Fast Growing and Hybrid African Catfish

Boosting Aquaculture with Resilient, Fast-Growing Catfish Hybrids

Fast Growing and Hybrid African Catfish" is developed to enhance freshwater farming in Sub-Saharan Africa. This technology involves the selective breeding and hybridization of two catfish species to create a superior hybrid offspring (Hetero-Clarias). The process of hybridization requires hormone-induced egg release in female catfish and the collection of seminal fluids from male catfish, subsequently combined to produce the hybrid.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

7•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 7/9; level of use 7/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive medium

Under 18: No impact

Women: Positive high

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: No impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: Same amount of carbon released

Environmental health: Moderately improves environmental health

Soil quality: Does not affect soil health and fertility

Water use: Same amount of water used

Problem

Scarcity of Quality Fingerlings.
Challenges in Reproduction and Energy Expenditure.
Quality of Water and Environmental Health in hatchries.
Lack of Knowledge and Skill in hatchries Operations.
Difficulty to maintain specific temperature ranges for optimal growth.

Solution

The Hetero-Clarias hybrid exhibits superior growth rate, higher survival, and greater hardiness compared to the parent species.
Certified hatcheries provide a secure means to increase local supply of fast-growing and hybrid catfish.
The produced hybrid catfish is sterile, allowing it to channel energy primarily into growth, resulting in better feed conversion and growth rates.
Knowledgeable and skillful hatchery operators, with potential training for fish farmers in processes like hormone-induced egg release and handling seminal fluids.

Key points to design your project

Fast-growing and hybrid African catfish can help governments address shortages of quality fish seed, low aquaculture productivity, protein insecurity and unmet market demand. African catfish are resilient, widely consumed and suitable for intensive freshwater production, with potential annual yields of 6–16 tonnes/ha. Hybrids can increase production by 20–30% compared with non-hybrid breeds.

To integrate this technology into a government programme:

Prioritize aquaculture zones with reliable clean water, strong fish demand and flood-free sites suitable for ponds, cages or raceways.
Target certified hatcheries, small-scale and commercial farmers, cooperatives and processors, with inclusive access for women and low-income producers.
Strengthen certified hatcheries producing improved Clarias gariepinus, Heterobranchus bidorsalis and Hetero-Clarias hybrids to reduce dependence on wild eggs and poor-quality fingerlings.
Invest in broodstock, tanks, filtration, incubation equipment, nursery ponds, pumps, aeration, testing kits and waste-management systems.
Ensure reliable clean water and provide monitoring and aeration systems to maintain suitable temperature, pH and oxygen levels.
Train hatchery operators, farmers and extension agents in breeding, fingerling production, feeding, water-quality management, biosecurity and marketing.
Budget for fingerlings and feed: common fingerlings cost about US$0.12 each in Kenya; hybrids cost 2–2.5 times more. Feed costs approximately US$2,500 for 8,600 fast-growing fish in a one-hectare pond and US$3,500 for 10,000 hybrids.
Use pond liners for water management and hapa nets for fingerling and nursery production where appropriate.
Partner with WorldFish, research institutes, certified hatcheries, extension services, regulators, laboratories, feed producers and financial institutions.
Track certified fingerling production, survival, growth, yield per hectare, feed conversion, production costs, farmer income, market volumes, water quality and participation by women and low-income producers.
Sustain adoption through commercial fingerling sales, private hatchery investment, trained extension teams, producer cooperatives, reliable feed supply, access to finance and stable market linkages.

The technology has been adopted in Benin, Cameroon, DRC, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

2500—3500 USD

Feed inputs for 8600—10000 Catfish fingerlings

IP

Open source / open access

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology\’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology\’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 7 out of 9

Semi-controlled environment: prototype

Level of use 7 out of 9

Common use by projects NOT connected to technology provider

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Benin	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Cameroon	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Côte d’Ivoire	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Democratic Republic of the Congo	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Malawi	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Uganda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Zambia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 3: good health and well-being

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

Goal 12: responsible production and consumption

Selection of Fertile Broodstock: Choose female catfish weighing 1 to 4 kg and at least one year old. Select male brooders weighing 2 to 3 kg, capable of fertilizing eggs from 20 females.
Egg Maturation Process: Inject female catfish with ovaprim hormone or use freshly extracted pituitary to promote egg maturation.
Egg Fertilization: Collect seminal fluid (milt) from male brooders. Fertilize eggs in a narrow container with water temperature maintained above 25°C. Eggs hatch within 20 to 36 hours.
Larval Care: Larvae do not require feeding until three days after hatching, as they feed on their yolk sacs. Provide aeration for active fry, ensuring they receive sufficient oxygen.
Feeding Regimen: Feed larvae for 5-8 days with cultured zooplankton or finely powdered shrimp, fishmeal, or special feed.
Water Quality Management: Maintain high water quality for fish health. Administer monthly antibiotic treatment to ponds to reduce infection risks. Ensure pond water pH remains between 6.5 and 9.0; apply limestone if pH drops below 6.5 and total alkalinity and hardness fall below 10 ppm. Maintain dissolved oxygen concentrations at 5 ppm or higher for a successful farm.