Starting Tilapia Fish Farming Sample Business Plan

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1. What is your Motive?
The first thing you should always put into consideration before starting any business at all,
is your motive for going into the business. Your motive would determine your overall
business strategy.
As for Tilapia farming business, are you going into it to make profit or do you just want to
raise a few fishes to feed your family? Or do you want to start on a small scale and
gradually grow into a huge commercial enterprise? Well, these questions are left for you to
answer alone.
2. Do you Have What it Takes?
When you have determined the scale on which you want to operate, look around you, do
you have all the materials and resources needed to start a Tilapia farming business? Do
you have a pond with good water supply to rear your fishes?
If you dont already have a pond, you may need a land or some space where you can
construct an artificial pond. The size of your pond would depend on the scale of Tilapia
farming you want to go into.
3. Set up a Tilapia Fish Farming Business Plan and Budget
It is important that you draft a business plan for your business to include all the goals and
objectives you have for your business. You should also make a budget that would consist of
all the items you would need to start up, feed and maintain your business until the fishes are
ready for harvesting and sales.
4. Set up your Tilapia farm
To set up your Tilapia farm, you would need to take the following into consideration:

Living Conditions:
You should ensure that the water temperature of your Tilapia fish pond does not go below
28 degrees Celsius or 82 degrees Fahrenheit as Tilapia fishes need a water temperature of
28-30 degrees Celsius to survive. The PH level of the water should also be suitable with
sufficient oxygen to enhance survival of living organisms. You should also rid your pond and
its environs of all polluting agents like Sulphur.

Regular Water Supply:

A Tilapia farming business cannot survive without access to regular, constant water supply.
You must also ensure that your fish farm is sited in a place where you can have access to
clean and fresh water supply throughout the year but you should make sure there is no risk
of flooding as this may sweep away the fishes and cause you to lose your investment.

Pond Construction:
When constructing your artificial pond, you must make sure it is deep enough to allow water
flow into the pond. The bottom of the pond should also contain about 16 percent lime or
compost and the PH level should be between 7-8.
The bottom of the pond should be made of clay to enhance water retention, and you should
also make one side of the pond higher than the other to make harvesting easier. The pond
should have an outlet for water inflow, and another outlet for outflow.
5. Determine the Specie You Want to Breed:
There are four common breeds of Tilapia but the one with the fastest growth rate is the Blue
Tilapia. Another breed with high growth rate is the Nile Tilapia.
6. Feeding:
Tilapia fishes are not difficult to feed because they are omnivorous in nature. They can feed
on aquatic plants and insects. They can even feed on algae and larva so you wont go
through a lot of stress to feed your Tilapia fishes but you must make sure that they have
enough food at all times.
This would enhance their growth and make them available for sale within the shortest
period. Providing your fishes with enough food would also help them increase in size and
reduce the competition for food between the fishes so that there is enough to go round.
7. Breeding:
The higher the number of fishes you are able to sell, the higher your earnings. Therefore,
you should adopt a breeding system that would help you maximize the number of new
fishes you get weekly. However, you should guide against over-populating your pond
because a female Tilapia can produce an average of 100 fingerlings in a week!
You can avoid over-population by using hormones or genetically specific breeds. Always
separate the fingerlings from the breeders. The fingerlings should be kept in a spacious

pond to allow them enough space for effective growth while the breeders can be kept in a
smaller space or in an aquarium.
8. Harvesting:
Harvesting of Tilapia is done by Seining and draining the pond.
9. Disease control and Treatment:
Tilapia can be affected by bacterial or viral diseases so you must take pro-active measures
to protect your pond from such outbreak. This can be done by cleaning your pond regularly,
preventing overcrowding, and screening your pond often for risk factors.
When there is an outbreak of diseases, the first treatment is to change the water. However,
you can still apply chemicals like formalin, salt or organophosphates but this should be done
with professional guidance.
10. Marketing your fishes
If your motive is to make profits, then you must give careful consideration to the best
marketing option that would maximize your profits. You can sell directly to consumers or to
people who will buy from you in bulk, and sell them to consumers.
In conclusion, you should bear in mind that Tilapia Fish farming is a good and lucrative
business if you put in a lot of planning and hard work! Several people have become Multimillionaires through this business so; get started before its too late! However, I must make
it clear that this business is not without its own challenges; so do your research thoroughly.

Tilapia are warmwater, hardy fish that are easy to grow. You dont have to have a blue thumb, but it
helps to do some planning before you launch into tilapia farming. You want to set up a growing system
that is easy to maintain and that will fit your lifestyle.
Tilapia are good to eat and have mild, white fillets. There are hundreds of tilapia recipes, so that you can
create new, healthy meals for your household. Fresh tilapia are in demand, not only for home
consumption, but by restaurants and seafood outlets.
Tilapia are often grown along with vegetables in aquaponic systems. The nutrients from tilapia waste can
be used by the vegetables (lettuce, kale, tomatos, cucumbers, and other plants) for growth and this helps
to purify the water.
Here are 7 steps that will help you start growing tilapia:

1. Take a quick inventory of your personal motives and readiness.

Why do you want to raise tilapia? Determine what your goal is. Are you looking to grow fish to feed your
family?
If you grow enough fish, will you barter them with your neighbors for other goods or services? Do you
want to sell them at a local farmers market? Do you want to learn tilapia aquafarming on a small scale
before venturing into a larger, commercial enterprise?
What resources do you have?
Do you have a source of water available to you. For example a farm pond or stream on your property.
Dont worry if you dont have a natural water source available. Tilapia are freshwater fish and have been
grown successfully in conditioned tap water.
Do you have materials available that you can use as part of your farming efforts. You dont need a fortune
to start growing tilapia, but you must likely will need a modest budget to purchase fish and some other
items.
Look at ways to use the resources you have at hand. For example, a plastic childs swimming pool may
be the perfect tank to hold your first crop of fish.
Can you learn fish rearing techniques? Tilapia are easy to grow, but it will take some education on your
part to learn about how to raise these fish successfully.
If your personal assessment confirms that raising tilapia is for you, then continue on to following steps.
2. Find out about your local regulations.
Before you begin raising tilapia, even for home consumption, you should check with your state authorities
to determine if there are any specific regulations on obtaining and possessing tilapia. Each state has its
own guidelines.
You may also be able to get assistance on growing tilapia from your states aquaculture extension agent.
If you intend to sell the fish you raise, then you will want to organize your business. You can register as
either sole-proprietorship, partnership, corporation or LLC.
For business ventures, there may also be a commercial license, operating permit, and other requirements
that may be required by the state.
CAUTION: Tilapia are invasive fish and can quickly displace native fish populations if you introduce them
into natural water bodies. You must take care to make sure you properly dispose of any live fish or waste
water containing eggs or juvenile file. Any fish that you dont consume can make ideal compost if added
to your home garden.

3. Develop a plan and budget.

Take the time to develop a plan for how you will raise your tilipia. This does not have to be a formal plan
or even written down, but you do need to think about the following items:
How will you learn about culturing tilapia? For example, will you purchase a book, contact your
states extension agent, use online resources, or attend a course on tilapia culture.
What is your budget? The amount of money you have available for your project will have a bearing on
whether you purchase materials new or used, or whether you try to improvise using materials you already
have.
Do you need to purchase items, such as a tank, biofilter, aerator, nets, feed or other equipment? If so,
where will you get them?
How will you maintain your fish? What will you feed them and when? How will you maintain the proper
levels of dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, pH, and nitrogen compounds present in water? How will you
keep these warmwater fish at the proper temperature? Tilapia are able to withstand a range of
environmental conditions, but you do need to try to optimize their growing conditions for best results.
Do you intend to breed fish so that you can avoid having to purchase fry or fingerlings? If so, what type of
hatchery system will you use?
What will you do when fish are ready to harvest? Do you intend to use them for your household food or
sell them to local markets?
4. Set up your tilapia system.
Tilapia can be grown successfully in a variety of environments, including ponds, cages, raceways, and
tanks. Urban farmers have even reported growing them in trash cans.
Growing fish in a pond is perhaps the simplest method. You may even be able to allow the fish to feed on
the natural food available in the pond
If you are using a tank or cage, you will need to purchase the materials needed to set up these systems. If
you are using tanks, especially where the water is not being recirculated, you may need to condition the
water for a few days before introducing your fish.
So set up your culture environment. It is probably best to start small and evolve into a larger system, as
your experience grows.
5. Get fish to start your farm.
Now that you have your culture environment ready to go, it is time to introduce fish into your system for
growout. Typically, you will purchase tilapia fingerlings (juvenile fish in range of 0.75 to 2.0). Find a
reputable dealer to purchase your fish from.

After you receive your fingerlings, you may need to acclimatize your fingerlings slowly to the temperature,
pH, and general water conditions of the growout environment. Introduce your new crop of fish into the
growout environment and begin farming.
Note: You may also purchase fry (fish less than 0.75), but they require more attention for their growout.
6. Grow your fish to harvestable size.
During the growout phase you need to feed your fish and maintain favorable environmental conditions.
The best growth occurs when water chemistry is maintained within an optimal range. For tilapia, the
recommended water chemistry values are as follows:
Temperature: 80-100F, 85F is optimal
(Note: tilapia will slow their eating at 75F, will become weak at 60F and die at 50F)
Dissolved Oxygen: 5-7 ppm (parts per million)
PH: 7-7.5
Free Ammonia (not total ammonia): optimal=0, 2ppm will kill, 1ppm will slow growth.
Nitrite: 0.3 mg/l or less
Nitrate: 200-300 ppm
CO2: 20 mg/l or less
Chlorine: 0
Just like growing a traditional vegetable garden requires proper care and maintenance, you will need to
watch over your aquacrop to promote optimal growth. Under proper growth conditions, tilapia will reach
harvestable size in 4-6 months.
In addition to raising your fish for food, you may want to set aside some of your adult fish as breeders to
produce fry and fingerlings to reseed your fish crop for another harvest. This is truly the way to make
your tilapia farm self-sustaining.
7. Harvest your fish.
After the growout phase, your fish are ready for harvesting and you can start to enjoy the fruits of your
labors. Find some interesting new tilapia recipes and prepare some healthy, tasty meals for your family to
enjoy.
If you intend to sell you fish, then initiate your tilapia marketing and sales program.

Tilpia grows very fast and reaches marketable weight of at least 200 grams in
less than six months. A backyard fishpond for tilapia will increase family
income because it is a good quality food suitable forprocessing into dried,
smoked, or salted dried.

I.

Estimated Investment Cost

II. Procedure
Fishpond Selection and Preparation
1. Select Fishpond with the following characteristics:
Clay soil to hold water
Water is accessible throughout the year and can be sourced from
river, spring, deep-well, rain or tap water. It must be free from pesticide
contamination and pollution.
Site is elevated for water to flow easily.
Pond size could be 30-200 sqm. initially and can be expanded.

 Should not be flooded during the rainy season and has enough
sunlight.
2. Level the bottom of the pond to prevent seepage.
3. Conduct pond treatment only in concrete ponds to remove the toxic
effect of cement. Do this by washing, flooding, and draining the pond at
least three (3) times.
4. Fertilize with organic fertilizer (chicken manure) at a rate of 1kg/sqm.
5. Fill the pond with water at an initial depth of 5-10 cm after the
applicationof organic fertilizer for a week. This would allow the growing
of algae to serve as natural feed for the fish. Growth can be observed
through the greenish coloration of water.
6. Fill the pond with water to the desired level between 1m to 1.5 m
7. To ensure no fish will escape, fine-meshed wire should screen the
drainage area (pipe).
Stocking
1. Stock during the early morning or late in the afternoon when the
water is cool to avoid the weakening of the fish. Care should be
maintained. Choose pure quality stocks and do not allow them to
crossbreed with other species to preserve their genetic quality.
2. Deliver the fingerlings to the pond in oxygenated plastic bags to
ensure maximum survival of the fingerlings.
3. To assimilate water in plastic bags, open the plastic bags of
fingerlings to float within the pond from 30 minutes to one hour. Open
the plastic bags in water to allow the fingerlings to swim freely.
4. Stock the ponds of at least 6 fingerlings/sqm. The ratio is 1 male is to
3 females. Avoid to pair many male tilapias because this tends to slow

down the production of fingerlings since they tend to eat their own
fingerlings due to lack of feed.
Care and Maintenance
1. Feed the tilapias twice daily (morning and afternoon) in one portion of
the pond. Supplement feeds with fine rice bran, bread crumbs,
earthworms and others at an initial rate of 5% of the total body weight of
the fish.
2. Maintain the natural fishfood by adding more fertilizer every week.
Place chicken droppings in sacks and suspend in the water at every
corner of the pond. Put 2.5 kg of chicken manure per bag.
3. Maintain a water depth level of 1- 1.5 meters.
4. Gradually remove excess fingerlings after the third month of stocking.
Retain 6 fingerlings/sqm. Excess fingerlings can be used in the
manufacture of fish meal and as ingredient for livestock and poultry
needs.
5. Plant kangkong and gabi at one portion of the pond to provide shade
for the fish during hot weather and to serve as growing media for natural
fish food. Water lily also provides shade. However, do not totally cover
the pond with plants as these will interfere with the natural food
production process.
6. Prevent seepages and leakages by patching them with
muds. Clear the pond dikes with weeds.
7. Plant trees and grass near the dike to avoid erosion and avoid
dumping of garbage.
Harvesting

 1. Introduce catfish to pond to control the population of small fishes for

at least three months before harvest. After 4-6 months, tilapias weigh
200-400 grams and are ready for harvest.
2. Drain the pond totally and allow fish to accommodate the lowest
portion in the drainage area for easy harvesting. After harvesting stock
the pond again.
Sources on procedures:
Sustainable Livelihood Options for the Philippines An Information kit
(Coastal Ecosystem). Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR).

 III. Estimated Costing and Pricing (For 1 Kg of Tilapia)

* Estimated pricing and costing is based on a 100 sqm.

concrete pond.
* Tilapia weigh at an average of 200-250 grams and are sold at
4-5 pieces for every kilo.
* The higher the volume (and larger the pond area) of
production per season (more than 202 kgs.), the lower the
production cost, thus further increasing the mark-up to more

than 30%. The higher the mark-up, the more profits earned.
* If price per kilogram is lower compared with existing market
price, increase the mark-up to more than 30%.
IV. Registration Requirements
1. Business Name registration- DTI
2. Mayors Permit/ Residence Certificate and Sanitary Permit
3. Tax Identification Number BIR