Proper ways of feeding fish

 

Feeds are an important component of fish farming as they constitute more than 70 percent of the total operational costs..

As a result, the key to any commercial fish farmer is always to use the best feeds but also maximize on all fronts and keep the ‘wastage taps’ at minimum.

Right feeds

Sourcing for the right feeds, record keeping of the trend in feeding, maintaining hygiene around and inside the pond are some of the best practices that farmers are advised to observe by experts in order to reap big from the trade.
Another paramount exercise that farmers are advised to observe is embrace best fish feeding method.
According to Susan Nakimu from Ugachick, Uganda’s biggest fish feed producer, the best fish feed method is Feed by Response where fishes are fed according and when they are hungry. This ensures that the feeds go directly to the fish and not the predators as well as maintaining hygiene in the pond since the feed is given to the fish and the fish eats it instantly and therefore eliminating any remains that could dissolve and pollute the water.

 

Feed by response

To feed by response, fish need to be trained to come and eat from the same place at the same time at the water surface. In order to achieve this, a farmer should initiate it by calling the fish at a designated fixed time and place. He can call on the fish for instance by making a sound or stump the ground before feeding. The farmer then pours in the pond at the specific point a handful of feed first. If the fish come, add more, if they do not come do not any feed.

The following day, do the same until the fish eventually learn that if they do not come to feed on time, there will be nothing left for them. It is important to note that this may take several days for the fish to adapt.
In the first week, one should not give more than half the estimated required ration according to what is given to you by the extension worker or expert.
This will help train the fish to feed intensively and rapidly. In order to keep the rapid feeding pattern, one should a container to broadcast the feeds in the pond rather than trickling them in.
After adaptation, the fish should finish all the food given in 15 minutes. If this is not possible, then reduce the ration.

However, if they finish it all in less than five minutes, add more and record daily how much has been consumed.

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With the massive fall of leaves and species beginning to dry up, the spaces housing water and plants in the garden now require certain tasks to see them splendorous again in spring.

When autumn arrives, the main care for the health of the pond and the aquatic plants that inhabit it is to avoid the incorporation of large amounts of organic matter, either by the fall of leaves characteristic of this time, or by the species palustres, floating and rooted that dry up with the first frosts.
The decomposition of all this material in the water body generates a double problem. On the one hand, the gases caused by fermentation, dissolved in water, can affect fish; on the other hand, the nutrients caused in this process serve as food for algae, especially at the beginning of spring, when they proliferate.

To avoid these problems, the most effective option is to cover the water with a net that prevents the entry of leaves or, if possible, with a transparent nylon. This not only serves the same function, but also acts as a greenhouse, prolonging the growth and flowering of some species, allowing us to continue enjoying the pond. If it is not possible to cover it, remove the leaves on the surface with a flake or net and clean the mulch that accumulates on the bottom.

Also at this time it is necessary to prune all the dry or burnt material by the cold, especially that of the palustres and floating, which is the most voluminous.

Solutions start at the very moment we plan the construction of the pond, looking for places that are away from deciduous trees. This will not only prevent a massive fall of leaves in the water, but also the possible breakage of the pond by the action of the roots.

Another topic to keep in mind about the care of ponds in autumn is to know which wind predominates in the area and which is its main direction. In this way, it is avoided to drag the fallen material towards the pond. One solution is to place high marsh species as a barrier.