1 INTRODUCTION
There are about 5000 fish farmers in Western and Nyanza Provinces with about 7000 fish ponds. These ponds require about 3 million fingerlings each year.
There are not enough high quality fingerlings for all these ponds.
Importance of high quality fingerlings: faster growth, bigger fish, better production from the pond, a better financial return for the farmer.
Government and LBDA FPC's are not capable of supplying everyone, there is a very high cost of transport. This can be avoided by local supply.
In countries where fish farming is developed, private enterprise supplies most of the fish fingerlings. Government farms keep a good supply of quality brood stock for replacement, do research, and in our case, will supply catfish fingerlings.
Selling fingerlings is a good source of income for farmers, but the fingerlings have to be of good quality or there will be no buyers.
1.1 PURPOSE OF THIS COURSE.
To teach the principles of how to raise quality fingerlings.
To give practical experience in how to handle fish and fingerlings.
To supply, if the farmer wants, basic material for fingerling production and sale to other farmers can be supplied on credit through the Project Revolving Credit Scheme.
At the end of the course, you will be given a certificate for attendance which will help you in selling to other farmers in your region.
If you wish to supply fingerlings to other farmers, the Project will send a specialist to your farm to verify that you have good quality broodstock and are capable of supplying quality fingerlings to other farmers. The project will help in identifying clients, and use you as source of fingerlings to other farmers.
2 CHOICE OF SPECIES
There are many kinds of fish that can stay in a pond, but only a few of them are good fish for farming. From experience all over Africa, people have found that the tilapia fish, T. nilotica is one of the best fish for pond farming.
2.1 WHY T. NILOTICA?
Nilotica is a fast grower. It can reach 250 g in eight months in a fish pond.
It is a fish that spawns easily in a pond so there is no problem to get small ones for restocking your pond after harvest, as should be done in a well managed pond.
It feeds on many things that are in the pond, rice bran, manure, plankton, leaves, and insects.
It is a strong fish, and can be easily transported.
It is a healthy fish and does not get sick very easily.
2.2 WHAT IS WRONG WITH OTHER SPECIES?
There are many other fish that look a lot like nilotica that people have tried to raise in small ponds. What is confusing is that from the lake, there are often big fish of these different kinds. This does not mean that they grow fast. Some of the fish from the lake may be 5 years old when they are caught. Many of these fish will not grow well in a small fish pond.
These fish are different, the same difference between a cow and sheep, a mouse and a dog. The problem is that even if they look about the same, many of these fish do not grow very fast, and some never get big at all.
Tilapia zilli, the reddish black one with white lips, does not grow fast. It will stunt in a pond, and have lots of small fish when it is only a few inches long.
Most fish farmers who have problems with the choice of fish in their ponds are using haplachromis species. These remain very small in fish ponds, they look like small tilapia so it is difficult to chose them.
2.3 HOW TO TELL NILOTICA FROM OTHER SPECIES.
T. nilotica can grow up to 60 cm in length, and weigh over 5 kg. The colour is usually blue/grey, but they can change colour with the back ground. Mature males often have a red colouration especially around the head, mature females become a bit yellow.
The easiest way to tell nilotica from others is by the following:
Small nilotica have a dark spot along the dorsal fin, this soon disappears as they grow and is gone completely when they are adults. There are often some black spots on the tail end of the fish when it is young. Do not use this to identify nilotica as most tilapia have the same spots.
3 NATURAL SPAWNING
When the fish are about 100 g, or the size of a child's hand, they become mature and can spawn. In a pond, they can spawn at 50 g.
3.1 DETERMINATION OF SEXES
The males sexual organ is a long, white, thin protuberance with a small hole at the end, this is located at the end of the intestinal cavity of the fish.
For the female, the opening is a cross cut at the same place.
To effectively sex fish, they have to be at least 25 g. Smaller fish are very difficult to tell the sexes apart, and you shouldn't try as there will be too many mistakes.
3.2 NEST BUILDING
The male will build a nest that looks like a bowl. They build the nests in 40 cm of water. The male stays in the nest and changes to a red and white colouration. This is a signal to the female that he is ready to spawn. When a ripe female passes by, she will enter the nest and they will spawn.
Males are very aggressive in defending their nests, and will chase away other fish from the nest.
3.3 SPAWNING AND FERTILIZATION
When the female enters the nest, the two fish start swimming in circles. The female drops a few eggs, and the male passes over them and fertilizes them. As the female comes around again, she picks them up in her mouth. Spawning usually takes place at night. The whole process takes about 15 minutes.
After the female has shed all of her eggs and collected them in the mouth, she leaves the nest. The male will be ready to spawn with another female. After about 2 weeks, the male gets tired and abandons the nest. He will be ready to spawn again in a few more weeks, and will build another nest in a new spot, or fix up the old nest.
3.4 INCUBATION
After spawning, the female spends the next few days incubating the eggs in her mouth. The female changes to a yellow colouration with black stripes on the side. The lower jaw swells up to hold all the eggs and becomes yellow.
The eggs hatch in 2 or 3 days depending on the temperature, but the new fish still have a yolk sac and can't swim. In about 2 more days, the fish are ready to swim on their own.
3.5 CARE OF FISH FRY BY FEMALE
The female continues to take care of the small fish by keeping them safe in her mouth. The small fish swim close to the mother, and when there is any danger, she snaps open her mouth and all the fry swim into it for safety.
After about 5 days, the mother lets the fry go, and then they are on their own.
4 MANAGEMENT OF BREEDING PONDS
There are two main ways of managing a breeding pond. In both ways, there are many things in common.
4.1 FERTILIZATION AND FEEDING
Fish in a pond are not like chickens in a compound where they can roam around and find their own feed. The farmer has to feed the fish, or they will not grow and reproduce, and there will be nothing but a few small fish at the time of the harvest.
4.1.1 IMPORTANCE OF MANURE
Manure is the key to producing lots of small tilapia. The manure works as a fertilizer for the pond, and the fertilizer helps to grow the things that tilapia will feed on.
Manure is the easiest and best way to get good production from a fish pond, and it is strongly recommended. The more manure, the higher the production.
4.1.1.1 KINDS OF MANURE
Chicken manure is highly recommended. It is very concentrated, and one needs less of this than other manures. Cattle manure is not as strong, and one has to add a lot more of it to get a good effect. Pig, sheep, goat, rabbit, etc. manure is also good.
Other things act as manure. Waste from killing cattle (blood, rumen contents) is very good for producing fish.
4.1.1.2 RATES OF APPLICATION
The following rates for manure application are for 100 m2 of fish pond. These are the optimum rates. Do not go over this as this will be too much and you might kill the fish. Even if you don't use this much, use as much as you can find up to these limits.
Chicken: 1 litre pure manure/day/100 m2, 3 l poultry litter.
Pig: 1 bucket per day
Cattle: 2 buckets /day
Goats, sheep, rabbits, etc: 1 bucket per day.
Manure should be broadcast over the entire pond so it will work as a fertilizer.
4.1.2 COMPOST CRIB
If you can't get enough manure, use what is called a compost crib. This is made by pushing sticks into a corner of the pond so as to make a pile of compost.
4.1.2.1 WHAT GOES IN
In a compost crib, you can put things that take a long time to decompose and turn into fertilizer. Unlike manure, compost takes several weeks to rot to the point where it can be used as fertilizer.
Leaves, rotten vegetables, chicken intestines, grass, cassava peels, banana peels, maize stalks and leaves, wood ash, etc. can all go into a compost crib.
This compost crib works as a complement to the manure, not as a replacement. You should do both.
4.1.2.2 MANAGEMENT OF THE CRIB
Once a day when you visit the pond, take a stick and stir up the compost in the crib. This will help it decompose faster. Keep adding material as it decomposes.
4.1.3 FEEDING
There are many feeds that are good for feeding nilotica. In addition to the manure which feeds the fish by growing their own food in the pond, the farmer can make his fish grow faster and increase production in the pond by giving food directly to the fish.
4.1.3.1 KINDS OF FEED AND FEEDING RATES
Rice bran, wheat bran, or maize bran are all good feeds for fingerling production.
Feeding rates: Bran should be given at a daily rate of 0.25 kg (1 kimbo) for every 100 m2 of pond. This is enough to feed 20 males, 60 females, and their fingerlings.
Other feeds can be leaves (sikumuwiki), cabbage, or other spoiled vegetables. These are not nearly as good for the fish as rice or maize bran, and should only be given in addition to the bran.
If it is available, you should feed the fish with spoiled omena, or dried shrimp from the lake. This is the best food of all, but should be mixed with rice or maize bran. You don't need much, even 1 kg a week will make a big difference in the way your fish grow.
4.1.4 STIRRING THE POND BOTTOM
Raking or disturbing the bottom to stir up the nutrients and manure over about ¼ of the pond daily at 10:00 am will greatly increase the survival rate of the fish in fingerling ponds.
4.2 POND SIZE, DEPTH
Breeding ponds can be small. The minimum size is about 80 m2, and the biggest that is useful is about 250 m2. If they are smaller, there is too much problems with predation, the fish tend to stunt out, and the results are not very good. With bigger ponds, they are very hard to manage and net the fish with only 2 or 3 people to help you.
T. nilotica spawns in water depth of 40 cm. An ideal spawning pond has this depth over most of the pond area.
4.3 STOCKING RATIO
Breeding fish should be stocked at a ratio of 3 females to 1 male, 4 fish per 5/m2. This means that in a pond of 100 m2, there should be 20 males and 60 females.
4.3.1 FISH SIZE
Fish for breeding should be about 75 to 100 grams when you stock them. They will grow in the pond, and they will last at least 1 or 2 years when used for breeding.
5 MANAGEMENT LEVEL 1. USING ONLY 1 POND FOR FINGERLING PRODUCTION
There are two levels of management for fingerling production. In this first method, only one pond is used for fingerling production.
Fish are stocked in one pond at the same ratio as above. The fingerling producer will seine out the fingerlings when there is a client, and keeps the rest of the fingerlings along with the brood fish in a pond.
5.1 ADVANTAGES
only one pond is necessary.
if you are only producing fish for your own ponds and perhaps one or two other farmers, this management will produce enough for your needs.
5.2 DISADVANTAGES
the number of fingerlings produced over 1 year is not that much. If you are going to be producing fingerlings for many farmers, you need to follow the second management method.
when fingerlings stay in the same pond with the brooders, there are many things that happen to lower production.
The small tilapia are cannibals and eat the newly hatched fry.
Small fish eat much the same food in the pond. If there are too many fingerling in the pond, when the newly hatched fingerlings start looking for food, there isn't enough for all the fingerlings and the new ones die.
If there are a lot of fingerlings in the pond, the adults won't breed as much as in a pond with no fingerlings.
6 MANAGEMENT LEVEL 2. USING 2 OR MORE PONDS FOR FINGERLING PRODUCTION
With this method, there are 2 or even 3 ponds used for fingerling production. There is the breeding pond, and then one or more “fingerling ponds”.
After stocking the breeding fish, the farmer waits 6 weeks. The fingerlings are netted out and the breeders returned to the pond. The fingerlings are about the same size and are all transferred into one of the fingerling ponds. After 2 to 3 weeks, the breeding ponds are seined again and the fingerlings either added into the first fingerling pond or into a second one. This process continues for about 1 year; every 2 or 3 weeks, the fingerlings are removed from the breeding pond and placed in a separate fingerling pond.
The fingerling production will start off slowly, and then increase for about 3 months. After this, it starts to fall off. Anywhere from 6 months to a year later, it is necessary to drain the breeding pond completely, check on the number of brood stock left, and then restock and start again.
Fingerling ponds are fed and fertilized just as the breeding pond.
6.1 ADVANTAGES
There is a much higher production of fingerlings from the breeders.
When the farmer wishes to sell fingerlings, he just has to net them from the fingerling pond and supply them directly to the client. There is no need for disturbing the breeders.
When the farmer stocks the fingerling pond, he can count them so he knows about how many he has for sale.
Be careful with this. The number of small fingerlings you put into a fingerling pond will be less than what you finally sell. To be safe, figure that only half will survive.
6.2 DISADVANTAGES
The farmer needs several ponds to do this successfully.
Even if there are no clients to buy the fingerlings right away, the farmer has to continue to net the ponds every 2 or 3 weeks to keep the breeding ponds fully productive. This means that the fingerling ponds become filled with lots of fingerlings of different sizes.
Fish that have been in the fingerling ponds for over 3 months should be removed as they will have become stunted. Stunting means that even at a small size, the females are ready to breed.
Male fingerlings, no matter how old they are, can still be grown into good sized fish. A population of fingerlings that is 3 months old in the fingerling pond should be sexed; the males sold or reared, and the females disposed of.
7 FISH HANDLING
The major problem with dealing with fish fingerling production and sales is that there is a lot of necessary handling of the fish. There are a few facts about fish that the farmer must keep in his head at all times. If you forget the way fish live and stay healthy, you will kill them. If you know what you are doing, there is no problem with catching, sorting, sexing, and transporting fish.
7.1 BASIC FISH PHYSIOLOGY
The following are the things that the farmer has to keep in mind to successfully raise and sell fingerlings.
7.1.1 OXYGEN
Fish need to breathe just like people. They need oxygen, which is a major part of the air that we breath. Instead of lungs, fish have gills, but they do the same job.
For the fish to breathe, there must be a lot of fresh air (and oxygen) stirred into the water. It dissolves in water just like salt.
There are two ways that air (oxygen) gets into the water. One is through green plants and algae in the water. When the sun hits the plants, they grow and produce oxygen that is then available to the fish.
The second way that air gets into the water is through stirring and contact with the air that we breathe. By stirring, shaking, or mixing the water, air gets dissolved in to it.
If there is no air in the water, then the fish will suffocate, just as if you were to put your head under the water.
When fish lack air, you will see them come up to the surface of the pond or bucket and gulp air down. If they can't do this, they will die.
7.1.2 WASTE MATERIALS
As fish are breathing, they release CO2 and ammonia through the gills. This can build up in the water and kill the fish. Another thing that is released by fish is their waste. Some of this waste is a poison to the fish, and if there is too much of it, it will kill them.
In a fish pond, there is no problem because there are bacteria and plants that use these poisons as fertilizer, and they are taken out of the water and don't harm the fish.
However, once the fish are taken out of the pond and put into a container such as a bucket, there is a much higher concentration of waste materials and there is a chance that this can poison the fish.
7.1.3 STRESS
When fish are frightened, there heart beats faster, they breathe faster, and they run around and use a lot of energy. This is called stress. There is more CO2 and ammonia released, and this makes the water go bad quickly. The fish are also very weak and they can die from being over tired.
7.1.4 TEMPERATURE
A fishes body takes on the same temperature as the water around it. In hot water, the fish is hotter, and his whole body speeds up. As the water is cooler, the fish is slower, and his heart rate is less.
There is more air (oxygen) in the water when the water is cooler. There is less air as the water warms up. Since the fish are more active in warm water, and there is less air in the water, warm water can be dangerous to the fish.
Because the fish takes the same temperature as the water, there can be a problem if there is an abrupt change in temperature, from hot to cold, or cold to hot. Fish can die very quickly if you change the temperature of the water too suddenly.
7.1.5 INJURIES
Fish have a complex skin. There is the skin it self, covered with scales. These help protect the fish from injury. On top of the scales is a mucous membrane that help protects the fish from disease. If this is disturbed, then the fish is open to infection.
You can disturb this membrane by touching the fish with dry hands. The mucous comes off in your hands, and the fish is then in danger of getting sick. Always use wet hands and nets to touch the fish.
7.2 NEED FOR CLEAN ENVIRONMENT
The farmer always has to keep in mind the environment where the fish are living. This is the most important part of keeping fish healthy particularly when you are handling them.
7.2.1 CLEAN WATER
Use as clean water as possible. Muddy water will kill the fish quickly. For buckets, containers, and transport cans, get water from the inlets or from another pond when handling fish.
7.2.2 WATER MIXING AND CIRCULATION
When fish are in a confined place such as a bucket or transport container, the most important thing to keep in mind is the mixing of water and air. The water and air can be mixed by motion, the water splashing around in the container as the vehicle or bicycle moves. Don't worry about the fish being moved around. They don't mind.
If the fish are in a bucket, you can mix the water with your hand by splashing it around. This will help keep the fish from being stressed.
In a long transport of over 1 hour, it is possible to change the water in a stream.
7.3 COUNTING
When counting fingerlings, keep your hands wet. If you are counting a lot of fingerlings, (over 400), it is better to use a tea strainer or scoop net to estimate the number. This method is much faster, it doesn't stress the fish as much as counting 1 by 1, and is very accurate. One can always give an extra scoop to make up for any mistakes.
When you are going to transport fish for sale, the fish should be counted in the presence of the farmer at your farm as you put them in the containers for transport. Don't try to count the fish when you arrive at the farmers pond for stocking. The fish are very tired and stressed after their transport, and you may kill them.
7.4 SEXING FINGERLINGS
If the farmer raises all male fish, they grow much faster then if they are mixed with the females. There is some demand for all male fish, but the fingerling supplier must sell these for more than mixed fingerlings because of the wasted females.
7.4.1 SIZES
Tilapia fingerlings can be sexed if they are about 20 g in size. Below this, it is very difficult, and too many mistakes can be made.
7.4.2 WHAT TO DO WITH FEMALES
One big mistake that fish farmers make is to keep the female fingerlings and try to raise them. The females only grow about ⅓ as fast as the males, they will breed in the pond and fill it with small fry. The same pond where the females are kept could be used for fry production or production of table size fish. Don't try to sell female fingerlings to other farmers. Since they won't grow fast, the farmer will be discouraged, he will think you cheated him (which you did).
It is a good idea to keep a few (5 or 10) of the best looking, biggest and healthiest females for replacing breeding stock. The rest should be disposed of as soon as possible.
Female fingerlings should be sold for consumption, eaten by yourself, or dried, pounded, and fed to the male fish or breeding pond.
8 PENS AND CAGES
Another good way of handling fish in a pond is through the use of pens or small cages. The environment for the fish is good, there is less stress, and the farmer has several hours to work with the fish with out killing them.
8.1 DESIGN AND PRINCIPLE
A cage or pen is a simple basket or container made out of fish net. The idea behind this is that the open mesh allows clean water with oxygen to circulate among the fish in the pen, so they are not stressed.
The fish themselves stir up the water in the pen and mix this water with fresh water from outside the pen.
8.2 PLACEMENT IN THE PONDS
Pens should be placed near the inlets of the ponds to insure that clean water is circulating through them.
If this isn't possible because of the distance, etc. then the pen should be placed away from the bank again to allow for the best water circulation.
9 USING NETS TO CATCH FISH IN A POND
The only practical way to catch fingerlings and fish from a pond is through the use of a net. Nets are expensive, but if they are properly cared for, they can last several years.
9.1 GENERAL CARE OF FISH NETS
There are 3 things that will destroy fish nets.
Sun light. If left for a long time in the sun, the nets become very weak. If a net is left in the sun for 10 days, it will loose about half of it's strength and tear easily.
Wetness. If the nets are put away when they are still wet, they will rot. If a wet net is put away, with in 1 month it will be completely ruined.
Rats/mice. Rats and mice are attracted to fish nets by the smell of the fish. They can chew holes in the net.
To keep nets properly, after each use, the net should be washed in clean water so there is no fish smell on them. The nets should be dried in the shade, not in the sun. When completely dry, the nets should be hung up in a place where the rats and mice will have a difficult time getting to them.
No matter what you do, your fish net will get holes in it. These should be patched as soon as you see them. There is nothing more wasteful then pulling a torn net with holes through a fish pond. You stress the fish, you miss a lot of them, and you have to net the pond many times instead of just a few times.
9.2 HOW TO CATCH FISH SAFELY IN A POND
Most fishing nets are used to kill fish, and they are designed to do just that. For fish farming, the opposite is true; the farmer wants to keep his fish healthy, alive, and with out any injury.
When handling broodfish and fingerlings with a fish net, it is best to think of the net as a large pen or cage. You pull the net through the pond to concentrate the fish into a smaller pen made out of the net.
After pulling the net through the pond, the net should be held in a place where the water is clean and there is good circulation. The fish should have enough room to move around so they are not suffering. A good place is near the water inlet.
It is important to seine carefully. Stretch the net down the middle of the pond and pull the net from the middle of the pond to the sides. Don't pull the fish out of the water with the net. Keep the net in the water with all the fingerlings, brood stock, tadpoles, etc. so there is good water circulation.
Work quickly! Remove the brood stock and return to the pond immediately. Lift out the fingerlings with a small scoop net, estimate their number, and transfer them immediately in buckets to the fingerling production pond or into the transport container.
Seine the shallow end of the pond first, then both sides working down toward the deep end. Don't attempt to catch all the fish in the pond at once - do it in small portions.
10 TRANSPORT
Transport of fingerlings is fairly easy if the farmer keeps in mind the basic principals of keeping fish alive and healthy.
10.1 CONTAINER DESIGN
Transport containers are designed to allow as much contact with the water and air as possible. They are strong enough to be carried on a bicycle.
Metal containers will rust. Dry them carefully.
10.2 IMPORTANCE OF CIRCULATION
For the fish to survive during transport, the water must splash around in the container. If the water isn't splashing enough with the motion of transport, then the person transporting the fish must splash the water by hand.
10.3 IMPORTANCE OF TEMPERATURE
Cooler water is best. If it is very hot out, it might be a good idea to wrap the container in a wet sack to keep it cool. Keep the container in the shade as much as possible.
You can transport more fish more safely if the water is cool. If it is warm, put less fish in the container.
10.4 TIME/DISTANCE LIMITS
Fish can safely be transported for about 1 hour in a container if the water is clean and cool. On a bicycle, this means about 15 km.
11 STOCKING IN GROW OUT PONDS
When the fish arrive at the pond that is to be stocked, the first thing to do is check the temperature of the pond and the water in the container. If they are about the same, then pour the water and fish quickly from the container into the fish pond.
If the water in the pond is much colder or much warmer, take a small bucket and start mixing water from the pond into the container, pouring the water so there is a lot of air mixed in with it. Do this for about 5 to 10 minutes, and then release the fish into the pond.
In most cases, the temperature shock will not be enough to kill the fish if they are poured directly into the pond. You risk killing the fish more by keeping them in the transport container too long.
12 BUSINESS ASPECTS OF FRY SALES
Selling tilapia fingerlings to other farmers is a good business and the fish farmer can make good money doing this. Normal business practices are the same.
Supply what the farmer wants. Give good quality fingerlings, and your reputation as a supplier will grow, and you will have more business. Give poor quality fingerlings (mostly females, stunted fish, wrong species) and you will have no clients.
Don't sell what you don't have. Before taking any money, be sure you can deliver what was paid for.
12.1 KEYS TO SUCCESS
The key to successful fry production is enough feeding and manuring. Fish do not enjoy weekends and holidays and should be feed every day.
12.2 PROBLEMS
In the wild, there is a very heavy mortality of small fish fingerlings. Nature takes care of this by the fish producing large numbers of small fish per adult.
At fish ponds, the biggest problem is birds. One large bird can eat 50 fingerlings a day. Don't just watch them, chase them off. They can be caught by using fish hooks and a small, live fingerling. Keep the grass around the ponds slashed to help keep away snakes and other predators.
12.3 RECORD KEEPING
All fish farmers should keep records on the farming activity. This is particularly true if you are producing and selling fingerlings.
12.3.1 WHY KEEP RECORDS?
The records will tell you how you have been doing, if it is worth your time, and above all, how to improve. Many farmers think that if they keep records on the financial returns of their farm, they will be somehow taxed or made to pay.
This isn't true. With fish farming and fingerling supply, if the farmer is successful and can prove it by his records, there is a good chance that he can be helped further. This might mean bank loans, loans to expand the business, help from the project in improving production, referring new clients to him, etc.
In the absence of good records, it is very difficult for anyone to help.
12.3.2 WHAT RECORDS TO KEEP?
Keep records on the following:
pond stocking; dates, numbers.
pond feeding and fertilization; when did you feed or fertilize, how much did you put in, how much did it cost.
seining records: how many fingerlings were taken out of a pond (breeding pond or fingerling pond) and what day.
sales: who got the fingerlings, how much did he pay, what problems if any.
12.4 SALE PRICES
Once the ponds are constructed, producing fingerlings is not very expensive. The only recurring costs are feeding and perhaps some labour to help in seining. The project now sells fingerlings at the below prices:
mixed male and female tilapia fingerlings: Ksh 1.00 / piece
all male fingerlings : Ksh 2.00 / piece
Transport charges using a vehicle are Ksh 1.00 / piece, but with this charge, we insure that the fingerlings arrive safely or we replace them for free.
We have no control or say over what the private producer charges for his or her fingerlings. Please note, however, if you charge more than this, the farmer will most likely come to project centres to get his fish supplies. If you charge less, he will prefer to come to you.
NOTES:
Material Used: Galvanized Steel
Cost: Kshs. 700.00
Holding handles to fit four fingers
