Unsri Supports the Development of Ornamental Fish Farming Potential in Ogan Ilir

"To support the development of ornamental fish farming potential in the regency, a community service (PKM) activity was conducted for ornamental fish farmers at the Mitra Mina Sejahtera Community Hatchery Unit (UPR) Mitra Mina Sejahtera," said Dr. Dade Jubaedah, S.Pi., M.Si., Chair of the PKM Team for the Aquaculture Study Program at Unsri, in Palembang on Monday.

She explained that the Mitra Mina Sejahtera UPR, located in the Griya Sejahtera Indralaya housing complex in Tanjung Pering Village, Ogan Ilir Regency, cultivates several ornamental fish species that are quite popular among the public.

Some of the ornamental fish species cultivated at UPR Mitra Mina Sejahtera include koi, manfish, betta, Sumatran fish, molly, guppy, and oscar.

According to him, the problem faced by ornamental fish farmers at the UPR is their limited mastery of aquaculture technology, resulting in ornamental fish production that is still suboptimal in both quality and quantity.

“Breeders still lack knowledge about ornamental fish farming management in general, ranging from hatchery operations, feed production, to water quality management,” he said.

Through community service activities, his team is working to help address these issues through several stages, such as coordination between the service team—comprising faculty members and students—and Tanjung Pering Village Chief Agus Salim, as well as Eko Budhi Setiawan, Chair of UPR Mitra Mina Sejahtera.

Next, there is a phase of outreach and the provision of training materials on topics such as ornamental fish farming, fish spawning techniques, feed production, and water quality management for ornamental fish farming, featuring Retno Cahya Mukti, S.Pi., M.Si., an expert in these fields, as the guest speaker.

In addition, students were placed in field internships at the UPR site to serve as a bridge for cooperation between the study program and the community.

To assess the success and evaluate the Unsri PKM activity, in September 2022, fish farmers and community members were asked to complete a questionnaire both before and after the event.

“Through this initiative, we hope to apply various aquaculture technologies that stem from research on ornamental fish at Sriwijaya University, particularly within the Aquaculture Study Program,” said Dr. Dade.