Feed Management · 3 min read
Feed Optimisation: Getting More Growth from Every Bag
Practical ways to waste less feed and get more growth from what you buy: measuring FCR, feeding to appetite, and keeping simple records.
Feed is usually the largest single cost on a fish farm, so how it is used has a big effect on profit. Many farmers try to save money by buying less feed or the cheapest bag. The better question is how much growth each kilogram of feed actually produces on your farm, and how to waste less of it.
Measure your feed conversion ratio
Feed conversion ratio, or FCR, is the simplest way to see how well feed is being used. Divide the total weight of feed given over a period by the weight the fish gained in the same period. The lower the number, the less feed it took to grow each kilogram of fish.
FCR depends on the species, fish size, water temperature, water quality and how the feed is given, so the most useful comparison is with your own earlier cycles and between your own ponds. Our FCR calculator works it out from your feed records and harvest or sampling weights. Track it pond by pond and season by season, and look for the reasons behind a change.
Feed to appetite, not to habit
When and how you feed matters as much as what you feed. Several smaller meals a day usually waste less than one or two large ones, because the fish can eat each meal before it sinks, breaks up or drifts away.
Use pellets that suit the size of the fish. Watch each meal: as a guide, the feed should be cleared in about 20 to 30 minutes. If it is cleared much faster and the fish are still searching, the ration can go up a little; if pellets are left over, cut back. Uneaten feed is money lost, and it fouls the water as it rots. Use feeding tables or our feed calculator as a starting point and adjust for water temperature, fish size and what you see.
Look after water and stock
Fish that are short of oxygen, too cold or too hot, or crowded, eat less and make poorer use of what they do eat. Good aeration, sensible stocking and steady water quality are part of feed efficiency, not separate from it.
Reduce feeding when dissolved oxygen is low, and skip the meal if fish are gasping at the surface. Feed less on cloudy, still days when oxygen tends to stay low. Keep the pond bottom clean so leftover feed and waste do not build up.
Judge feed on cost per kilogram of fish
The price of a bag tells you only part of the story. What matters is the feed cost of each kilogram of fish you sell. Keep the bags you open, the fish you stock and the fish you harvest in a simple notebook or phone record, and at the end of each cycle work out feed used per kilogram of fish produced.
Comparing that figure across your own ponds and seasons shows you where feed is being wasted and what changes actually help on your farm.
Use records to keep improving
Small, steady records beat guesswork. Note the daily feed for each pond, sample weights every two weeks or so, water readings and anything unusual you see. Over a season these notes show which ponds are doing well, when to change pellet size and where feed is being lost.
Automatic feeders and other equipment can help on larger farms, but only if someone looks at the results and acts on them. If you would like help reading your own numbers, the Zoventa team and the Zoventa Advisor can work through them with you.