Rainbow Trout Fish: How to do rainbow trout fish farming amidst mountains? Know from fish farmer Pancham Singh

Rainbow Trout Fish is a foreign fish which is being produced in large numbers in the hilly areas of the country and rainbow trout fish farming has become a good source of self-employment for the people here. Pancham Singh of Tehri district of Uttarakhand has also been successfully producing rainbow trout fish for about 5 years.

There is a trout farm in Song Valley area of ​​Tehri district of Uttarakhand, surrounded by beautiful and lovely mountains, which is run by Pancham Singh. In this farm, Pancham Singh has been doing trout fish farming, producing its seeds and children for many years.

Pancham Singh discussed in detail with Kisan of India correspondent Sarvesh Bundeli about the things that need to be kept in mind for rainbow trout fish farming.

Trout fish farming for 5 years

Pancham Singh, who turned to fish farming from farming, told about the beginning of his journey that before 2013, paddy, wheat, peas, coriander, ginger, everything was cultivated, but after the natural disaster in 2013-14, the land became rocky, due to which it was not possible to grow crops, so Pancham Singh turned the disaster into an opportunity and took help from the Fisheries Department and he got 40 percent subsidy for trout fish farming. After which he started trout fish farming in 2018-19. Along with fish farming, he also has a hatchery where he also produces fish fry.

What should be fed to the fish and in what quantity?

Giving information about the diet of rainbow trout fish, Pancham Singh tells that he feeds a grain called Growel Nutrilla to rainbow trout. The cost of which is Rs 120 per kg, but they get 50 percent subsidy, that is, they get this feed at the rate of only Rs 60 per kg. This feed helps the fish grow faster.

Suppose there are 2 thousand fishes in a pond whose average weight is 200 grams, then they have to be given 5 kg of feed/grain. 2 kg in the morning, 1 kg in the afternoon and 2 kg in the evening. Growel’s feed called Nutrela is considered the best, because it helps in good growth of fish. Pancham says that he feeds the fish babies 5 times a day so that they can grow properly.

Need to protect fish from dirty water

As we have already told you that trout fish can be born and survive only in cold, flowing and clean water. Trout fish die as soon as they go into dirty water. Regarding this, Pancham Singh says that while doing trout farming in the mountains, special care needs to be taken in the season of June-July, because during this season, due to rain, dirty water of the river starts coming into the fish pond, due to which the fish start dying. Therefore, during that time, the fish have to be taken care of day and night and dirty water has to be prevented from reaching the pond.

At the same time, the pond should also be cleaned regularly. There should be such a system in the pond that water comes from one side and goes out from the other side.

How many ponds did you start fish farming with?

Pancham Singh tells that he started the work of producing rainbow trout fish with 10 ponds. Under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, 5 more ponds were built, that is, now he has a total of 15 ponds in which he is producing rainbow trout.

What should be the length and width of the pond?

Regarding the size of the pond for trout fish farming, Pancham Singh says that the length of the pond should be 25 meters, depth 1.5 meters and width 2 meters.

How much is the fish production?

One and a half to two quintals of rainbow trout fish are produced from one pond. For this, Pancham Singh puts 10 thousand babies in one pond, after 2 months he transfers them to another pond and cleans the first pond. He says that the water of the pond should not be dirty and there should be flowing water.

How do they clean the pond?

Regarding the process of cleaning the pond, he says that he currently has trout fish of one and a half year, one year, six months. Usually, rainbow trout breeds in December and January. A solution of coarse salt is used to clean the fish. First of all, take out the fish from the pond with a net attached to two sticks and put them in a tub containing salt solution and shake it for two minutes. After this, put the fish in another clean pond.

Specialty of rainbow trout fish

Pancham Singh tells that a medicine called Omega-3 is made from rainbow trout. This fish is very nutritious and is also beneficial for heart, brain and overall health.

When is the rainbow trout ready?

The weight of these fish is not very high, Pancham says that when it weighs one kilo, it can be sold in the market. It takes 10 months for a one kilo fish to be ready and it eats feed worth 400 rupees. The more feed you give, the more will be the growth of the fish. He says that 2000 fish eat about one quintal of feed.

Earnings from rainbow trout fish farming

Regarding the earnings, he says that this work is very hard work and he earns 3 to 4 lakh rupees in a year. The fish are sold at the rate of 600 to 700 rupees per kilo. 

How do they prepare the babies?

Pancham Singh also prepares the babies in his hatchery. He says that he himself prepares the seeds and babies. For this, first of all, he takes out the big fishes, which are male and female, using a net. Then a tin shed has to be built. After taking out the eggs of the female fish and the semen of the male fish, they mix them in a glass bowl with a hen feather and mix it by adding one inch of water in the hatchery box.

This work is done only after 7 o’clock in the evening, because babies will not be produced if sunlight falls on them. After putting them in the hatchery box, it has to be looked after for 40 days. If any egg turns black, then that bad egg has to be removed, otherwise all the eggs will get spoiled. Usually, if there are 20 thousand eggs, then 5 thousand of them get spoiled.

Keep these things in mind while farming rainbow trout fish

If any farmer or youth wants to do rainbow trout fish farming as self-employment, then Pancham Singh is telling them some important things like-

– Rainbow trout is only a cold water fish, which dies when the temperature is above 20.

– It can be reared wherever there is cold water of the glacier.

– Contact the fisheries department for other needs or help related to fish farming.

Pancham Singh’s advice to the youth

Pancham Singh advises the youth of hilly areas that if there is water in their area and the temperature remains between 15-20, then they can easily start self-employment of rainbow trout farming. For this, first they should take training and later they can also produce fish fry by making a hatchery themselves.