Pinoyagribusiness

Production strategy

1. Purchase the required fry once every year of operation, especially during the peak season in May.
2. Start production in the nursery pond, then the transition pond, formation pond, and finally the rearing pond.
3. Divide the grow-out process into two phases: formation and rearing phases.
4. Allow the fingerlings to grow from a 20g fingerling size to a 50g post-fingerling size in the formation pond using natural food organisms as primary food for the stock.
5. Transfer the post-fingerlings to the rearing pond. Milkfish will grow to the marketable size of 250g in three months at an average growth rate of 2.2g/day . Expect the milkfish to grow bigger during the dry season at an average growth rate of 3g/day.
6. Provide supplementary feeds to sustain fish growth particularly during the wet season when lab-lab and other natural foods in the pond are depleted. A weekly feed conditioning is necessary to determine the attractability of the feed.
7. Efficient feeds should be used. Unattractive feeds results in poor health of the milkfish.
8. Eradicate snail pest called suso and bangungon. These pests destroy lab-lab mat and compete with bangus for lab-lab. Use alternative molluscicide, like tobacco dust, applied at 300-400 kg/ha. Or collect the snails by sweeping or handpicking and burn them with rice straw.

Pond water management

1. Increase water depth from 0.6 m to 1 m particularly during the last two months of culture operation. Note: An abrubt increase in water depth will cause lab-lab to detach and float. Install fine-meshed screens (bastidor or lumpot) at the gates to prevent the re-entry of wild species or the possible escape of stock.
2. Monitor water quality parameters (turbidity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, temperature regularly to check for any sign of risk. Maintain the optimum water condition to support maximum growth of milkfish.
3. Change water at least every two weeks or as frequent as possible.
4. Install a stand-by water pump to maintain desired water depth when water management through tidal fluctuation is not possible.

Stocking Density
Pond	Stock
Nursery Pond	40 fry/sq m
Transition pond	5 fingerlings/sq m
Formation Pond	2 juveniles/sq m
Rearing Pond	1 grown fish/sq m

Milkfish production schemes
Pond	Growing stage(wt-g)	Culture period(days)	Growth rate(g/day)	Food type	Harvest size(pc/kg)
Nursery Pond	0.02-05	30	0.016	Lab-lab	2000
Transition pond	0.5-10	30	0.32	Lab-labBread crumbs	100
Formationpond	10-40	30	1.0	Lab-labBread crumbs	20
Rearing pond	50-215	75	2.2	Lablab/pellets	4.6
Dry	50-275	75	3.0 higher	Lablab/pellets	3.6

Milkfish production schemes
Pond	Growing size(g)	Feed Type	%Feed rate(biomass)	Feeding frequency
Nursery Pond	0.02-05	LablabStarter mash	8-10	5x /day
Transition pond	0.5-10	LablabBread crumbs/rice bran	5-8	4x /day
Formationpond	12-50	LablabBread crumbs	4-5	3x /day
Rearing pond	50-100100-250	Lablab / algaeFinisher pellets	3	3-4x/day

Nutrient requirements of Milkfish Feed
Crude protein	25-40%	Fish meal, soybean, corn, gluten meal, ipil-ipil
Crude fat	7-10%	Vegetable and fish meal
Nitrogen Free extract	25%	Yellow corn, cassava meal
Crude fiber	<8%
Vitamins, minerals mix	3-6%
Metabolized energy	>3,200kcal/kg

Water quality parameter
Parameter	Optimum level
Dissolved oxygen concentration	3-5 ppm
Temperature	22-35 degrees Celsius
pH level	6.8 -8.7
Salinity	18-32 ppt
Turbidity	0.5 m