What is Basa fish?

Basa fish is a foreign fish that cannot be bred in our country. It is a freshwater fish and we can also regard it as catfish. It has very few bones, so it is easier to eat. It also has rich benefits and nutritional value. There may still be many people who don’t know much about this fish. So what kind of fish is Basa fish?

Basa fish is an important freshwater aquaculture species in Southeast Asian countries. It belongs to the order Siluriformes, and the Paugusius hamiltoa of the genus Paugusius is a scaleless fish. It is a unique high-quality economic fish in the Mekong River Basin. Its Vietnamese transliteration is "CABaSa", which means "three fat fish" because three large pieces of fat accumulate in the abdominal cavity of the fish during its growth, accounting for about 58% of its body weight.

This fish has the advantages of fast growth, large size, high yield, wide diet, easy breeding, white and tender meat, delicious taste, rich nutrition, no intramuscular spines, and easy processing. After one year of breeding, the seedlings can grow to 500-800 grams, and the next year they can grow to 1500-2000 grams, and the largest individuals can reach 15 kilograms.

Basa fish like to gather in groups and often move in the upper and middle water layers. They are omnivorous and can be fed with artificial compound feed. They can swim to the water surface to eat when fed. It is resistant to low oxygen, has low requirements on water quality, and can be cultured at high density. About 3,000 fish of 4-5 cm in size are stocked per acre. During the seedling stage, they are mainly fed with small fish and rice bran. In about half a year, individual weight increases to 600-700 grams. The product price is more than 20 yuan.

It was reported that in 2008, at the Basa fish breeding experimental base in Yingshan County, Hubei Province, the first batch of 60,000 basa fish fry had begun to eat in large quantities. After 12 years of hard work, the breeding was finally successful. It is reported that this is the first time in the country that the fish fry have been successfully bred, filling a gap in my country's aquaculture industry.

Basa fish has delicate meat and delicious taste, and is rich in vitamins, minerals (mainly calcium) and other nutrients. However, the edible part has a very high water content and a low protein content, so it lacks nutritional value.