DIY (Do It Yourself). Today I’m take you through simple steps on how to construct your own earthen fish pond for rearing fish. The size will depend on farmer’s preference and affordability, or the number of fish a farmer intends to rear. And a pond for farm use for example may be as small as 20 m by 2 m, while commercial ponds may be as big as half a hectare or even more.
Siting a Fish Pond
Factors to consider when setting fishpond:
Source of water: what’s the main source of water and how easy it is for it to move to the pond?
Topography: the site should be gently sloping to allow free flow of water.
Soil type: Clay soils are the most preferred because once they’re saturated, the particles hold tightly together allowing very little seepage. Sandy and loamy soils are not recommended since they’re free-draining, hence allow too much water seepage.
Nature of the land: A ground where big cracks appear or where there’s an anthill should be avoided because it allows too much water to be lost.
Construction: Pond walls are made by digging out the soil from the pond floor. The scooped soil is then heaped on the sides. A stone wall or double timber wall may be constructed tp reinforce the soil especially on the lower side wall which holds most weight of the pond water. The walls should slope on both sides with a level top (crest) which should not be less than 1 meter wide.
The dam crest: should be level to prevent water overflowing on one end. The pond bottom should be as smooth as possible to enable easy dragging of a net along during harvesting. Stones and tree stumps should be removed and the holes filled. After the wall and bottom are done, an inlet furrow should be made to connect the water source to the pond and should enter from the upper side. At one corner of the lower side wall a spillway should be made to allow excess water to flow back to the main source and prevent overflowing over the wall which may cause it to break. A drain pipe should be placed across the lower wall to allow the pond to drain water when harvesting or cleaning.
Note: Cover both the inlet and outlet pipe with a mosquito net bag to keep harmful insects and wild fish out of your pond and keep your own fish in the pond.
Water level: It’s recommended to have 1-1.5 meters (3-5ft) of water in the pond. For a pond where fish are fed with algae with no additional feeding, a depth of 1 meter is recommended. Place a splash board under the inlet pipe to prevent unwanted turbidity.
Fencing and netting the pond: A fence is recommended to surround the pond to keep away predators such as monitor lizards. And a net may be erected above the pond to keep away birds.
I hope the post is helpful and if you have a question or feedback of any kind, just hit the comment section and I’ll get back to you. Next we will talk about fish pond maintenance esp post harvest in preparation for restocking.