Fish Farming 4 – Important Tips On Feeding Your Fish

Fish Feeds                             

Catfish are usually fed with commercial compounded meals which vary in size. The feeds are usually recorded in millimeters (mm) and the feeds range from 0.5mm to > 6mm. the size and weight of the catfish determines the size of the feed that will be used.

However, below is a recommended feed size for various fish relative to their weight;

• Fries (< 3grams) 0.5mm feed size
• Fingerlings (3 – 4 grams) take 1.5mm feed size
• Post-fingerlings (4 – 6 grams) take 1.8mm feed size
• Juvenile (6 – 10 grams) take 2mm feed size
• Post-juvenile (10 – 50 grams) 2mm feed size
• 10 – 50 grams 2mm feed size
• 50 – 150 grams 3mm feed size
• 150 – 400 grams 4mm feed size
• 200 – 300 grams 2mm feed size
• 300 – 600 grams 4mm feed size
• 600 grams and above > 6mm feed size

Feed types

There are two (2) types of fish feeds which are;

Extruded/Floating Feed

This refers to feeds that float on water. It is a common practice in catfish farms to feed floating feeds to catfish in their very early stage such as; fries, fingerlings, and juvenile because of their fragile nature in this stage of development.

This feed is designed for the fish to eat on the surface of the water while it floats. It is usually used for feeding for a period of about 2 months (7 to 8 weeks) before any change.

Care must be taken not to overfeed the fishes to avoid pollution of the pond water after excess feed dissolves in the water thereby leading to high mortality.

Non-Extruded/ Sinking Feed

The Non- Extruded feeds usually settle at the bottom of the pond water; allowing the catfish to feed from the bottom of the pond.

Catfish are naturally bottom feeders; thus feeding with non-extruding feed meets the natural feeding requirement of a mature catfish. This feed is usually employed after 2 months (8 weeks and above) of feeding with floating feeds.

Read Also; Episode 3 – what you must consider before starting a fish farm

Feeding Method

There are two (2) ways of feeding catfish and these are;

Broadcast Feeding

This method of feeding involves the spreading of the fish feed around the pond to ensure proper circulation of the feed for all the fishes to be able to eat without stress and competition.

To achieve this, the farmer has to move around the pond while spreading the feed.

It is the easiest and most profound method of feeding fries, fingerlings, and juvenile catfishes which are being introduced to a higher volume of water from the nursery.

This method helps the young fish to preserve energy while they adjust to their new environment. As the fish grow toward maturity, the method of feeding may change. Catfish are naturally bottom feeders.

The feed that is spread in the pond are floating feeds- it does not sink. The fish has to eat on the surface of the water for floating feeds. As the fish become more matured, they may prefer eating at the bottom of the pond than on the surface.

Spot Feeding

This involves the feeding of the fishes in a single spot. Other than moving around the pond to feed the fishes, the farmer stands in one spot and dish the feed to the fishes. This method is used to feed post-juvenile and matured/adult fishes.

At the start, the fishes may not respond well to this method of feeding as they are used to the broadcast method of fishing. However, they may be conditioned to the spot feeding after a few days of introduction.

Fish Farming 4 – Important Tips On Feeding Your Fish

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Raphael Okhueleigbe

Raphael Osas Okhueleigbe is a Blogger, Content creator, Agricultural Economist, Resource manager, and the founder of greener health.

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