How to avoid CatFish Mortality

 What to do in case of mortality 

When you observe that your fishes are dying, here is a list of steps to take to control it; 

  • Identify the root cause of death through keen observation and laboratory test. You take a lab test through. Water sample, Dead fishes, Feed sample. 

Analyze the result of your test to know what exactly you should do, as a cure for feed borne diseases, is not the same as waterborne disease. You may ask an experienced fish farmer for advice, and start applying the treatment recommended to reduce the mortality of fish, and also the disease. 

  • Drain out the water and replace it with fresh unpolluted water. If the fishes are still very young, ensure to introduce the water gradually to avoid the fishes been stressed.
  • If in case you don’t have enough water, you could use salt to sanitize your water as salt contains chlorine. Dissolution of industrial salt into your pond will release chlorine which will gradually treat the fish, however, it is not always effective. The level of water should be measured for equal salt. You always take note to be careful as salt can kill your fishes too. 
  • Iodine treatment can also be applied to treat your pond. The use of formalin is a treatment, though it may have implications. It is advised to observe a withdrawal period of at least, five months before the fishes are finally sold to the market. 
  • Feed borne diseases is always treated by immediate withdrawal of feed causing immortality. A farmer should discontinue using a feed that has health implications no matter the cost. 
  • Appropriate medication should be used. A laboratory test should tell you what drugs should be used and how. 


Major causes of immortality in fishes 

1. Mortality caused by excessive feeding/ underfeeding: a contaminated floating feed and high level of aflatoxin in certain feed formulation may lead to feeding poisoning. Overfeeding can lead to death in fingerlings and juveniles, in such a situation, a farmer just needs to reduce the amount of feed. The expired feed can lead to fish mortality too. Deficiency in feed can also lead to fish mortality especially when they lack proper nutrients. There are certain amino acids that must be present in the feed, as fishes might be open to external infection 

2. Mortality caused by diseases: here, death is caused by infections. The effect can be severe if there are other supporting factors to it. Catfish diseases can be divided into internal and external diseases, and they can be caused by virus, bacteria, parasite, fungus and etcetera. 

3. Mortality caused by pollution: water can be polluted by pathogens in a way that affect the health of the fishes. In fact, water is the number one cause of fish mortality as other diseases can begin to raise certain pathogen. 

Water pollution can be divided into three: 


∙ Pollution from feed waste 

∙ Pollution from flood 

∙ Pollution from toxins 

4. Mortality caused by nature: it is normal for death to occur naturally, but should be looked into when it becomes much.




Location: Nigeria

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