Raising fish to supply fishing ponds generates half a billion VND in revenue each year.

Walking along the cool, breezy pond banks lined with guava, fig, and banyan trees, Mr. Kien from Doan Ket residential area, Lam Ha district (Lam Dong province) shared that it took him a long time to acquire these 3 hectares of pond land. The trees he planted around the pond provide shade and help retain the soil, preventing erosion of the pond banks.

Mr. Kien supplements the fish's diet with compound feed to ensure proper nutrition for growth.

In 2002, Mr. Kien was given a separate plot of land by his parents, consisting of 5,000 square meters of water surface and a portion of coffee plantation. Recognizing that fish farming offered high income and was relatively easy work, he and his wife bought carp fry to raise. Each year, Mr. Kien raises three batches, totaling approximately 1.5 million fish, which he then supplies to households needing fingerlings.

"As the saying goes, 'If you want to get rich, raise fish; if you want to be well-off, raise pigs.' For many years, the price of grass carp has been quite good, so suppliers like me have made a lot of profit. That's why I've now been able to buy an additional 2.5 hectares of fish ponds and about 3 hectares of land for coffee cultivation," Mr. Kien said excitedly.

Mr. Kien's 3-hectare pond is stocked with various types of fish to supply recreational fishing ponds.

That was the case before, but now, due to market demand, Mr. Kien has gradually shifted to raising tilapia in large quantities. Mr. Kien explains that because many recreational fishing ponds have opened, the demand for tilapia for customers to fish in is quite high.

Mr. Kien revealed: "Previously, my entire pond was designed for raising grass carp. Half of the pond would be dug to a depth of about 3 meters, and the other half would be shallow for planting rice. When the rice was big enough, I would fill it with water up to the level of the plant stems so the grass carp could come up and eat. After the fish finished eating the rice, I would drain the water and continue planting rice. I would do this until I saw that the fish were big enough to sell to those who needed them."

Regarding the technique of preparing ponds before stocking fish, Mr. Kien shared that initially, farmers must drain the water and then evenly sprinkle lime in the pond to disinfect it, while also maintaining a stable pH level and helping organic matter decompose in the best conditions. After that, for every 1,000 square meters, Mr. Kien will add 300-500 kg of manure to color the water. This also helps create more plankton, which promotes faster fish growth.

After completing the pond preparation steps, Mr. Kien will pump in the water and release the fish. Currently, about 80% of the recreational fishing ponds in Lam Dong are supplied with fish by Mr. Kien.

Mr. Kien supplies fish to recreational fishing ponds in Lam Dong province.

Mr. Kien added that by utilizing free food sources from outside, the cost of raising fish has also decreased. Mr. Kien uses discarded vegetable stalks from gardens to feed the fish, mainly cabbage, Chinese cabbage, and small sweet potato stalks that companies no longer use. Mr. Kien only incurs the labor and fuel costs of transporting them home for the fish to eat.

Currently, he raises various types of fish such as grass carp, common carp, tilapia, silver carp, pomfret, and catfish… In addition to the vegetables he throws into the pond for the fish to eat, he also supplements their diet with mixed feed every morning.

With his current 3 hectares of fish ponds, Mr. Kien earns approximately 1 billion VND per year. After deducting expenses of 150 million VND for feed and 250 million VND for fingerlings and labor, his profit is around 600 million VND.