Also excellent advice, jpsdad.
Usually the best "poor boy" practice is to let the professionals do their job - since they have more experience and better facilities. I seriously doubt I could generate 1-2" fry for 20 cents each!
OTOH, I am not shy about throwing out my crazy ideas onto the PB forum. If the experts deem it only "half-crazy", then I might do it for the fun and learning experience, rather that actually saving money.
By all means. I was just letting you know what your options are. I am sure you can grow 1-2" fry for less than 20 cents. Depending on your scale, you might have to exclude your time in the calculation. Presenting the option wasn't about saving money. The real problem, especially in a small pond dedicated to fingerling, isn't growing the 1 to 2" fry. The challenge might be avoiding the outcome where there is nothing but 1" to 2" fry. It is really important to be able to control the number of fry going into the fingerling pond. If done correctly, in the first season you will saturate the goaled standing weight with fingerlings that are large enough(4 to 6 inches) to grow to good sizes the following year.
I think the experience is worth more than the money saved and I encourage you to raise them from scratch if this better suits you. Just want you to know that there are networks and cooperatives in most states that provide fry and fingerlings at commercial prices ... even to small farmers with only one acre to stock. A catfish farmer would go absolutely broke if he had to pay 75 cents to a dollar for 6 " fingerlings which prices are typical for many fisheries providers who get them .... from the same commercial sources. Anyways, where you might stock 400 to 800 annually, there is an incentive to grow a 3 or 4 year supply of 6" fingerling in a small space especially if your alternative is .75 cents to a dollar.
