28/12/2022
5 SIMPLE THINGS TO CONSIDER WHILE FEEDING CATFISH
In catfish farming or any other type of fish farming, feeding is one of the most important things. Some people may think that feed catfish is simply throwing the feed to the pool, but that is not true.
Although it may seem easy and simple, there are many things to be considered if you want the catfish to grow well and thriving.
1. Size of feed
In general, catfish feeding should be based on how old or how big your catfishes are.
When you are able to grow really big fishes, for example when your catfishes reach
1 kg in weight or more, you can consider the 8 or 10 mm feed sizes.
2. Feeding frequency
Just like how the feed size matters in feeding the fish, you should also pay attention to how often you feed them. Different stages of growth require a different frequency of feeding too.
Fingerlings of 3โ4 grams weight should be fed twice per day. When they reach the post-fingerlings and juvenile stage, you can keep feeding them twice a day or reduce it to once a day.
Next, after they reach the post-juvenile or above that, you can reduce the feeding frequency to once a day.
3. Types of catfish feed
What do catfish eat is a common question to ask for a beginner in fish farming.
Basically, you can get any type of catfish feed on any fish store around your area. Some bigger store even has organic fish food that is good for your fishโs growth.
Give your catfish an adequate amount of protein to keep them growing well.
Aside from different sizes, there are also floating feed and sinking feed.
The floating feed is those that keep floating after you spread them in water, while the sinking feed is those that immediately sink after you throw them into the water. The floating one is good for the smaller size of fishes like the fingerlings or the juveniles stage.
While the sinking one is better for bigger fish as they are naturally bottom feeders.
4. Catfish nutrition
To yield good production for the harvest, you need to pay attention to the nutrition you give to the fishes.
While ready to fed catfish feed is usually packed with nutrition, you can also give them more natural feed like duckweed, for example.
5. How much do you feed the catfish?
The portion is also things to consider when you feed catfish. It is obvious that lack of feeding will hinder the growth of your catfishes and may make them appear smaller than the size they should be in respect of their age. Additionally, you should also be careful not to overfeed them. However, understanding whether your catfish is already satiated may not be easy for beginner catfish farmers.
To understand whether your fishes are well-fed or not, you have to observe them carefully. When you are using the floating feed type, it should be easier because you only have to make sure that there is no excess feed on the surface of the water. Floating feeding should be finished within 5 minutes after you stopped feeding the fishes. When it is more than that, it will be probably just going to be a waste and you should not add more feed.
Every fish farmers need proper knowledge of how to feed catfish. It goes beyond spreading the fishes feed only, but also considering their nutritional needs and the surrounding conditions. Well-fed and stress-free catfishes will be able to grow healthily and thrive. This will result in good production results which will lead to profitable business for catfish farmers.
Source: Fish Farm Tank
Agribusiness
