Contents
Some entrepreneurs have mastered some types of business related to breeding various living creatures for the sake of making a profit. Unfortunately, in terms of profitability, these types of activities are inferior to sturgeon breeding.
The consequences of the economic crisis have affected almost all spheres of human entrepreneurial activity. Many entrepreneurs have decided to abandon various activities, including in the livestock sector. Recently, there has been a trend towards a healthy lifestyle, which is inextricably linked with proper nutrition. Increasingly, a person prefers to eat fish, but not meat, especially pork. Therefore, having decided to start breeding sturgeons, you should not worry about selling your products.
Breeding sturgeon on a mini-farm
You can breed sturgeons at home, if you create a certain temperature regime, supply water and sewerage.
Breeding sturgeon at home
Organization of a reservoir for sturgeon breeding
For the convenience of growing sturgeon, it is enough to have a plastic pool, 1,0-1,2 meters deep and up to 3 meters in diameter. This is the most convenient pool model, since it can be serviced without much difficulty.
The right choice of food
The main task is to get the maximum weight gain of the fish in a short period of time. Therefore, the food should be high-calorie and appropriate for the age and weight of the fish.
- The sturgeon leads a benthic lifestyle, so the food must quickly sink to the bottom.
- The food must have an appropriate smell. In nature, these species of fish search for food by smell. This suggests that he has a well-developed sense of smell. The food should not only smell good, but also be attractive to this type of fish.
- The time of dissolution of feed in water should not be less than 30 minutes.
- For each size of fish, the size of the feed pellets is selected.
Where to get sturgeon fry
You should buy fry only from large fish farms that have been breeding it for years. The better the product, the more likely it is to make a profit. In this case, you should not save on fry. Only healthy fry will be able to quickly adapt to new conditions and grow to the size of a marketable sturgeon.
Tanks for growing fish
At the initial stage of development of this type of business, it is enough to acquire a small mini-pool. It can be installed in a residential area or in a greenhouse of cellular polycarbonate. The mini-pool occupies an area of no more than 2,2 square meters, so it can be installed even in an apartment.
Growing equipment
To grow fish yourself, you will have to purchase the following equipment:
- Plastic pool.
- Pump for pumping water.
- Compressor.
- Automatic feeder.
- Generator.
Capacity. For growing fish, you can purchase and install several mini-pools with a diameter of 2,5 meters.
Pump. With its help, water is supplied to containers from a well or well, if sturgeon will be grown in the private sector. If there is a central water supply, mini-pools can be connected to the water supply, but this method can be much more expensive, given today’s water prices.
Compressor. It is necessary for the constant saturation of water with oxygen, otherwise it makes no sense to talk about growing fish at all. Moreover, you need to install a couple of compressors, just in case, so that if one of them fails, the next one is included in the work.
Automatic feeder. It is necessary for large production volumes. If this is the beginning of a business and there is the possibility of feeding fish by hand, then you can not buy it. Malek feeds up to 6 times a day and with small volumes you can do without it.
Petrol or diesel generator. Just as important as the compressor. In the absence of power supply or its suspension, the generator will help out and will not allow the fish to suffocate. The generator must have a power reserve so as not to work at the limit. Then it will serve for a long time and will be able to guarantee the cultivation of sturgeon.
Here, the list includes only the main components of a mini-farm, without which sturgeon breeding is impossible. In addition to these elements, you will need all kinds of pipes, taps, angles, tees, etc. If you count everything, then you will need serious investments. Despite this, with a serious approach, sturgeon breeding will pay off in the first year.
Water temperature
In order to live and develop, constantly gaining weight, a certain temperature regime should be maintained. It is believed that the temperature from +18°C to +24°C is optimal.
As for the winter period, you will have to maintain the temperature at the proper level. If this is not done, then the water will simply be covered with ice, and this cannot be allowed. In this case, a large energy consumption will be required, although you can work on the heating scheme and get by with minimal costs. It is not necessary to resort to heating with electricity or gas, as this will cost a serious penny. It is better to use a conventional solid fuel boiler, and use wood waste as fuel.
If the fish is grown in improper conditions, then it will start to hurt, especially if it is fry.
Premises for growing sturgeon
Even in an apartment where there is running water and sewerage, you can breed fish. The most suitable option is the private sector, where you can easily build a suitable room and organize heating, both water and air.
Depending on the number of containers, the useful area of the mini-farm is also calculated. At the same time, one container with a volume of 2 cubic meters is able to occupy an area of 10 to 12 square meters.
What do sturgeons eat
For this, there are special compound feeds intended for growing sturgeon species. The daily dose depends on the age and weight of the fish. The sturgeon feeds 4-5 times a day. If an automatic feeder is used, the fish may be fed more frequently, depending on its setting.
Sturgeon breeding and sturgeon breeding technology
The payback of such a business
This is a profitable type of business that, with the right approach, will pay off in the first year. The growing cycle, starting from the purchase of fry and ending with commercial products, takes about 9 months. During this period, a fry weighing about 5 grams is gaining weight of about 500 grams, which is quite enough to sell the goods. One fry can cost 20 rubles, or even more. Ready sturgeon is sold at a price of 600-800 rubles. for 1 kg. If you count everything, then one fry is able to make a profit in the amount of 300 rubles, or even more. Unfortunately, this is not a net profit. The cost of feed will take up a significant amount of expenses.
Growing one thousand fry will require the purchase of feed in the amount of 30 thousand rubles. Electricity costs can also be significant and can be up to 20 thousand rubles a year, depending on the size of the mini-farm.
If you do not take into account the equipment, then in order to grow 1000 fry, you will have to spend:
- expenses for the purchase of fry – 20 thousand rubles;
- food costs – 30 thousand rubles;
- electricity costs – 20 thousand rubles.
Moreover, these calculations do not include the cost of water. It is believed that water is taken from a well or well.
Thus, total costs amount to 70 thousand rubles. It is not difficult to calculate the profit from the sale of 1000 pieces of fish, weighing 500 grams and costing 600 rubles per kilogram: it will amount to 300 thousand rubles.
Net profit will be: 300 thousand rubles – 70 thousand rubles, the total will be 230 thousand rubles.
To grow 1000 fish fry, you will need to purchase equipment for 250 thousand rubles. In the first year of growing fish, the costs will fully pay off. Starting from the second year, each thousand fry will be able to give up to 200 thousand rubles of net profit.
Experience of successful farms
Unfortunately, this type of business is not as widespread as the livestock business. The events of recent years indicate that large producers of sturgeon meat receive a steady income already in the 2nd or 3rd year of their activity. At the same time, you can get not only sturgeon meat, but also sturgeon caviar using accelerated technology. This can happen in the 5th or 6th year of a female’s life. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that sturgeon caviar can be sold at $ 1000 per kilogram.
Business plan
The calculation formulas are absolutely the same, but to organize the breeding of sturgeon in large quantities (up to 20 … 30 tons per year), one should take into account the fact that you will have to spend money on the construction of a capital building. Alternatively, such a building can be rented. Moreover, a lot of money will have to be spent on paying wages to hired workers. Still, it is unlikely that you yourself or your family will be able to cope with such volumes of work. With an increase in production volumes, other expenses, such as deductions to the budget, also increase. The larger the production, the greater the problems and the more difficult it is to grow sturgeon fry to a marketable condition, the greater the risks associated with unforeseen costs.
To whom to sell sturgeon fish
You can sell your products according to various schemes: sell on the market, where you can organize your outlet, sell in a store, having agreed with the owner, or deliver to restaurants by concluding relevant agreements. Through restaurants, you can sell up to 70 kg of sturgeon per month. It is not difficult to calculate how much fish you need to grow per year: up to 1 ton of fish or up to 2000 units, weighing 0,5 kg each. Such small sturgeons are the most popular in the restaurant business. They prepare the most refined and delicious dishes.
As practice shows, you can make serious money on a home mini-farm. Somewhere in 3-5 years, if you approach it smartly, you can organize a business with a turnover of several million rubles, and this is on your backyard or summer cottage. But not everything can be obtained immediately and momentarily. In any case, you should start with a small amount of growing sturgeon meat. And when experience and confidence appear, production volumes can be increased, and not immediately, but also gradually: first, grow 1000 fry, then, if possible, 2000 pieces, and then, as they say, appetite comes with eating.
Conclusion
Naturally, business is not such a cloudless occupation. In the process of organizing, serious organizational problems may arise related to the legitimization of your business. Indeed, without these skills, it is unlikely that it will be possible to negotiate with a store or restaurant. Therefore, the business plan does not include organizational measures related to obtaining the relevant documents. In addition, it is not known what it will cost the entrepreneur and whether it can be organized in his country house or in his backyard. In addition, without the relevant documents, it is unlikely that it will be possible to purchase fish fry.
Each business project requires an integrated approach with various calculations. Each business plan should include various losses associated, for example, with the death of some fry. In other words, risks must be considered, and this is not always possible. Therefore, being engaged in a non-traditional field of activity, you can always ignore something, and this “something” can ruin the whole business.