Harvested to orderFresh tilapia
Netted to order, about 500 g a fish
$6.20 a kg
Tilapia and catfish raised in clean, moving water
Clearwater Fish Farm raises tilapia and catfish in twelve earth ponds fed by a spring, and breeds its own fingerlings in the hatchery beside them. Buy fresh or smoked fish for the table, order fingerlings for your own pond, or bring your questions to a Saturday farm walk.
12 pondsfed by a spring
Tue and Friharvest mornings
3 to 5 cmfingerlings ready to stock
- Spring water, checked every morning
- Fish packed on ice
- Fingerlings sent in oxygen bags
- Saturday walks for new farmers
Fish for the table, fingerlings for the pond
Table fish are netted on Tuesday and Friday mornings and go straight onto ice. Order by 18:00 the day before a harvest.
Harvested to order
Tilapia fillets
Skinned and boned by hand, then vacuum packed
$12.50 a kg
Fresh catfish
Firm white flesh, about 1 kg a fish
$5.40 a kg
Smoked catfish
Hot smoked over hardwood in our own kiln, about 500 g
$9.80
For your pondFingerlings for stocking
Feeding well, 3 to 5 cm long and counted out by hand
from $14 per 100
Restaurant and market orders
Weekly fish for kitchens and market stalls, netted to the sizes you sell
Price on enquiry
EnquireCheckout adds the delivery fee for your address. Fingerlings travel in sealed oxygen bags to ponds within 60 km, or can be collected from the hatchery.
Twelve ponds, one spring and a meter on the bank
The ponds are dug into clay that holds water, and a spring keeps a slow flow running through them all year. Every morning someone walks the banks with a meter to check oxygen and temperature, and the aerators run on warm nights when oxygen falls.
Each pond holds only as many fish as its water can carry. They eat floating pellets, so the feeder can see how hungry they are and stop before any feed sinks to waste, and any fish that looks wrong at feeding time is lifted out and checked that day.
- Oxygen and temperature checked every morning
- Floating feed, measured by appetite
- Our own hatchery, so fingerlings never travel far
Tilapia or catfish?
New farmers ask this first. Both grow well in warm water, and the better choice depends on your water, your feed and the people who will buy the fish.
| What to weigh | Tilapia | Catfish |
|---|---|---|
| Water | Warm and well oxygenated, happiest around 25 to 30 °C | Warm water too, and it copes with less oxygen because it can gulp air |
| Feed | Takes plant based pellets and grazes on natural food in the pond | Needs a feed richer in protein, which usually costs more |
| Time to harvest | Often six to eight months to plate size | Often five to seven months to about 1 kg |
| Breeding | Breeds readily in ponds, which can crowd them with small fish | Seldom breeds in a pond, so stock comes from a hatchery |
| Selling | Whole and fresh, or as fillets | Fresh, in steaks, and smoked |
These are general patterns rather than promises. Growth depends on the warmth of your water, the feed and the care the fish receive.
A first pond, in the order we suggest
Practical steps drawn from the questions new farmers bring to our walks. None of them is a promise of income: fish prices, feed costs and losses change from season to season, so work out your own numbers before you spend.
Check the water and the land
Water that lasts through the dry season, soil that holds it and ground that does not flood.
Ask about the rules
Permits for ponds, water use and fish sales vary by country and region, so ask your local authority first.
Prepare and test the pond
Fill it, let it settle for a week or two and test the water before any fish go in.
Stock what the water can carry
Start with fewer fish than you think you can manage. We help you set a number.
Feed, record and find buyers
Weigh the feed, note every loss and line up buyers well before harvest day.
Farm walks, site visits and a starter course
Everything we teach comes from our own ponds, including the seasons that went badly. Book through the form below and we confirm the date.
Saturday farm walk
from$15
- The ponds, the hatchery and the smoking kiln
- Your questions answered at the pond side
- A tilapia tasting to finish
Pond site visit
from$60
- Water, soil and slope looked at with you
- A written note of what to fix before digging
- Travel within 40 km included
Two day starter course
from$120
- Pond preparation, stocking and feeding
- Testing the water with your own hands
- Harvest, records and a blank budget to fill in
We share what works here, honestly. We cannot promise what a pond will earn, because prices, feed costs and losses change from season to season.
A week on the ponds
Netting, hatching, counting, smoking and feeding, and the walks that end the week.
From kitchens, market stalls and new ponds (example reviews)
Two crates of tilapia every Friday, all the size we asked for and still cold from the ice when they reach the kitchen door. Not one short delivery since spring.
The site visit stopped us digging in the wrong corner, where the field floods every wet season. The note listed what to fix first, and the pond went in a month later.
Five hundred fingerlings in two oxygen bags, floated and released the way they showed us. Plain advice on feeding, and no big promises about money, which we appreciated.
Questions about fish, fingerlings and visits
How fresh is the fish?
It is netted on Tuesday or Friday morning, chilled on ice at once and delivered or collected the same day. Keep it in the fridge and cook it within two days, or freeze it.
Will fingerlings survive the journey?
They travel in sealed bags of pond water filled with oxygen, which keeps them comfortable for several hours. Float the closed bag in your pond for about 20 minutes so the temperatures match, then let them swim out.
How many fingerlings does my pond need?
That depends on its size, how fresh the water stays and whether you can add air. Tell us those three things and we suggest a starting number, which is rarely the largest one possible.
Can you promise a profit from fish farming?
No one honestly can. Fish prices, feed costs and losses change with the season and the market, so we help you draw up a budget with your own numbers and start small.
What should we wear on a farm walk?
Boots or sturdy closed shoes, because the banks get muddy. Everyone steps through the boot dip at the gate and washes their hands after touching fish or pond water, which protects you and keeps disease out of the ponds.
Can children come to the farm?
Yes, with an adult beside them the whole time. The ponds are deep and their banks are steep, so children hold a hand near the water and stay behind the rope in the hatchery.
Book a walk, a course or a site visit
Choose what you need and tell us a little about your land and water. Each booking is confirmed by phone or email within two working days, and large fish or fingerling orders are priced the same way.
- Farm walks on Saturdays at 09:00
- Boots or sturdy shoes, please
- Payment arranged directly with the farm
Visit the ponds
The farm shop and office sit by the hatchery, at the top of the track.
The farm office
On the river road, half an hour from town, with deliveries up to 60 km away
Shop and office hours
| Monday to Friday | 07:00 to 16:00 |
| Saturday | 07:00 to 13:00 |
| Sunday | Closed |
Finding the farm
Half an hour from town on the river road, signed from the last bridge. Follow the track to the yard, park by the hatchery and keep to the paths between the ponds.