SHL Journal - Producing Tasty Fresh Water Fish

Prior to having my own farm, I had tried eating "farmed" fresh water fish and found it to have a "muddy" flavor as well as having a strong odor.  The not-so-nice odor starts emitting from the minute you clean the stomach area of the fish.  Since then, I have avoided eating fresh water fish - one could say that I developed an aversion to it.  I keep hearing some people raving about them so when I started the farm, I decided to research on the possible reasons as to why some fish taste so bad and why some are said to taste good.

From my research, I concluded a few factors.  The first factor is the quality of the water which is dependent on the water source as well as the type and size of the fish pond.  In creating my fish pond, I decided make the pond as natural as possible.  After studying the contour and history of the land, I found that there used to be streams on this property so I decided to use the "stream tracks" as the basis and deepen them to about 1.5-2m depth, creating different depths in different areas of the pond thus having different water height levels.  After all, when you think about it, the river beds are not all one level but have "hills and valleys".  As the pond was dug out, it hit the water table level so thus ensuring (to a certain point) that the pond will not go dry and in a certain way, enable constant supply of ground water to the pond.  The result is a fish pond that resembled a river flowing through the land - definitely not a rectangular or square shape, which is the home to several types of fish - kelah, tilapia merah and bunga, jelawat, ketutu, keli, tongsan, lampam jawa and kerai, puyu, tengas daun and other types of river fish.

Next was to ensure good, clean, fresh water was constantly flowing into the pond and this was achieved by laying polypipe at the source of water up in the hills and piping them down, which coincidentally also supplies the house, with this quality water.  The pond then served as a dual purpose, one to raise fish and the second as a non-stop overflow to the water supply.  By creating the pond this way, I did not have a need for an oxygenation machine that you will find in stagnant water fish ponds.  Without cement base, this enabled the natural-growing plants and algae to flourish with earth-based "food" readily available for them, which also provided another food source to my fishes.  The fish pond would then provide not only a good home for the fishes but also add a beautiful landscape feature to the farm where one can sit by the pond and enjoy the mornings or evenings without that awful water smell of stagnant water (which at times, as with stagnant water, provide a good breeding ground for mosquitoes!).  I learnt from the Department of Natural Resource that they tested the quality of the water by placing kelah fish and if they survived, the water is good.  Ikan kelah  is a fish which will only live in good quality water.  I am happy to see that my kelah is flourishing.

The second factor, is the food for the fish.  Some fish farms feed their fish with carcasses from goats to pigs as well as innards from chicken and also serve as their sewer tank (so no wonder some have an awful smell).  These methods provide for cheaper fish production as well as an easy way out for waste.  I am sure that many of you have heard the saying "You are what you eat".  Well, the same applies to the fish.  How can you expect tasty fish when they consume "garbage"?  Yes, you can produce cheap fish which enables the consumer to then purchase them cheap but I for one, would argue that you can produce reasonable-priced fish without resorting to these alternative food for the fish.  Many take it for granted that the fish they eat is "good" and do not question how it is produced.  After all, if it is bought at the supermarkets and markets, it must be alright.  Think again, the name of the game is price - they want cheap source, mark it up to what the market will bear, and sell it.  Few if any, really check what the fish is fed.  It is also the consumers fault, when they find quality fish which is slightly higher, they complain and want cheaper prices without thought that cheap also means that some corners will be cut and you get what you paid for.  I experimented with feeding the fish a mixture of chopped cassava leaves, "keladi" leaves and inner portion of the banana stem supplemented with fish feed pellets.  The fish also have a selection of small river fish and shrimps that enter the pond from the water supply - a truly natural food source.  I must admit that this approach of feeding the fish requires additional time and effort but it is well worth it.  By creating the food mixture, I also have another option for recycling the banana stems when I harvest the bananas, tapioca and ubi keladi, apart from composting them to be a fertilizer for my "garden".

After one year, the I am now able to start harvesting the fish.  However, with the design of the pond, I am now pondering on the best mechanism to harvest the fish.  I strive to grow the fish as naturally as possible and I have tasted the end result.  I enjoy crispy, fried fish (yes I know, it may not be the healthiest option to cook it) with a dribble of lemon juice that takes as little as 15 minutes from pond to plate.  Now, I love fresh water fish but only the ones from my fish pond with its natural sweetness and no smelly odor or muddy taste - you can say that I am very selective but I want the best in life for me :)