fish food production

fish food Production Cultural practices used for fish food
production differ from farm to
farm, and the process of growing a
food-sized catfish can take many
paths after the fingerling phase.
Most farmers divide fish stocks only once between the nursery
phase and the fish food for growout
phase. In this scheme, fingerlings
are harvested and restocked into
fish ponds at roughly one-
tenth to one-twentieth the density of nursery ponds because fish will
be ten to twenty times heavier
when harvested as foodfish. This
one-step production scheme is not
as simple as it appears because
there are many options for managing fish ponds. Another approach to producing
food-sized fish is to divide twice
between the nursery phase and
fish food for growout. The first division
produces a medium-sized fish
called a "stocker". The second division is made when stockers are
harvested and restocked for
growout to food size. In this
scheme, small fingerlings (2 to 3
inches) are stocked at about 40,000
to 60,000 fish/acre and grown over one season to produce stockers
weighing 0.1 to over 0.3 pounds.
The stockers are then harvested
and moved to growout
ponds. As with the one-step
scheme described above, there are several options for fish
growout using stocker-sized fish. The three fundamental production
variables in fish food for growout are
cropping system, stocking rate,
and size of fingerlings to stock.
Farmers use various combinations
of these variables and it is impossible to describe a typical
management scheme for
production of food-sized channel
catfish. Farmers have developed
and used various production
s chemes based on experience, personal preference, and perceived
productivity and profitability. Cropping system refers to the
stocking-harvest-restocking
schedule. In the single-batch
system, the goal is to have only
one year-class of fish in the pond at
a given time. Fingerlings are stocked, grown to the desired
harvest size, and all fish are
harvested before the pond is
restocked with new fingerlings to
initiate the next cropping cycle. In
the multiple-batch system, several different year-classes of fish are
present after the first year of
production. Initially, a single
cohort of fingerlings is stocked. The
faster-growing individuals are
selectively harvested ("topped") using a large-mesh seine, followed
by addition ("under- stocking") of
fingerlings to replace the fish that
are removed plus any losses
in curred during growout. The
process of selective harvest and understocking continues for years
without draining the pond. Whether ponds are operated as
single-batch systems or multiple-
batch systems, stocking rate is best
defined as the maximum fish
density (number per acre) over the
production period. Under commercial conditions, stocking
rate becomes an approximate goal
rather than a precisely managed
population variable because it is
nearly impossible to know the true
inventory of fish in large commercial ponds that are used for
several years without draining.
There is no consensus on the best
stocking rate for commercial
production and rates used in the
industry range from less than 500 fish/acre to more than 10,000 fish/
acre. One explanation for the wide
range of stocking rates used by
catfish farmers is that production
goals, facilities, and resources vary
from farm to farm. The size of fingerling to stock is a
critical factor in food fish
production, but very little
systematic research has been
conducted to determine the
relationship between fingerling size at stocking and economic
returns. Large fingerlings will reach
foodfish size faster than small
fingerlings, but large fingerlings
are expensive because they require
more time and space to produce. In addition, large fingerlings can be
difficult to obtain because most
fingerling producers prefer to stock
fry at relatively high densities and
move fingerlings to foodfish ponds
as soon as possible to avoid risk of loss to infectious diseases and
predacious birds. The best size
fingerling to stock is therefore a
compromise that depends on
cropping system, fish stocking
density, and fingerling availability. For your high breeds of catfish'and'tilapia fingerlings and juvenile contact us on 08032861326.

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