Are you thinking of starting domestic fish farming? It is important to understand what kind of fish will perform well in your pond and what fish is best left in the wild. There are many different types of trout species and many are always found in the oceans and streams. Trout live in different ecosystems and the coloration on their skins depends on where they come from. Those that are found in the sea always acquire a silver coloration that is mostly used for camouflaging purposes. Trout found in the stream or other environments like the alkaline lakes will tend to have a bright color.
There are different suggestions and research that is still ongoing to understand the nature of trout that is best suited for fish ponds. People have reported different results with the majority attributing that trout cannot reproduce in ponds. This is because the natural habitat for the fish is in clear streams or lakes with temperatures ranging from 10–16 °C.
Different types of Trout are found in the cool waters of the sea spanning from Europe, Asia and the Americas. Other species were introduced in Australia and the population has increased subsequently. Because of their high nutritive value, they are often fished for food by humans and a great source of proteins for bears. They live most of their lives in the sea and only swim upstream in clean water to spawn.
However, some people have demonstrated different types of trout by trying to see if they can reproduce in the ponds.
Which specific species of Trout can reproduce in ponds?
Many people have been trying to farm trout and hope that it will reproduce in the ponds. However, few people have tried farming brook trout and have given different answers ranging from it is possible to reproduce in the ponds. This particular brook trout species can only spawn and reproduce in their natural ponds. Here, many have been known to overpopulate their environment. However, they do not grow too big as mature ones don’t grow past 30 cm and their lifespan is less than 3 years.
Brook trout can specifically reproduce when in spring ponds, lakes and rivers. This is because they require relatively low PH level waters and any environment of acidic nature will lead to extinction.
Why is it difficult to reproduce Trout in ponds?
There are many species of Trout but the common know species are the Lake trout, Rainbow trout and Silver trout. The major habitat of these three types of trout in the lake, sea and rivers. They are found in the eastern part of the United States, England, and the rainbow trout are found in California. With different adaptive features that include being a freshwater fish, it requires a specific environment to spawn that is relatively difficult to find in ponds. Their feeding habit makes them difficult to domesticate and reproduce in the ponds because they feed on small fish, mayflies, and stoneflies and because adult trout will feed exclusively on fish almost their body size. These are some of the reasons that make it difficult to domesticate and reproduce other species of Trout. They like to swim in big numbers during feeding which enables them to catch prey successfully. Trout also love feeding on worms and snails that are mostly found in the deep waters of the sea or lakes.
For instance, the Rainbow trout produces over 2000 eggs per kilogram of body weight during spawning. The eggs are in constant need of clean and cold running water to survive. These are difficult conditions to be found in farming ponds thus making it difficult to reproduce when domesticated in ponds. Putting in mind that Rainbow trout take up to 20 years to mature may not be that economically viable for any farmer wishing to benefit from pond farming. Some of these trout breeds take advantage of the serene environment in the rivers to interbreed to produce trout/salmon hybrid. Due to their migration nature, they only find time to spawn whenever they move from the deep waters of the sea or lake into the streams which are difficult to occur in ponds.
Another captivating feature of rainbow trout is its feeding culture. The rainbow trout tends to leave deep in the sea and feed on the freshwater shrimps which are their favorite food. That is why they have pink and orange colors in their flesh when cut open. They are a vigorous species that can grow to 10 kilograms in 3 years. This makes it difficult to adopt in the pond and reproducing. The only sure way of producing the rainbow trout is through the monoculture process. Producing trout for commercial purposes requires an aquaculture site that has circulating clean water that is oxygenated. Failure to that, the temperature in the water may fluctuate and affect the whole reproduction process. The environment needs to resemble exactly the wild habitat for the reproduction process to be successful.
Trout can only be put in the raceways or pond layouts to grow to a marketable size. The ponds contain cages that are 2-3 meters wide with a good flow of fresh water and oxygen. They are always observed with keen interest because any small change in the environment or contamination of the water may affect their growth. However, a good number of fish can be selected and left to grow to maturity for breeding purposes. This process can be done on floating cages in freshwater lakes to maximize production.
From all the information discussed above it clear that reproducing trout in ponds is not possible. This is because of the many factors ranging from environmental, physical and behavioral. For instance, environmental factors range from factors that include changes in oxygen levels. This is because trout are freshwater fish and changes in the environment affect the reproduction cycle. Trout is considered one of the most sought-after fish delicacies in the US. This is attributed to its tasty flavor brought about by the diet of the fish from the wild. The fish is high in nutrients ranging from proteins, fiber, energy, carbohydrates and Fat.
Fish farming is considered a new venture that people have been focusing on. This is because it is less demanding in the long run. The only cost is the initial capital of constructing the pond. With that done, many have been able to get good profits from fish farming since the maturity of fish averages six to nine months. Tilapia, striped bass, and salmon are common fish that will perform well in ponds for commercial use. It is advisable to go for cheaper breeds of fish that mature faster should you want to invest in fish farming for commercial purposes.
The population of trout is poised to increase because of the nature of breeding. In recent years, trout have migrated in waters across the world. A good number of them are found in Alaska Rivers here in the US. New Zealand is home to different exotic species of trout that were introduced in the 19th century. The New Zealand government has been producing millions of trout in hatcheries and releasing them annually.
In conclusion, we can conclude that trout is impossible to reproduce in the ponds but can only reproduce in the wild. Alternatively, reproduction can be done through aquaculture for commercial purposes.