Breeding and husbandry

Ahrenhorster Edelfisch breeds its own fish. This gives the staff control over the fish stock. And this brings rewards. The fertilisation rate is 98% which is probably record beating. The team don’t rely on chance when it comes to designing and building the facilities. Together with the animal building systems manufacturer Big Dutchman, the Ahrenhorster Edenfisch team is working on environmentally-friendly indoor fish production within the BD Fish³ Equipment company – pioneering work in Germany.

The fish pass through different areas in the system: 

-        Breeding stock tanks

The breeding stock live in tanks where the annual cycle of seasons is simulated by altering water temperature. The wels spawns in summer. At any one time, some fish are under summer temperatures while others are living under winter conditions. This means there are fish ready to be milked of their eggs every eight weeks. Each brood fish is chipped under the skin and this enables constant monitoring.

-        Hatching and raising tanks

The eggs are placed in brood tanks to hatch.  After hatching, high value feed reduces losses in the raising area to an absolute minimum. A highly developed Multi-Measuring-System tests all important water parameters hourly. Constant sorting prevents cannibalism and all fish get their ideal pellet size.

-        Finishing tanks

A sophisticated indoor fish farming concept maintains excellent water quality with minimal addition of water. The fish live in groups of up to 800 animals in large tanks with adequate freedom of movement. Through the addition of Effective Microorganisms (EM), the water environment remains balanced. This is more effective than the treatment of damaging organisms with chemicals. The flesh of the fish remains free of contaminants.

-        Holding tanks

The catfish spend at least one day before slaughter in holding tanks in which the temperature sinks slowly from 24 to 8°C. Feeding is stopped one day beforehand to ensure the gut is completely empty. The fish are slaughtered to order on the day of delivery – the guarantee of absolute freshness.