Best Practices · 3 min read
Seasonal Aquaculture: Best Practices for Each Season
How to adjust feeding, aeration and pond care through summer, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter on an Indian fish farm.
Fish farming runs all year, but the pond does not behave the same way in every season. Temperature, rainfall and day length all change how fish feed and grow and how the water behaves. Adjusting your routine to the season is one of the simplest ways to protect your stock and your margin.
Summer: manage heat and oxygen
Summer brings strong growth but also the greatest risk. Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen just when fish need more of it, and oxygen is at its lowest in the early morning and on hot, still or cloudy days.
Run aerators through the night and early morning, and check oxygen at dawn whenever you can. Feed in the cooler morning and late afternoon, and cut back when fish are slow to feed in the heat, because uneaten feed spoils the water. Keep an eye out for heavy algae blooms, which can swing oxygen sharply between day and night, and top up or partly exchange water where you have a clean source. With care, summer is the season that pays best.
Monsoon: protect the pond
Heavy rain can overtop ponds, let fish escape and wash in runoff from fields and other ponds. Rainwater can also change the pond's water quality quickly. At the same time, cooler temperatures can make for good growing conditions if the pond is well protected.
Strengthen and raise the bunds before the rains, and fit screened overflow pipes so water can leave without the fish. In flood-prone areas, consider stocking fewer fish. Watch the stock closely after heavy rain, check oxygen on overcast days, and feed less when the fish are less active.
Post-monsoon: the main growing window
The months after the monsoon often bring the best conditions of the year: moderate temperatures, settled water and fish ready to grow. This is a good time to stock new batches and to feed the full ration for the size of your fish.
Make the most of it by sampling regularly and keeping the ration in step with growth. It is also a good time to finish harvesting earlier batches and prepare ponds for the next cycle. The window is relatively short, so plan seed, feed and labour ahead.
Winter: slow down and prepare
Cooler water slows fish metabolism, so they eat less and grow more slowly. Feeding a full ration at this time only wastes feed and spoils the water. Cut the ration in line with the water temperature, feed less often, and avoid unnecessary netting and handling, which is harder on fish in the cold.
Use the slower season well: repair bunds, nets and aerators, dry and prepare empty ponds, and go back through your records to see what worked and what did not. Planning done in winter pays off when the water warms up again.
All year round
Whatever the season, the basics stay the same: watch the fish every day, test the water, feed to appetite and keep records. The Zoventa feed calculator adjusts the daily ration for water temperature, and the Zoventa team can help you plan for the season ahead.