How to Make a Milkfish (Bangus) Feeder Device

How to Make a Milkfish (Bangus) Feeder Device

Background
 
This June, we began the latest cropping season for bangus growing (June 1, 2017 to May 31, 2018).

Last year's production was our best so far. But there's still room to improve especially in feeding our bangus and in dealing with tilapia in our bangus grow-out ponds.

From experience, we learned it’s quite hard to insulate bangus from competing tilapia in the same pond. After draining and sanitizing the pond (using tea seed powder)  what happens? Tilapia eggs manage to survive during pond draining, treatment and water transfer. Pond conditions allow them to grow from eggs to fry to fingerlings. They now swim alongside our bangus.

Expectedly, tilapia compete for feeds with our bangus – thus, undermining the growth, size and weight of our bangus, the primary crop.

Last year, we had a similar problem with tilapia mixing with bangus in our grow-out ponds. As a result, our average harvest size of bangus was below norm.

For a typical milkfish grower, the aim is to grow bangus in 3 to 4 months, at an average of around 4 pieces per kilo. For a Class A pond operator, the target is even more stringent – 3 pieces per kilo after 3 months or better.

Last year, we only managed to grow to 4.5, or 5, or 6 pieces average per kilo of bangus per harvest. As a small consolation, we also harvested and sold large quantities of tilapia, but at a much lower price compared to bangus.

To be clear, tilapia are not thrash fishes at all. They can still command fairly decent prices especially when grown to market size. But they are best grown in a separate pond and fed with suitable lower cost feeds.
 
Bangus Feeder Device

So what can be done if tilapia “invade” a bangus pond and become opportunistic feeders?
 
Our planned strategy this year - use bangus feeder devices.

How does a feeder device work? Commercial feeds are poured into a plastic jug (hanging upside down). A PVC pipe protrudes from the mouth of the jug all the way to the pond water level below. Between the jug opening and the pipe is a plastic bottle, which serves as valve. When the bangus nudges or bumps lightly against the pipe, the valve opens and feed kernels are allowed to drop into the water below.

Through the feeder device, the bangus are expected to gain an upper hand during feeding time. They flock to the feeding station and crowd around the feeder. And when they do, the tilapia are kept at bay, keeping a safe distance, lest they get bumped off and hustled out by the “big guys.”

For a video of a feeder device, click this.
 
This is in contrast to a non-feeder way of feeds application (that is, feeds are broadcast or thrown by hand into the water, spread by wind action, over a wide surface area). 

Last year's results showed that bangus and tilapia alike, had equal chances of feeding. Our expensive bangus feeds were also consumed by the many tilapia. Result: bangus in the ponds were undersized and undernourished.

This year, as corrective measure, we built four feeder devices, two in each grow-out pond, hopefully with good results. 

How to make one? See procedures below.

How to Make a Feeder Device
 
1. Prepare the following feeder parts:

· A used water dispenser plastic jug

· A piece of PVC water pipe

· An old wire hanger

· A used plastic mineral water bottle (small)

· A piece of metal flat bar

· A pair of metal nut and bolt

· GI wire

2. Have the following equipment ready:

· Welding machine (or you can go to a shop for service for a small fee)

· Power drill and metal bit

· Pliers

· Screw driver

· Knife

3. Prepare the metal bracket for the plastic jug as follows:

a. Cut the metal flat bar so that it’s three inches longer than the diameter of the base of the water jug.

b. Drill a hole on the stem of the bolt.

c. Drill a hole at the mid length of the flat bar.

d. Weld the nut to the flat bar so that the nut hole coincides with the hole on the flat bar.

e. Insert the bolt into the hole flat bar and through the welded nut.

f. Set aside the completed bracket.

A completed metal bracket made of a flat bar, with hole in middle, nut welded on one side and bolt inserted into nut (you can use a smaller gauge flat bar)

4. Get the old wire hanger and straighten it to produce a length of thick wire (thicker than the ordinary GI wire).

A piece of thick wire (such as from a straightened wire hanger)

5. Insert one end of the wire to the hole in the bolt attached to the metal bracket. Bend the wire in place, using pliers.

Inserting wire into bolt hole

Tightening wire in place

6. Using a knife, cut off the bottom of the plastic jug.

Bottom part of plastic jug cut off

7. Place the metal bracket on top of the inverted plastic water jug, with the attached wire going down. Insert the wire through the mouth (or spout) of the jug.

8. Cut the wire to correct length, allowing for space for the top half of water bottle (see Step 9 below).

Cutting wire to correct length after inserting wire into jug

9. Cut the plastic water bottle into half, retaining the top part and its cap.

Cutting plastic bottle crosswise into two, retaining the upper portion with the cap

10. Make a small hole in the middle of the plastic bottle cap.

Making a hole on the bottle cap

11. Insert the wire into the cap. Twist back the plastic bottle into the cap.

Cap inserted into wire

Bottle twisted back on into cap (wire inside)

12. Insert the plastic bottle tightly into the mouth of the jug (bottle serves as valve).

Bottle sitting snugly on the mouth of the jug (bottle serves as valve to close or open the jug spout)

13. Insert a piece of PVC pipe (1/2 inch diameter) into the wire from the bottom of the bottle up to the cap; mark spot on the PVC where a hole will be made.

PVC pipe inserted up to bottle cap then marked where hole on the pipe will be made

14. Make a hole on the pipe. 

PVC pipe with hole (into which the wire will be hooked)

15. Remove the bottle from the wire, remove the jug, then unfasten the wire from the bracket (to make the job of connecting the wire to the pipe easier).

16. Insert one end of the wire into the hole in the pipe.

Making a bend in the wire to prepare inserting into the pipe hole

Inserting wire into hole in PVC pipe

17. Insert back the bottle into the wire (through the hole in the cap).

inserting the wire back into the bottle through the cap

18. Reinsert back the jug into the wire, then reattach the wire to the metal bracket.

Reinserting the wire into jug through its mouth, then reconnecting wire to metal bracket

Note that the plastic bottle should be outside the jug, with the spout of the bottle snugly sitting (like a valve) on the mouth of the jug.

Note: Adjust the length of the wire, if necessary. If too long, cut the wire to correct size until the plastic bottle spout sits tightly on the mouth of the water jug. To make sure that no feeds will drop when "valve" is closed.

Completed bangus feeder (top half view)

Completed bangus feeder (bottom half view)

13. Test the feeder to see if the jug spout opens with a lateral movement of the PVC pipe. Note: To loosen the pipe and allow some gap between the plastic bottle and the jug, use hand to tighten or loosen (i.e., lower or raise) the bolt in the metal bracket.

When the pipe is hanging vertically with no movement, the water bottle (serving as a “valve”) seals the opening of the jug.

When the pipe is nudged from its vertical position and swings left or right, the “valve” opens (a small gap is created between the jug opening and the bottle valve) and feed morsels are released from the jug.


Constructing a Bamboo Bridge for the Feeder Device


A bangus feeder device is hung directly above the pond water. Locate the feeder device in an area deep enough for the schools of bangus to swim to. Thus, a bridge is needed for this purpose, from which to hang the feeder.
 
We use bamboo bridge for each feeder device. It consists of 4 parts: a handrail, bridge deck or floor, posts, and supporting braces.

See procedures below on how to build one.

1. Buy “calasan” bamboo and prepare the following bamboo bridge parts:

a. Posts – prepare 6 pieces, 9 feet long each as main structural support for the bridge.

Five posts (middle of photo) with sharpened end. Note: an existing old bamboo pole will be used as the sixth pole.

b. Handrail – prepare one piece, 16 feet, 4 inches long to serve as hand support.

A piece of "calasan" bamboo to be used as handrail for the bridge

c. Bridge deck (floor) – prepare 2 pieces, also 16 feet, 4 inches each to serve as walk way from the perimeter dike to the feeder device at the end of the bridge.

Two pieces of calasan bamboo to be used as bridge deck or floor

d. Short wooden joists - over which the bridge deck is built – prepare 3 pieces, 21 inches each.

Three pieces of wooden tree branch to be used as joists over which the bridge deck is built

 
e. Bamboo support poles - to hold the posts in place

f. Nylon rope - #8 (4 mm) 

Unused nylon cord for tying bamboo pieces together

2. Install the 6 posts for the bamboo bridge. Sharpen one end of each 9 foot-post. Bury the sharpened end into the pond bottom until about 4.5 feet remaining length is visible from water level. Install a pair of posts at the dike side, a pair at the middle, and a pair at the farthest end of the bridge.

In our case, we installed only 5 posts, making use of an existing bamboo post in the dike where the bridge is to be installed. 

See two posts at end of bridge, two posts at middle, two posts at dike side (bottom part of picture, of which one is an existing old pole)

3. Tie one wooden joist to each pair of posts using nylon rope (see 3 joists, above photo, one at end of bridge, one at middle, and a third one at dike side).

4. Lay two long poles across the joists (see above photo in Step 2). These poles serve as the bridge deck, or floor, or walkway from the dike to the farthest end of the bridge where the bangus feeder will be hung. Tie them to the joists using GI wire. 

Note: You can make the bridge deck wider and lay three (instead of two) long poles across the joists. But in our case, two poles would be good enough.


5. Install bamboo diagonal support to the posts for greater stability. The diagonal support at the end of the bridge connects the two end posts and is long enough to also support the handrail (see Step 6 and photo below)

6. Tie the handrail to the diagonal support at the end of the bridge, to the post at the center of the bridge, and to the tall post at the dike end of the bridge, using nylon rope (see photo below).

Completed bamboo bridge seen from side view

View of bridge from the dike, how it is anchored to the earth dike and to an existing old pole

7. Hang the bangus feeder device at the farthest end of the bamboo bridge. Make sure that the bottom end of the PVC pipe is immersed 6 inches from water surface. You may need to install additional bamboo supports to adjust the feeder height (see photo below).

Feeder device hanging from a bamboo bridge; see additional bamboo supports at the end to adjust the feeder device at the desired height

Two bangus feeder devices - one at the left, and the other farther down near the red roofed bamboo hut (top of photo).

8. Make sure that the jug opening is wide enough to allow dropping of feed pellets to the water below. Turn the adjustment bolt by hand to tighten or loosen the opening.

9. Train the bangus to use the feeder device first by tossing a handful of fry mash around the feeding area. The strong smell of the fry mash will attract the bangus. Also, do continuous banging of a stick against the bamboo bridge to get the bangus’ attention. The sensitive receptors in the bangus will be able to detect the slight vibrations created at the water surface. As the bangus start to approach, toss a handful of floating commercial feeds around the area so they can start feeding.

Note: Remember that prior to the use of the feeder device and use of commercial feeds, the bangus get their food from natural sources (tiny plant and animal organisms in the pond). They tend to be wary of human presence and initially stay away. But slowly, they get attracted to the feeds until they eventually swarm around the feeder device (see photos below and pls. click this to see the video clip). 

Bunch of bangus swarming around the feeder device suspended from a bamboo bridge in the feeding area

Bangus nudging the plastic pipe from side to side, with the feed pellets dropping to the water below (as seen from another angle)

For a complete list of Fish Pond Buddy blog posts on fish farm-related topics, please click the Index page.

How to Make Coconut Oil and Coconut Milk Residue ("Latik")

How to Make Coconut Oil and Coconut Milk Residue ("Latik")


Wanting to skimp on medicine cost, my farm folks often go for home remedies to cure simple body aches, back pains, and even pinched nerves.

They do physical work and are prone to such minor ailments. Once in a while they meet work-related accidents. Like my worker, Noli, who recently slipped and fell into the pond while hauling cut branches to the garbage pit. Luckily, he had only minor bruises and slight back pain.

For relief, they take herbal cures, go to the “hilot” (touch/massage therapist), or use medicines/antiseptics bought from a generic drug store in the town proper. Note: we do keep a first aid kit and stock a few items in our medicine cabinet.

Click this for my related post on Common Medicinal Plants, Fruits, and Trees and this for Traditional Healing in the Fish Farm, which includes therapeutic/pressure massage (“hilot”).

For today, I’ll write about how we make coconut oil at the fish farm. 

For this purpose, we use our own nuts (the mature brown nuts, not the green ones). They usually fall naturally into our ponds or dikes. For a few, we pick them off the top of the tree using a hooked long pole.

Picking brown nuts from a coconut tree

Picker holding two brown nuts

We use brown coconuts: (a) to make coconut milk, or (b) coconut oil. Click this for my related post on the Uses of the Coconut Tree in our Bangus (Milkfish) Farm.


Both products go through the same process, except that turning coconut milk into oil takes more time and a few more steps.

I thought of featuring coconut oil-making in my next blog, after I saw my overseer, Lyn, grate the meat of a newly cracked brown coconut.

I told her “Wait, let me take some pictures of what you’re doing.” I thought she was preparing some lunch dish cooked in coconut milk.

But she told me that they had run out of stock of "hilot" (therapeutic/pressure massage) oil. And they’re making a new batch. They always have it in stock for home use.

How do they apply oil? By themselves, such as on parts of the arms, feet, legs, or back that they can reach. For back pain cure, a sister or daughter massages the oil on upper/lower back and along spine. In some cases, they invite an elderly lady "hilot" (touch/massage therapist) (a neighbor), to perform a more thorough massage.

The coconut massage oil has three main ingredients – coconut oil, diced fresh ginger, and a bit of kerosene. As substitute for kerosene, aromatic wood chips (from a tree that may be some kind of sandalwood or teak, I’ll find out later) are used.

This is how they make coconut oil.

A. Materials and Tools

1. Brown coconut

2. Grater

3. Bolo knife

4. Small plastic basin

5. Strainer

B. Procedures

Cracking Open the Brown Coconut

1. Get four pieces of brown coconut. Make sure the nut is still good. If it’s too light, it’s no good and has no meat. If shaken and there’s water inside, it can be used for oil.

Two newly picked brown coconuts

 
2. Using a bolo knife, remove first the thick outer husk cover of the nut. Start by making a vertical cut along the thick outer skin of the nut from top to bottom. Cut should be deep enough to completely slice the husk down to the shell.

 

Making the first vertical cut along the thick outer husk

3. Then make another short slice 3 inches away at the middle. With the left arm holding down the nut and right hand holding the bolo (with the blade end inserted under the husk), twist the nut counterclockwise. The first slice of husk will be pried loose.
 

Prying loose the second slice of husk from the shell

4. Make another short vertical cut 3 inches away at the middle. You’ll have another slice of the husk that you can pry loose. 

5. Make other slices on the remaining husk cover and pry them loose until the inner hard shell is fully exposed.

Prying loose the third and fourth slices of husk from the shell; slice and pry off the remaining husk portion until inner hard shell is fully exposed

A fully exposed inner hard shell of the nut after dehusking

6. Crack open the dehusked shell of the nut. Pour the coconut water into a pitcher.

Preparing to crack open the hard shell of a dehusked nut

About to crack open a dehusked nut held by the left hand

Pouring fresh coconut water into a plastic pitcher (try a glass or two - it's thirst quenching,  sweet tasting, healthy juice; it's one of my favorites at the farm).

7. When the nut is fully emptied of coconut water, resume cracking the shell into two semi-spheres.
 

Slicing the dehusked shell into two

Coconut Apple – a Bonus
 
I was watching my assistant, Noli, crack open the matured brown coconuts. Lyn, my overseer, was already preparing our two graters to be used for the task.

After the nuts were cracked and the remaining coconut water emptied into the pitcher, Noli took out a sponge-like ball inside the shell. It's called coconut apple (“pala” in Pangasinense) which Noli handed to me to eat.

A coconut apple seen sitting at the bottom of the coconut meat after opening the shell

A bigger coconut apple from another brown nut

I’m familiar with this ball-like part of the meat because I’ve tasted a number of them. All I know is how refreshing and wonderful it tastes. Sweetish, soft and moist. I eat it fresh from the coconut shell that was just sliced open.

It’s this spongy ball-like yellow whitish material that develops inside the coconut. Later it becomes a young coconut seedling that shoots out of the husk.

Anyway, let’s go to the next steps.

Grating the Coconut Meat/Extracting the Milk
 
8. Get a coconut grater and a clean plastic basin.
 
9. Proceed to grate a half sphere of the coconut shell to remove the white coconut meat inside.

Removing the white coconut meat from a dehusked shell using a grater

 10. Do this for all four coconuts.

11. Put the grated meat in a plastic basin.

12. Pour hot water into the basin with the grated coco meat, then mash. 

Pouring hot water into a basin of grated coconut meat

Mashing the grated coconut meat to extract the milk

13. Pour tap water. Mash some more and squeeze out the milk.

Adding tap water

Mashing the grated coconut meat some more

14. In the basin, squeeze out the milk from the mashed grated meat.

Squeezing out the milk

15. Transfer the squeezed grated meat into another clean plastic basin.

Transferring the squeezed out meat or pulp to another plastic basin

16. Meanwhile, pour the basin containing the milk into another basin using a strainer.

The coconut milk will then drip into the basin and the grated meat will remain in the strainer.

Pouring milk into a basin using a strainer

17. Squeeze out the grated meat in the strainer, to extract any remaining milk.

Squeezed out pulp left on strainer; the first coconut meat extract which is thicker and creamier in a basin. This first extract is called coconut cream ("kakang gata")

18. Set aside the coconut pulp (squeezed out coconut meat)(“sapal” in Tagalog). Also set aside the first extract of coconut cream in preparation for the second extract.

19. Do a second mashing and squeezing by pouring a little water on the coconut pulp. That is, do Steps 13 to 18. The second coconut meat extract is thinner and is called coconut milk.

Note: The coconut meat residues or pulp are used in our farm as ingredient for native pig feeds. Experts say that these can be made into coconut flour.

Cooking the Coconut Milk
 
20. Pour the coconut cream/milk from the plastic basin (these are the first and second extracts) to a cooking pan.

Pouring coconut milk into a pan atop a clay stove

21. Boil the coconut milk for about an hour and a half until you see the oil with brown coconut milk residues (called "latik" in Tagalog).

Coconut milk residues "latik" can be seen in the pan just before it is removed from the clay stove (pls. excuse the off center photo shot)

22. Pour the oil into a bowl. Then keep the "latik" for use as topping for "ube kalamay" (purple yam dessert made from shredded purple yam, glutinous rice, coconut milk, sugar) or "biko" (common local delicacy made from ground glutinous rice, coconut milk, and brown sugar).
 

Pouring oil into a bowl through a strainer

 

Brown coconut milk residues ("latik") in a coconut shell

Coconut oil and coconut milk residues

23. To make "hilot" (therapeutic/pressure massage) oil, mix diced ginger with the coconut oil and add kerosene or aromatic wood chips. 

Ingredients of "hilot" oil in our fish farm village - kerosene (top), coconut oil (right), diced ginger (bottom); the combined mix at left. (Note: above photo was taken from my blog post on traditional healing)

Aromatic wood chips can be used instead of kerosene

A jar of "hilot" oil combining all three ingredients. (Note: above photo was taken from my previous blog post on traditional healing)

For a complete list of Fish Pond Buddy blog posts on fish farm-related topics, please click the Index page.