Fish Farming - Buffalo

Buffalo fish are new to our waters. Nevertheless, it confidently occupies its niche in growing fish in a pond, especially in polyculture. Let's look at buffalo fish in more detail.

Content

 

• Buffalo fish description
• Types of buffalo fish
• Buffalo largemouth fish
• Buffalo smallmouth fish
• Black buffalo fish
• Growing Buffalo in a Pond
• Where are buffalos raised?
• What to feed a buffalo
• How does a buffalo grow in a pond?
• Benefits of Raising Buffalo
• Buffalo breeding
• Wintering of buffalo breeders
• Buffalo Producers Choice
• When do buffalos breed?
• Obtaining Buffalo Sexual Products
• Buffalo fertility
• Insemination of buffalo eggs
• Incubation of eggs and maintenance of buffalo larvae
• Rearing buffalo larvae
• Transporting buffalo larvae

 

Buffalo fish description

Three species are acclimatized in our country: the large-mouthed buffalo, or buffalo, the small-mouthed buffalo and the black buffalo. Buffalo fish of the genus Ictyobus (buffalo) are widespread in North America - from southern Canada to Mexico. Buffalo fish are more heat-loving than carp, and therefore in natural reservoirs of northern and mountainous regions they will not give the same fish-breeding effect as in well-warmed reservoirs.

Types of buffalo fish

Buffalo largemouth fish

The largemouth buffalo, I.cyprinellus (Val.), grows faster than other fish of this genus. It has scales, no antennae, thick lips covered with villi, a large, upper mouth, and has the gill apparatus of a planktophager.

The buffalo lives in the coastal bottom areas of large slow-flowing rivers, in quiet creeks and oxbow lakes, in lake bays and even in swamps; it is not found in salt waters. In the USA, it is widely cultivated in rice fields, where it reaches marketable weight in 1-2 years. Typically in reservoirs, largemouth buffalos reach a weight of 15 kg.

Ripens in the 3rd year of life, the eggs are small, sticky, spawning from the first half of March to the end of summer at a water temperature of 14.4-16.7°C. Hatching at a temperature of 17°C occurs on the 9-10th day. Most often it lays eggs on plants.

Juveniles feed on lower crustaceans; yearlings consume water beetles, ostracods, and, less commonly, phytoplankton. Older fish prefer zooplankton, and benthic animals prefer chironomid larvae and crustaceans. Compound feed is actively consumed in ponds.

Buffalo smallmouth fish

Smallmouth buffalo - I.buoalis (Raf.) - is higher in nutritional value than largemouth, but grows much more slowly. Reaches sexual maturity at 3-4 years of age. The mouth is lower and the gill apparatus is not adapted to filtering plankton - the rakers are short and sparse. Buffalo smallmouth is a schooling freshwater fish that lives mainly in coastal areas of fast-flowing water bodies.

Young of the year quickly switch to feeding on zoobenthos. In fish weighing 60-70 g, it makes up more than 50% of the food; in two-year-old fish, more than 2/3 of the food bolus is represented by chironomid larvae and other bottom animals. It consumes buffalo and detritus; in ponds it is fed with carp feed.

 

Black buffalo fish

Black buffalo - I.niger (Raf.) - benthophagous, grows faster than smallmouth. Ripens at 4-5 years of life. Like the carp, it concentrates in the pre-spawning period and in the fall, when the water temperature drops to 15-13°C, it stays in schools near the bottom. Actively consumes feed.

Growing Buffalo in a Pond

Where are buffalos raised?

Buffalo fish are more thermophilic than carp. The most climatically favorable areas for growing buffalo are the North Caucasus, southern Ukraine, Moldova, the republics of Transcaucasia and Central Asia.
Buffalo breeding material can be grown in ordinary carp ponds with a good bed layout, ensuring complete drainage, with an independent water supply. Growing fish of this species of different ages together is not recommended.
Repairs and breeders can be raised together with breeding material of herbivorous fish, but not with carp.

What to feed a buffalo

Buffalo feed on zooplankton and, to a lesser extent, benthos and detritus. If there is a lack of natural food in the ponds, the buffalo must be fed with compound feed. 

How does a buffalo grow in a pond?

In the fish ponds of the Krasnodar Territory, the growth of buffalo of different species varies (Table 112).

Table 112. Weight growth of largemouth, black and smallmouth buffalo, kg

 

Buffalo view	Age of fish, years
	0+	1+	2+	3+	4+	5+	6+
Largemouth	0,2-0,5	0,8-1,5	2-2,5	3,5	4,5	5,5	6,6
Black	0,21	0,7-1,2	2,2-3	2,8-5,3	6,5	7,5	8,8
Smallmouth	0,19	0,7-1,2	1-2	1,7-2,6	3,5	4	4,7

Individual specimens of largemouth buffalo at the age of 7+ reached a weight of more than 10, black - 14, smallmouth - 8 kg. Moreover, the average weight of males is less than that of females.

Benefits of Raising Buffalo

What are the advantages of raising buffalo in a pond:

 

• Buffalo meat is superior in nutritional quality to carp.
• Buffalo are easy to catch in large bodies of water, particularly in cooling ponds of energy facilities.
• Buffalo can be grown in polyculture with paddlefish and herbivorous fish; for joint cultivation with carp and a hybrid of white and bighead carp, while the buffalo planting density should be 6-10 individuals/100 m2; for polyculture with channel catfish with white and bighead carp and largemouth buffalo; .
• It is possible to grow buffalo in rice paddies.
• Buffalo are immune to carp rubella and other diseases.

 

What are the disadvantages of raising buffalo in a pond:

 

• In ponds together with carp and bighead carp, buffalo grow worse because they compete for food and are affected by lerneosis.

Buffalo breeding

Planting of producers for summer maintenance - no more than 20-30 pieces/ha of each type of buffalo. The average increase over the summer period for largemouth and black buffalo breeders should be at least 1 kg, smallmouth - 0.7 kg. It should also be taken into account that females grow faster than males.
For artificial reproduction of buffalo, for every 10 females it is enough to have 6 males. As a result of injuries during the spawning campaign, up to 20% of producers die.

Wintering of buffalo breeders

Wintering is carried out in ordinary carp wintering ponds. The density of planting of breeding fingerlings in wintering ponds is allowed up to 200-300 thousand/ha, two-year-olds - 200 c/ha, older breeding material - 150 c/ha, producers - no more than 200 pcs/ha. Sexually mature females and males of all species are placed in different ponds. When males and females are kept together, buffalos can spawn in winter quarters. Breeders are caught from the wintering area by water using a Hamsoros seine. Fish are taken from the net using hoses.

Buffalo Producers Choice

Females are usually divided into three groups:
1) the best, most prepared for spawning, the abdomen is soft to the touch, pendulous, such females are used first;
2) females with similar, but less pronounced characteristics;
3) in appearance they are almost indistinguishable from males - they are immediately planted for summer feeding.
Males are divided into two groups based on external characteristics:
1) with a rough surface of the head and body, such males easily give milk;
2) produce very little milk or do not produce milk at all; such males are practically unsuitable for work.
After sorting, up to 1000 pcs/ha of spawners are planted in ponds for pre-spawning maintenance (separately by sex and groups). For pre-spawning maintenance, producers use the same ponds as when working with herbivorous fish.

When do buffalos breed?

Receiving offspring from buffalos begins with the onset of a stable average daily water temperature of at least 18-19°C, in the North Caucasus - in the second half of May.
Buffalo breeding can be carried out naturally in ordinary carp spawning ponds and by the factory method. The latter is advisable to use on the basis of complexes of herbivorous fish.

Obtaining Buffalo Sexual Products

To obtain reproductive products from buffalo in injections, the pituitary glands of carp, carp, bream, crucian carp, common catfish, as well as human chorionic gonadotropin are used. When working with females, fractional (double) administration of gonadotropic hormone is used, the first time - within 1/8-1/10 of the total intended dose. After 12-34 hours, a permissive injection is made - 4-6 mg of pituitary substance per 1 kg of female weight. The dose of human chorionic gonadotropin is 2500 IU.
The producers are injected in such a way that the main fish-breeding processes are carried out during daylight hours. After injection, the breeders are placed in injection or spawning earthen ponds about 1 m deep. Draining and filling the pond takes 30 minutes. Constant water exchange is provided. Up to 20 buffalo breeders can be placed in such a pond with an area of 20-30 m2. Females and males are kept in separate ponds. Producers can be kept in container baths made of fiberglass, tarpaulin and other materials, providing a water exchange of 3-4 l/min. The oxygen content in water should not be lower than 5-6 mg/l.

The timing of maturation of female buffalos after a permissive injection varies depending on the water temperature:

Water temperature, °C  Maturation time for female buffalos, h

16-18                          19-20

18-20                          17-18

20-21                          15-16

21-22                          13-14

22-23                         11-12.

It is important to accurately determine the time of maturation of females, since retention of eggs in the body cavity can lead to their overripeness (especially at high temperatures).
To catch mature females, the water in the spawning grounds is lowered. Females are caught using burlap or Rachelle sleeves. The sleeve is carefully pulled over the female from the side of the head, after which the tail peduncle is grabbed with the hand (with gauze) and the genital opening is pinched with the fingers to avoid loss of eggs.

Buffalo fertility

The working fertility of young (not maturing for the first time) females of largemouth and black buffalo is 400 thousand, smallmouth - 200 thousand eggs. The survival rate from eggs to larvae is 40% for all species. The yield of fingerlings from nursery ponds is 30% (when stocked with ungrown larvae).
It is convenient to strain the caviar into a measuring cup container with a capacity of S 00-100 ml. Milk is obtained 30-60 minutes before straining the caviar. Storing milk in a thermos on ice for 10-12 hours does not reduce the fertilizing ability of sperm.

Insemination of buffalo eggs

When inseminating eggs, the milk of 2-4 males is used. To inseminate 1 liter of caviar, 3-5 ml of milk is enough.
Caviar is placed in enamel basins (at least 500 ml of caviar). Insemination is carried out using the “dry” method. The eggs are mixed with milk, then a de-gluing solution is added, in which fertilization occurs.
You can destick buffalo caviar with a talc suspension, for the preparation of which you need to pour 100 g of talc powder and 20-25 g of table salt into 10 liters of pond water and mix thoroughly.
Milk should not be used to de-glue buffalo caviar. Swollen buffalo caviar has a lower specific weight than carp caviar. The fat particles that envelop the shells of the eggs make them even lighter, and they can be carried out of the incubation apparatus by a current of water.

Incubation of eggs and maintenance of buffalo larvae

Incubation of eggs and aging of larvae can be carried out in a workshop equipped with VNIIPRH and IVL-2 devices. The former are used for incubating eggs, the latter for incubating larvae. In this case, for every two incubation apparatus it is necessary to have one apparatus for keeping larvae. Up to 1.5 million buffalo eggs are placed in a VNIIPRH apparatus with a capacity of 100-200 liters. Before loading, the apparatus is set to low flow, then approximately 1/2 of the volume of water is taken from it, after which the caviar is carefully poured from the basin, protecting it from shocks and impacts. After laying the eggs, a water exchange regime is established so that the entire mass of eggs is in constant motion. When incubating eggs in VNIIPRH apparatus with a capacity of 200 liters, the intensity of water exchange is 10-12 l/min. In the first hours, it is advisable to periodically mix the caviar in the apparatus with a bunch of feathers attached to a wooden stick, doing this with smooth, soft movements.
If the quality of the eggs is good, the selection of dead eggs from the apparatus is not carried out, but if the quality is poor, it is carried out after the completion of the gastrulation process. The amount of dead eggs (if their quality is poor - significant) must be taken into account, which is necessary to calculate the yield of larvae.
A day after the eggs are laid for incubation, they are treated with malachite green to suppress the development of saprolegnia. To do this, the water supply to the devices is stopped and after the eggs settle, 1/2 of the volume of water is scooped out of them. Then a solution of malachite green is added at the rate of 10 ml of a 0.05% dye solution per 1 liter of the contents of the apparatus, all this is thoroughly mixed and after 15-20 minutes the water supply is started.
The duration of embryonic development depends on the temperature of the water entering the apparatus (Table 111). The optimal temperature lies between 20 and 25°C. This applies to all types of buffalo.
After hatching, free buffalo embryos rise like candles to the upper layers of water. Deformed embryos are usually inactive and remain in the lower part of the apparatus.
Embryos are transported through chutes or hoses into ventilators-2. The larvae are kept in apparatus or cages until they switch to mixed nutrition. This stage coincides with the filling of the swim bladder with air. At a water temperature of 20-22°C this occurs on the 3rd day after hatching. The survival rate - from fertilized eggs to larvae that have switched to mixed nutrition - should be no lower than 40%.

Rearing buffalo larvae

Raising larvae in fry ponds to viable stages can significantly reduce their death during further rearing. The normal density of planting buffalo larvae in fry ponds is no more than 3-4 million pcs/ha, yield is 70%. It is convenient to raise larvae of each species in separate ponds, since it is impossible to sort by species during fishing. The larvae are raised to a weight of 15-20 mg, when they switch to consuming zooplankton. Under favorable conditions, this occurs on the 10-14th day. Larvae that have switched to mixed nutrition can be planted in fry and nursery ponds or sent for further cultivation to other farms.

Transporting buffalo larvae

Buffalo larvae are transported in the same way as larvae of herbivorous fish. in 40-liter plastic bags filled 1/3 with water and 2/3 with oxygen. It is recommended to place 100 thousand larvae in such a package for transportation lasting up to 5 hours, and half as much for longer transportation.
When transporting grown larvae, from 5 to 25 thousand are placed in a plastic bag, depending on the duration of transportation, water temperature and the size of the larvae. Waste during transportation should not exceed 3-5%.