Salmon is one of the rare and valuable freshwater fish. In the wild, this fish is very rare. Currently, some farmers in the Mekong Delta have developed a model of commercial catfish farming in earthen ponds and cages.

Mr. Huynh Van Minh, a farmer who has been raising commercial catfish in earthen ponds in Luu Nghiep Anh Township, Tra Cu District, Tra Vinh Province for more than 4 years, said: “I originally bought 1,000 seedlings at a price of VND15,000. /Fish to breed with other fish species such as platypus, galangal. During rearing it was found that the catfish can eat (but not much) vegetables, tubers, duckweed and processed food. Fish grow fast, no disease, little loss. So far the fish has reached a weight of 13-15kg/fish.

Salmon fish can be large, fragrant, sweet, and tough, so it’s popular. The bigger the fish, the more valuable it is. Polycultures grow faster than single-culture fish in soil ponds, according to the National Center for Freshwater Aquatic Breeds in the South. In a single culture model, the stocking density is 5 fish/10m2, after 28 months the fish weight is 3-4kg/fish. Fish grafted into soil ponds, density 2 fish/10 m2, after 28 months of culture, weight 3.5 – 4.5 kg/fish.

There are currently over 200 corals in Mr. Minh’s pond weighing 13-15kg/fish. Traders buy fish at the pond for 350,000 VND/kg for sizes under 15 kg/fish, 400,000 VND/kg for fish 15 kg/head or more.

“The big fish that come into the restaurant are overpriced. If you eat fish 5 kg/fish, you will see other fish 10 kg/fish. The bigger the fish, the better,” Minh said.

According to Mr. Minh, catfish is easy to farm, but harvesting it is difficult because the fish is of high value. The consumer market is in a narrow segment, namely restaurants and resorts, so production is slow. “The traders only catch about 10 fish each time. When I caught this, the fish stopped eating and got sick, it was very difficult for me. Also, transporting fish is difficult, it requires oxygen to get to the restaurant where the fish lives, new customers like it,” he said.

Minh added that he is the first household in the area to raise coral fish. Recently, 6 more households have also developed farming, so coral fish are no longer rare. Salmon has high value, but the output is very difficult, so Mr. Minh believes the model is difficult to replicate. He also advised that people who want to develop this fish should first find the issue.

“For me personally, rearing catfish is just a supplement, rearing other fish is considered piggyback. Because this fish is kept for a long time. The output is difficult, but I have a large pond, it’s okay to sell slowly. And if it is raised solely for economic purposes, then it will be very difficult. In order to recommend people to replicate this model, I think there needs to be a link to consume the output first,” shared Mr. Minh.

Recently, the National Center for Freshwater Aquaculture Breeds in the South in An Thai Trung Commune, Cai Be District, Tien Giang Province (under the Institute of Aquaculture II) and the An Giang Aquaculture Breeding Center have successfully bred seeds of this fish species. Contribution to the supply of juvenile fish to meet the needs of commercial fish farming.

Master Le Trung Dinh, who works at the National Center for Freshwater Aquatic Breeds in the South, said: “Each year the center supplies around 150,000 to 200,000 juvenile fish for the commercial fish farming market, thereby helping to conserve this rare fish genetic resource”.

The scientific name is Catlocarpio siamensis Boulenger, which belongs to the order Cypriniformes, carp family Cyprinidae, like Catlocarpio fish. The fish is only distributed in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. In Vietnam, fish are mainly found in the Hau and Tien rivers in the provinces: An Giang, Can Tho, Dong Thap, sometimes also in the Vam Co Tay and Vam Co Dong rivers, rarely in the Dong Nai river system. Coral fish are omnivores (plankton, algae, corkfruit and other fallen coastal fruits, organic humus, etc.). Fish live in the ground.