Biological Performance
Feeding, nutrition, health and growth are extremely important for growth rates and for maintaining fish health.
Integrating the variable points that relate to feeding, nutrition, health and growth is paramount, not only for achieving the best growth rates but also for maintaining, at a premium, the health and the quality of the fish.
Management of fish nutrition requires decisions in the following areas:
- choice of diet
- storage and shelf life
- feeding
- feeding frequency
- feeding mechanisms
Questions
Choice of diet
- Have you considered fully the suitability of the dietary options to the species, their stage in life and the conditions of your farm?
(i.e. formulation - levels of proteins, fats, carbohydrate, vitamin content, other micro-nutrients and trace elements. Choices relating to the use of extruded, expanded, pelletised and moist feeds?)
Storage and shelf life
- Have you considered the effects of storage conditions (and time) on shelf life and therefore the quality of feed fed to your stock? (e.g. fatty acid composition and vitamin stability).
Feeding methods
- Have you considered the best strategy for feeding your stock, in terms of the efficiency of investment, labour use and effectiveness of satisfying fish appetite while avoiding over-feeding?
Feeding amount and frequency
- How much feed do you provide and how often?
The amount of food delivered at a time and the frequency of feeding (number per day) are vital considerations in achieving the best production at the most efficient cost.
Feeding mechanisms
- Are you using the right techniques or technology for the species that you rear?
Feed conversion ratio (FCR)
- Do you monitor conversion ratio as effectively as you would like to?
Specific growth rates (SGR)
- Do you measure growth and forecast as well as you would like to?
- Do you use a computerised data recording and monitoring programme for stock management?
Danger Point
Feed wastage, poor feed conversion ratios, high/excessive energy costs, lack of skilled personnel all contribute to reduced profits/increased losses and all of these elements need to be carefully monitored.
Need for further training?
Training checklist
Need for further training?
Training provision in the improvement of production and biological performance.
Production and Biological Performance
- Calculation of FCR's and SGR's
- Factors affecting fish appetite
- Fish nutrition and effects of different diets
- Assessment of production performance & sampling techniques (biomass estimation / feed, recording, etc)