Apr 4 2012, 01:04 PM
Elmer:
I think you meant "mortality in marble goby is pretty high".
Marble goby does have a very strong market demand, domestically and internationally. You might need to be wary about costs vs market price though. For this fish, I would suggest that you market direct to your customer, instead of going through a middle man.
As you've rightly noted, the fish is not exactly the easiest species to culture, especially if your seed (fish fry) are from wild sources. There are a few challenges with wild caught seed:
(i) Feeding problem. It appears that in many cases, wild caught seed do not adapt to formulated or artificial feeds. Feeding with live feed is often part of the solution, however in certain cases, even if there is abundant live feed, some fish do not feed due to factors such as stress, competition etc. One easier, but possible slightly costlier, method of solving this is by getting farm raised seeds which have already been adapted to artificial feeds and captive culture. You might like to contact Marine Life Aquaculture Pte Ltd (Mr Frank Tan, (65) 9151 2221) about this, as he does supply to Malaysia also. But please do ensure enough feed is given, as marble goby can be highly cannibalistic.
(ii) Disease problem. This is usually associated with wild seeds also. Captive bred seed are normally quite free from diseases, but even then, it is still possible to stress the fish out when the environment isn't suited. Do note, marble gobies are ambush feeders, meaning they are most comfortable when there's adequate shelter and hiding places. You will need to look out for white spot disease, especially.
(iii) Growth rate problem. Honestly, this fish is not known for its fast growth. You can see this from its nature, where the fish is usually inactive except when feeding. Many culturist struggle with getting their fish to weigh in at 500g (standard market weight, I was told) within 8-12 months. This could become a problem, especially if cash flow is an issue. Again, do check with Mr. Frank on this, because his stock are able to hit 600g within 8 months quite consistently.
Aside from these issues, the availability of marble goby seed is one other matter. Currently in Malaysia, most of the fries are wild caught, either within Malaysia, or from Indonesia. Oh yes, speaking of which, please do verify with the person supplying the fries, if they are from freshwater or brackish water sources. Like barramundi (siakap), there is a slight difference in the biology and culture of saltwater vs freshwater variants. Although the saltwater variant can be adapted to freshwater, it usually takes time and there will be some casualties during this adaptation time.
What you're proposing has actually been done in Vietnam, and has proven some level of success. The main hindrance, they noted, was the availability of seed and disease outbreak.
On a side note:
I've seen one of the aquarium shops in PJ which cultures freshwater marble goby. The uncle is an old family friend, and what he did was build a cement tank, fill it up with bogwood/drift wood and PVC pipes, and pack the tank with wild guppies, freshwater shrimp, and seluang fish. And then, whenever he get marble goby (usually found in his weekly delivery of freshwater shrimp), he will add them to the tank. It seems there is little mortality or even cannibalism. He usually sells the 500-600g fish to the Chinese seafood restaurant next to his aquarium, and fetches very good prices. His tank isn't very big, about 10 feet x 10 feet, and just 3.5 feet deep. But his stocking density seems very high, about 70 fish per cubic meter. He reasoned that with adequate hiding places, it is still possible, despite the added bogwood and PVC pipes, and he didn't mind the challenge with catching the larger fish amidst the mess.
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Which is costly.
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