10 STEPS FOR POND PREPARATION

Aquaculture Fisheries Development :
10 STEPS FOR POND PREPARATION

Reducing Risks of Aquatic Animal Disease Outbreaks

-->The pond has to be wet to check if the pond bottom is dirty. If your pond is dry get your pond bottom wet for at least 3 days. If your pond is full, drain it almost completely

--> -->Check if the soil is black or smells bad. If the soil is black or smells it means that the pond bottom is dirty

Remove as much as possible the black soil especially from where you feed the shrimp. If you use a nursery, make it deeper than the rest of the pond because deeper water is better

--> for post larvae. The soil you remove is waste,put it outside the pond, not on the dike

-->If the soil is acid or if the pond bottom or the water is orange, wash the pond 2-3 times to remove some of the acidity. Ploughing a pond with acid soil increases the acidity of the soil. Therefore ponds with acid soil should not be ploughed, only washed, kept wet, and then continue from step 7.

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If you cannot remove all the black soil, remove the bottom algae first then plough the pond bottom when wet or get the pond bottom wet for at least 3 days after ploughing. Ploughing wet soil allows the black soil to become brown and clean

Dry for 1 week and check if the pond bottom still has black soil. If yes, get the pond wet and plough again until the black color is almost all gone (see picture below).

Get the pond bottom wet before you apply lime so that the lime works better. Consult with an extension worker to decide the dosage and the kind of lime to apply. If you already know the soil pH, follow the table below but do not use only CaO, a mixture is better.

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Soil pH Kg CaCO3 per ha Kg CaO per ha

> 6 1000 500

5 to 6 2000 1000

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3000 1500 -->8. Soon after liming, put at least 2 layers of fine nets in the inlet and fill the pond with at least 1 meter of water. Using a net will help to keep out of the pond animals that can carry diseases, that eat your shrimp or the feed.

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9. Ten to fifteen days before stocking fertilize the pond to produce algae (the green or brown color) and a better environment for the postlarvae. Fertilizers with high phosphate content produce a good color more easily. Put the fertilizer into a bucket, mix with water until dissolved and add to the pond. You can use 30-50 kg/ha of superphosphate or NPK (5:10:3). If you do not get a good color after 3 days add 2-3 kg/ha of fertilizer and wait for another 2-3 days. Repeat adding 2-3 kg/ha more fertilizer every 2-3 days until you get a good color.

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10. When the color of the water is green or brown the pond is ready for stocking

Aquaculture Fisheries Development