Striped snakehead fish, a freshwater fish that used to be sold in schools for cheap, are now raised in Binh Duong and sold for 65,000 VND/kg.

That is the affirmation of Mr. Phung Van Thuc, residing in Dong Tam hamlet, Tam Lap commune, Phu Giao district ( Binh Duong province), a person raising striped snakehead fish with good income currently in Phu Giao.

Mr. Phung Van Thuc said that recently his family had failed twice with climbing perch and square-head perch due to the economic downturn, reduced consumer consumption, especially traders taking advantage of their weaknesses to pressure farmers.

According to Mr. Thuc, raising perch, square-head perch, snakehead fish, and even crocodiles has a disadvantage: strict regulations on fish weight. If there are 6 perch per kg, the price is different, if there are 8 perch, the price is different, if there are 10 perch, the price is different.

This means that fish that meet the requirements will have the highest price, while larger or smaller fish will have a lower price.

Therefore, every time the time comes to sell but the traders do not come to buy, the fish farmer is sure to lose money. Faced with the above risks and after two times of being devastated by climbing perch and square-head perch, in early 2013, after researching, Mr. Thuc decided to switch to raising striped snakehead fish.

Mr. Thuc confided that because he had been researching the characteristics of striped snakehead fish for quite a long time, he had achieved quite good results from the first batch of fish.

After 8 months of planting fish eggs, with 0.9 hectares of water surface divided into 3 fish ponds, he harvested 36 tons of fish with a selling price of 50,000 to 55,000 VND/kg/7 fish. His family earned more than 1 billion VND from the last fish crop.

With the striped snakehead fish farming model, after deducting costs such as breed, food, care, etc., the profit is more than 360 million VND. That means he pockets more than 40 million VND in profit each month.

Raising striped snakehead fish - one of the new directions, a new aquaculture model for farmers, including Mr. Phung Van Thuc, residing in Dong Tam hamlet, Tam Lap commune, Phu Giao district (Binh Duong province). The price of striped snakehead fish remains stable at a high level, from 55,000-65,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Thuc shared that through experimental farming, he himself realized that striped snakehead fish is very easy to raise, easier than climbing perch, snakehead fish, catfish, the cost of food and farming is low, and the market is easy to consume.

According to Mr. Thuc, the cost for 1kg of striped snakehead fish is about 40,000 VND, because 2kg of bran will give 1kg of fish meat; fish food is diverse and rich such as bran, spinach, water hyacinth and even all kinds of grass.

While perch, snakehead fish, and catfish farmers are very susceptible to failure due to disease, in addition, traders have very strict regulations on fish size, weight, and price; the bigger the striped snakehead fish, the higher the price.

According to Mr. Thuc, if the weight of striped snakehead fish is from 6 to 7 fish/kg, the price is from 55,000 to 60,000 VND, then from 5 to 6 fish/kg, the price is higher from 60,000 to 65,000 VND/kg, even 4 fish/kg, the price is even higher, so farmers do not have to worry about missing the batch.

Therefore, this is also an advantage for farmers, because then farmers can proactively sell and negotiate prices with traders if they feel they are not making a profit, unlike when tilapia or snakehead fish are not favorable, farmers lose money or are forced to lower prices by traders.

In addition, the market for striped snakehead fish products is also very easy, because this is a type of fish used for export, so it is often in high demand. Currently, his fish products are contacted by processing factories for consumption.

However, according to Mr. Thuc, although striped snakehead fish are easy to raise and less susceptible to diseases than climbing perch, striped snakehead fish are very picky about the environment they are raised in. According to his experience, striped snakehead fish prefer low-lying areas with frequent water inflow and outflow, and cool climates.

Therefore, not all areas can raise striped snakehead fish, but need a trial process, otherwise failure is inevitable. At the same time, the growth period of striped snakehead fish from egg incubation, seeding until being released from the pond is longer than that of perch, snakehead fish...

If the growth period of perch is 4 to 5 months/batch, then the growth period of striped snakehead fish is from 7 to 8 months/batch. Therefore, to shorten the farming time, farmers should calculate the breeding time to match the sale of fish for meat. It is recommended to calculate about 3 to 4 months before selling to proceed with breeding the young fish.

By the time the fish are sold, the fry will be 4 months old and the time to sell the next batch will be shortened to 4 months. Thus, each year the farmer can also release 3 batches of fish for meat. Otherwise, it will take 1.5 years to raise 2 batches of fish for meat.

Source: https://danviet.vn/ca-sac-ran-ca-dong-xua-chay-hang-dan-re-nhu-cho-nay-nuoi-o-binh-duong-ban-65000-dong-kg-20240916164712238.htm