Professional Documents
Culture Documents
AQC-502.Haladhar Hembram. (FINAL)
AQC-502.Haladhar Hembram. (FINAL)
Topic:- Culture Of Cobia- Its Biology, Seed Collection & Culture Techniques.
Submitted To Submitted By
Prof. T.K Ghosh Haladhar Hembram
& Reg:- 6408 Of 2018-19
Dr. S.K Sau M.F.Sc 1st Year
Dept of AQUACULTURE Dept Of Aquaculture
Content:-
It is a highly priced game fish with high market value both in domestic and
international markets.
Cobia known for its excellent meat quality is a famous premium food fish
highly preferred by people in Taiwan and Japan. The white meat of the fish is
served in restaurants as raw fish called Sashimi.
The fast growth rate, adaptability to captive breeding (attains 6-8 kg/year) are
the major attributes which makes cobia as an excellent candidate species for
Sashimi aquaculture.
Cobia is one of the marine finfish species with high aquaculture potential
particularly for cage culture in India.
Biology:-
They are able to tolerate a wide range of temperatures (eurythermal) and salinity (euryhaline) between 1.6 and 32°C
and 5-35 ppt in the environment.
Cobia prefer warm water (>20 °C) and typically have annual migratory patterns.
Breed throughout the year with peak spawning activity from October to February.
Sexual maturity -in males at 1-2 years and in females at 2-3 years
Spawning occurs in both nearshore and offshore waters where females release thousand to million eggs (1.4 mm
diameter) which are then fertilized by the males.
• Floating or slow-sinking pellet feed with 50% crude protein and 10% crude
fat is suitable for successful nursery rearing.
• High protein and fat nursery feeds are available in India at reasonable prices.
• Proper storage of such feeds is essential to maintain their quality during their
shelf life.
Packing and transportation
1-3t tanks with oxygenation or/and aeration facilities
are typically used to transport seeds over long distances.
Using oxygen cylinders, the DO level is kept above 8
ppm; one tonne of tank requires 340 cm3 of cylinder
capacity per hour.
In an open tank with a maximum biomass density of 10
kg/m3 of water, the seed is conveyed.
48 hours of starvation precedes transit.
2 ppm Euginol is used to administer mild sedation.
De-ammonifiers like 5 ppm Ammonil are used to
regulate ammonia.
Culture Techniques (Farming in Cage)
• Site Selection
• Selecting a suitable site for sea cage farming is crucial for smooth operations.
• A healthy sea bed with sandy soil is necessary for maintaining good water
quality.
• Cage farming generates organic waste materials.
• Under normal conditions, these wastes are consumed by wild organisms or
flushed away by water currents.
• Cages should be moored at an appropriate depth (minimum 2 - 3 meters) to
allow waste materials to move away.
• Poor planning or mooring in shallow areas can lead to increased organic load,
causing problems like turbidity and bacterial growth.
• Ideal cage farming sites have a minimum depth of 6 meters during low tide,
with cage nets typically at 3.5 meters depth.
• Ensuring fish are not too close to the seabed helps prevent oxygen depletion
(anoxia) issues.
Water quality requirement
Temperature : 28- 33°C
Salinity : 25-35ppt
DO : 5-8 mg/l
pH : 7.9-8.3 ppm
Transparency :- 40cm and above
Cage Degine
• Cobia can be farmed in sea cages made of High Density Polyethylene
(HDPE) or galvanized iron (GI) pipes.
• HDPE cages last 10-15 years, while GI cages typically last only up to three
years with good maintenance.
• GI cages have a lower initial investment cost.
• Grow-out culture is done in circular floating sea cages with a 6-meter
diameter.
• A handrail is fixed at one meter height from the base of the cage.
• There is a one-meter space between the inner and outer rings of the cage.
• Cage nets are made of HDPE ropes with 2.5 mm thickness.
• Mesh sizes are 20 mm and 40 mm for inner net cages and 60 mm for outer
net cages.
• Net cage depths are maintained at 3.5 - 4.0 meters from the cage frame's
base.
• The net cages maintain a circular shape with the help of circular ballast.
Stocking
• Fish require space for movement as they grow.
• Net cages have limited space, so stocking an optimal number of
fingerlings is crucial for maximum growth.
• Overstocking can weaken fish, increasing the risk of infections.
• Higher stocking densities may lead to insufficient dissolved oxygen
levels, especially during low tide and poor water currents.
• Inadequate dissolved oxygen can result in anoxia and fish mortality.
• A 6-meter diameter cage with a 3.5-meter net depth can accommodate
900 cobia fingerlings at a rate of 9-10 fingerlings /m3
Feeding
• For juvenile cobia, feed 5-10% of their total biomass
with chopped low-value fish(e.g., sardine, lesser sardine,
rainbow sardine) twice daily for two months.
• Initially, provide feed at 10% of the biomass production
cost, gradually reducing to 8% and then 5% as fish grow.
• Maintain consistent feeding times, preferably early
morning or late afternoon.
• Adjust feed quantity during fish stress, rough weather, or
low water temperatures.
• Feed slowly to ensure all fish have adequate feeding
opportunities.
• Marine fish typically require high protein (35-40%) and
fat (8-10%) for growth.
Growth assessment
• Random sampling can be carried out at
the time of net exchange with the
sample size of at least 30 cobia fishes
per cage. The entire grow-out culture
is carried out for a period of 6-8
months. The growth details of cobia as
recorded in sea cages at a stocking
density of 8 nos./m3.