Commercial Giant River Prawn farming (it is also called Giant Freshwater Prawn) is becoming very popular day by day and it’s a very profitable business.
Giant River Prawn farming with carp or other fish species is very profitable and easy. If you wish to start Giant River Prawn farming business, then you can cultivate only Giant River Prawn in a pond or with other fish species like Rui, Katla, Mrigal etc.
Commercial production of Giant River Prawn is very common and popular in the South Asian countries.
Giant River Prawn is actually known Giant Freshwater Prawn or Golda Chingri in some parts of India, Bangladesh and some other South Asian countries.
It is a very tasty and large in size. The larvae are produced in the hatcheries. It has huge market demand and value.
Advantages of Giant River Prawn Farming
There are some advantages of Giant River Prawn farming business. Here we are shortly describing about the top advantages of Giant River Prawn farming business.
- Starting Giant River Prawn farming business is very easy. Even the beginners can also start this business.
- You can easily start this business in your existing pond.
- Giant River Prawn generally grow faster. So you will be able to make good profits within short period of time.
- You can stock other fish species with Giant River Prawns.
- It is a freshwater fish species, so you can stock freshwater carp fishes with Giant River Prawn.
- You can make poultry house above the pond and raise chickens or ducks. The fish in the pond will consume the droppings of poultry birds.
- Commercial Giant River Prawn production can be a good business for the unemployed people.
- It can be a great employment source for the educated young people.
- Construction costs of pond is high, but you will be able to use it for several years once you make it.
- Return of investment is very good in this business.
- Today there are many hatcheries available in many places. So, you will probably be able to purchase larvae easily.
- Both demand and value of Giant River Prawn in domestic and international market is very high.
- Marketing Giant River Prawn is very easy. You will be able to easily sell your products in the local market.
How to Start Giant River Prawn Farming Business
Starting this business is very easy and simple. Here we are trying to describe the steps for staring Giant River Prawn farming business.
Pond Selection
The pond management for Giant River Prawn farming should done well. The pond, where the Giant River Prawn will be cultivated needs more oxygen than usual. Selected pond must have to suitable enough for changing frequently.
So, it will be better if you select the pond near a river or canal. Doing this will ensure constant water supply. If any source of natural water like river or canal is not available, then you have to setup a tube well for continuous water supply.
Sandy soil is better for Giant River Prawn farming. Ensure sufficient availability of the sun light. It would be better if there are no big trees near the shore of pond.
The area or size of the pond may be any depending on your production type. But it would be better, if the pond is constructed over at least one acre of land. The depth of the pond must be between 1 to 1.5 miter.
Preparing the Pond
At first, remove water from the pond and make it dry. You will be able to remove all types of carnival and unwanted fish species from the pond by making it dry.
Drying also remove harmful gas and virus from the pond. Apply 3 grams of rotenon (harmful aquatic insects and fish killer) per each cubic meter, if it is not possible to dry the pond.
Applying rotenon or something else related to this will fully remove all types harmful fish species from pond. After that apply 100 kg of lime per acre.
After 5 to 7 days of applying lime in the pond, apply 500 kg cow-dung, 10 kg nitrogen, 5 kg TSP and 2 kg of MAP per acres. Keeping favorable environment in the pond is very essential for successful Giant River Prawn farming business.
Stocking Larvae
Stock the larvae after 5 to 7 days of applying fertilizer in the pond (when the water become green colored). The number of the larvae depends on the size of your pond.
The number of larvae also depends on the fertility of soil, availability of supplementary feed and proper management. In general management 10,000 pieces of larvae can be stocked per acre.
If you can ensure constant water supply and supplementary feed management, then you can stock more larvae. Giant River Prawn larvae don’t grow well in a high stocking density.
They may fight with each other if they face supplementary feed lacking. Be more careful during caring the larvae from the hatchery.
Good and high quality Giant River Prawn larvae increase the possibilities of more profit from Giant River Prawn farming business. So always try to purchase the larvae form good and reputable hatcheries.
Supplementary Feed
You can notice the production of harmful gas in the pond, after applying fertilizers. So remove the gas first to get proper growth of Giant River Prawn larvae.
You can ensure enough natural food for your Giant River Prawn larvae by applying fertilizer in the pond. But this natural feed is not sufficient.
So you have to provide supplementary feed in the pond. Actually proper growth and profit in Giant River Prawn farming business depends on providing adequate and quality supplementary feed.
Notice the chert below to have an idea about the ingredients of 1 kg supplementary Giant River Prawn feed.
|
Wheat Chaff
|
600 g
|
|
Mustard Cake
|
150 g
|
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Kipper Powder
|
250 g
|
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Snail Powder
|
95 g
|
|
Salt
|
3 g
|
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Vitamins
|
2 g
|
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Total
|
1000 g/1 kg
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Applying Method
Provide 4 percent of supplementary feed daily according to the body weights of the Giant River Prawn. Feed them twice a day. Once in the morning and rest in the evening. Amount of providing supplementary feed per 1000 Giant River Prawn according to their age are listed on the following chert.
|
Age
| Amount |
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First Month
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15 g
|
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Second Month
|
75 g
|
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Third Month
|
150 g
|
|
Fourth Month
|
400 g
|
|
Fifth Month
|
1 kg
|
|
Sixth Month
|
2 kg
|
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Seventh Month
|
2.5 kg to 3.0 kg
|
Fertilizer
Using fertilizer in the pond is very necessary for Giant River Prawn farming business. Applying fertilizer in the pond helps to increase the natural food production for the Giant River Prawn. Giant River Prawn change their shell at different stages of their life.
They become very sick when they change their shell. So you have to take extra care during this time. You can keep some tree branches or bamboo in the pond during this time. It will provide them shelter and help to prevent mutual attack.
Collecting Giant River Prawn
Generally Giant River Prawn reach marketing weight, when they reach 6 to 7 months of age. You can start collecting Giant River Prawn, when they reach more than 100 grams weight.
You can collect Giant River Prawn from the pond by using various types of net. Keep the Giant River Prawn in dry place or store using ice.
Yield
If you follow all the steps described above, then you will be able to produce 800 to 1000 kg Giant River Prawn from a pond of 1 acre. And it will definitely ensure maximum profit from your Giant River Prawn farming business.
Marketing
Marketing Giant River Prawn is very easy. You will probably be able to sell your products easily in the local market.
These are the common steps and ways for starting and operating a successful Giant River Prawn farming business. Hope this guide has helped you! Good luck!
