GUPPY CULTURE
IN ISRAEL USING CLOSED SYSTEM
by
Joseph Itzkovich
"D'GEI ISRAEL AQUARIUM LTD" - Consulting in
commercial breeding of ornamental fish, in intensive closed system matching
iso standard.
www.israel-aquarium.com
Guppy farm in the Arava desert-
ISRAEL
INTRODUCTION
The
culture of tropical aquarium fish in Israel started 8 years ago. There are
about 20 tropical fish farms, most of the farms are located in "ARAVA": a
desert area in the south part of ISRAEL. The main fish produced are guppy
(Poecilia reticulata) and angelfish (Petrophyluum scalare),
which account for more than 80% of the total production in Israel. About 700,000.
guppies per month are exported from Israel, mainly to western Europe and Japan.
The
common guppy varieties are king-cobra red, king-cobra green, tuxedo-red, blue-tail,
and red blond. New varieties that are being developed include blue mosaic,
pingu and tuxedo-yellow.
Each
tropical fish farm is very small and has a total of 1,000 m2 - 3,000 m2 (0.1-0.3h). Each farm is isolated
from the others, with no connection in the water system among them. Each Guppy
farm produces for export 50,000-100,000 Guppies per month. In the last years
the culture of guppy has faced very serious health problems, mainly in southeast
Asia. The exact causes are not known, but is believed to be a viral disease
or Tetrahymena infection. In order to keep the farms in Israel at a high level
of sanitation, each farm is isolated from the other with no connection in
the water system among them. Breeding stock were imported from private breeders
in Germany and Russia and were quarantined in separate areas for at least
6 months. The progeny of this stock were used as brooders. Regular veterinary
inspection is done in every farm.
FARM CONSTRUCTION AND TANKS
The farms were built with thermoisolated
fish-houses with cement floors and good drainage. No outside open ponds are
used. Most of the culture tanks are made of plastic materials. Smooth plastic
tanks are very easy to clean and disinfect between culture periods. Tank size
and configuration, is adapted to age and size of the guppy. Generally small
tanks are used for breeding stock and fry, and bigger tanks for outgrown fish.
Water level is important. For
guppy culture it is better to have less then 100 cm. For fry 60-80 cm high
is used.
Each tank is isolated from the
others. Water is recirculated through a biological filter located inside each
tank (10% of tank volume), with 5-10% daily new water change. Water recirculation
is done by using an airlift for each filter. The biofilter medium is made
of different plastic materials. The filter is cleaned periodically. In every
farm there are a bank of active biological filters, these filters are used
to replace filters after sterilization. Tanks are located in isolated fish-houses
and are heated with heat exchangers, keeping water temperature at 24-27 C
.
THE WATER
The water in Israel is alkaline and hard, with pH 7.5-8.5,
hardness 15-30 dH, conductivity: 1,000-3,000 µS/cm. Before entering
the fish tanks, water passes through active-carbon filters. Water is aerated
before use to avoid gas problems (especially gas-bubble diseases). The use
of special covering nets over the fish house reduces algae development. Using
these methods together with a biofilter in each tank makes the culture water
crystal clear. Cultivating fish in this type of water also makes them adaptable
to aquarium water in the customer place. In crystal clean water the farmer
can better monitor the condition of the fish.
FEEDING
Guppy are cultivated in crystal clear water. No natural
food is available to the fish. Great care is given to the quality and the
source of food. In order to avoid nutritional problems, fish are fed on high
quality dry feed, consisting of 30-40% protein and incorporated with vitamin
premix, and carotenoids.
Size of the food pellets is graded according to the fish
size. Fish are fed at least two types of dry food from different sources.
Breeding stock are also fed with frozen food like blood-worm and vitamins-rich
meat (beef-heart). The fry are also fed with Artemia nauplii. Dry food is
given at about 5% of the total biomes daily. This amount is divided to 3-5
times a day.
WATER AND SANITARY MANAGMENT
Due to water shortage and high
cost of man-power, a high-density cultivation of the guppy was adapted. Normally
the density is 10 times more then traditional guppy farms in south-east Asia.
Fish are grown in a fully controlled environment. All parameters are checked
routinely, including Amonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Oxygen and temperature. The
water is crystal clear due to a very effective biological filter that serves
also as a mechanical filter. Fish samples from different tanks are examined
microscopically to find any sign of problems.
Survival rate is high, and is
between 70-80% from fry to marketing size. Keeping the fish in optimal conditions,
during all the growing process's enable the breeder not to use medication,
especially antibiotics. This is practically: "ORGANIC-FISH". In
case of a problem in the importers facility, less change of resistance will
occur when treating the fish with standard medications.
STOCKING DENSITY
Every empty tank is sterilized
and filled with new water before stocking new fish.
At the end of every stage fish
are graded with special graders to uniform size and re-stocked to new tanks
in density according to their size and age. The stocking density varies with
the age and size of the guppy, as shown below:
