Carp Fish: Supplemental food will increase the production of Carp Fishes

Fish farming is one of the main sources of income for farmers, as it is always in demand. Some fishes live in the sea and some live in the sweet water i.e. river, lake, etc. Carp fish is a freshwater fish, which grows faster than other fish and if they are reared properly, they are given supplementary feed at the right time, way, and quantity, then this can increase the profit of the farmers more.

Come, let us know how much supplementary food should be given to carp fishes and in what way.

What is Carp Fish?

It is a species of freshwater fish, which is omnivorous. It adapts itself to the changing seasons. These fish have an average body length of 12-24 inches, although they can grow much larger. These fish take food from the lower surface of the water. It lays eggs from February to April and October to November. It is easy to maintain it commercially. If the farmers want, they can raise it in a small tank, pond, or even on the roof of the house. The weight of these fish increases rapidly, so it is beneficial. Farmers need to take special care of the diet of the fish.

Why is dietary supplement important for Carp Fish?

For the good development of fish, they need nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, fat, fiber, vitamins, mineral mixture, and supplementary food in balanced quantity. Carp fish generally eat planktonic flora and fauna, but this is not enough. They are given rice bran, mustard, a cake of groundnut, soybean, etc. as supplementary food, which gives them complete nutrition and their weight increases rapidly. Fish meal is given to the fish according to their size by mixing the supplementary feed. The specialty of supplementary feed is that it is easily available and fishes digest it easily. This also reduces pollution and gives stability to water.

Food quantity according to size

Feed 4 times their body weight to seed fishes from spawn to pup size in the first week and 8 times their body weight in the second week. From Pona to Angulika, 6-8 percent of body weight should be given in the first month, 5-6 percent of body weight in the second month, and 3-4 percent of body weight in the third month. Fingerlings and adult fish should be fed 3-5 percent of body weight in the first month and 1-3 percent of body weight in the second month.

Fish meal preparation method

Mash – In this method, the fish feed material is ground and mixed. Finely ground powder is used to feed cumin (spawn) fish and fry, while fingerlings and brooders are fed pelleted food.

Gulika (Pellet feed) – Feed is prepared with the help of hand and motor-operated pelletizers. It is a type of dry food in which the moisture content is 7-13 percent. Therefore it does not spoil for a long time. It is given to fingerlings and adult fishes. There are two types of balls, one which sinks in water and the other which floats in water.

Method of Feeding

Throwing, Spreading, and Hand Feeding – Where the water is not very deep, the fish are fed by throwing, spreading, or hand feeding. This is a very easy method, but it leads to a waste of food.

Bag Feeding – In this method, fish food is put in sacks with holes and kept at different places in the pond. The feed bag is dried every other day so that there is no infection of bacteria, fungus, etc. There is a loss of food and nutrients in this method.

Feeding Frame – A floating feeding frame is used to feed the grass corp. This frame is used to plant green grass like Barseem, Azolla, Duckweeds, etc.

These methods cause loss of fish food and also cause more pollution, hence the methods given below should be used.

Spawn and Young – They should be given powdered feed by spreading it by hand.

Fingerlings and adults – They should be given feed balls/gulika food (sinking/floating).

Also Read: Tribal fishermen of Manipur are doing advanced fish farming by adopting Pen Culture Technique

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