer cultivation period, and requires large areas of land to cultivate.

Cultivating carp in earthen ponds is the most appropriate choice of media for carp cultivation because with the same land, the size of the earthen pond can be wider than other types of ponds, so it can accommodate more carp. The cost of making land pools is also quite cheap. When compared to tarpaulin pools which are also cheap, earthen pools are recommended because they are more sturdy than tarpaulin pools.

Apart from that, another advantage of earthen ponds is the availability of natural food and its ecosystem which resembles its natural habitat. These two factors really help the growth of carp. 

Even so, making an earthen pond means that you need to pay attention to the land where the pool is made. Soil quality needs to be considered, such as the acid base level of the soil. How high or low the acid-base level will directly affect the pH of the water. Soil that is too acidic will affect the growth of carp. 

Not only that, if you don't regularly maintain the quality of the water and soil, the carp are susceptible to pests and diseases that come from under the ground.

How to Cultivate Gurame Fish in Ground Pools

After knowing the advantages and disadvantages of earthen ponds as a medium for carp cultivation, here's how to cultivate carp in the right earthen pond to produce maximum yields.

1. Determination and Preparation of Ground Pools

The first step to making an earthen pond as a medium for carp cultivation is to determine the type of earthen pond itself. There are 3 types of earthen ponds, namely earthen embankment ponds, wall or stone embankment ponds, and brackish water ponds. To determine the type of pool that is suitable for use, you can adjust it to the land you have.

If the type of pond has been selected, the next step is to prepare an earthen pond. The following are the rules for making an earthen pond:

• Choose a location that gets enough sunlight.
• The land is quite wide and has a clean environment.
• Loose soil with a sand content of 40%.
• Land elevation 20-500 meters above sea level.
• Water contains elements of minerals and nutrients.
• The pH ranges from 6.5-7.
• Water discharge 15-20 m.
• Water temperature 25-28 oC.
• Sufficient dissolved oxygen levels.

If the pond has been made, clean it first using lime or dolomite limestone so that the pond is free of weeds and organisms and bacteria that can cause death. After cleaning, let the soil dry for 3 days or until cracks form on the pond bottom. These cracks are a sign that the soil is free of bacteria and disease.

Then attach a filter or filter to the water inlet and outlet, then start filling the pool using clean water. You can also add fertilizer to the bottom of the pond before draining clean water to create natural food from the bottom of the pond.

2. Maintenance and Enlargement

The maintenance and enlargement process depends on the type of carp that you use. If you breed carp from spawning broodstock, then you need to pay attention to water conditions, carp brooders that will do the spawning, and their feed in order to produce superior quality eggs. Generally, carp brooders will produce as many as 5,000-7,000 eggs.

If the surface of the water in the spawning pond looks like there is oil or smells fishy, then the spawning process has been successful. Immediately lift the carp eggs carefully. Store eggs in water at 27-28 oC. 

After the eggs hatch, around the 11th day you can move the carp seeds to the nursery pond. Ideally, the size of carp seeds in this phase ranges from 10-15 grams/head. You need to treat the seeds so that they are 100-150 grams/head. Then, move it to the enlargement pond.

The stocking density of rearing ponds is 100-150 m2 with a water level of 70 cm is as much as 20 fish/square meter. The process of enlarging the carp will continue until the carp has a body weight of around 500 grams/head.

3. Feeding

To expedite the process of growing small carp, you must pay attention to how to feed it. Give feed 2-3 times a day with the ideal time of feeding in the morning, afternoon and evening. Gouramy feed must contain protein derived from animal protein or vegetable protein, with a complete nutritional composition.

Vegetable protein can be obtained from chopped banana leaves or banana gegebok, taro leaves, fermented dry grass, cassava leaves or papaya leaves, soybeans, kale leaves, watercress, tofu dregs, or coconut. While the source of animal protein can come from earthworms, anchovies, grasshoppers, shrimp waste, or snails. To make feeding easier, you can directly use manufactured pellet feed with nutritional content that has been adjusted to the needs of carp.

To speed up the growth process, you can provide additional complex enzymes of approximately 2% of the total factory feed or pellets.

4. Harvest Gurame Fish

The last step in cultivating carp in an earthen pond is the process of harvesting carp. The best time to harvest carp is when the body weight of the fish has reached 500 grams. Usually, it takes 9-12 months to reach this weight, but if you can optimize the feed, the time needed can be shorter.

This harvesting process is not just taking fish from the pond. Apart from paying attention to the ideal body weight of fish suitable for harvest, there are a number of things that you need to pay attention to. 

Before harvesting carp, you must reduce the volume of pond water to a certain amount. However, don't let the water in the pool run out. 

Next, prepare a special net for catching fish. If the fish to be harvested are large, you can spread a net from end to end of the pond and herd the fish to one side/corner of the pond. 

Transfer the fish one by one into a container such as a basin or drum filled with water if you want to sell the fish alive. During the transfer process, you must check the condition of the carp being harvested. You also need to pay attention to the density of the basin or drum so that the harvested fish do not die quickly even though they are transferred to a different cultivation medium.

Tips for Successful Cultivating Gurame Fish in Ground Pools

Apart from paying attention to fish feed, the quality of pond water is also mandatory for you to pay attention to and check regularly. If the quality of the pond is maintained, such as water temperature, water pH level to oxygen levels, then the pond has the potential to be free from pests, bacteria and any type of disease.

Even though earthen ponds can create their own natural food which is good for fish, if it is not controlled then the creation of natural food will be in line with the emergence of bacteria or pests from the bottom of the earthen pond. Therefore, carry out cleaning procedures in the pond using a solution of chlorine or lime or dolomite limestone so that the pond is free from weeds, organisms and bacteria that cause disease.