Fish Nutrition Calculator

There are usually two types of food available to the fish: natural and supplementary. Natural fish food consists of phytoplankton, zooplankton, water plants, etc. produced in the pond itself. Supplementary fish feed is produced outside the pond and supplied to the fish regularly to further increase the amount of nutrients in the pond.

The transparency of pond water varies from almost zero (in the case of very turbid water) to very clear water, and depends on the amount of water turbidity, which is caused by suspended matter such as phytoplankton, soil particles and so forth. Phytoplankton blooms generally change the color of the water to green. Measuring the transparency of a green colored pond will give an idea of how much phytoplankton there is in the pond water and thus an idea of pond fertility. Water transparency can be measured using a Secchi disk.

Some practical guidelines for feeding fish are the following:

• Feed the fish at the same time everyday and in the same part of the pond.

• Feeding should be done in the late morning or early afternoon.

• Do not over feed the fish, as too much feed will decay and use up too much oxygen in the pond.

• Stop feeding the fish for at least one day before breeding, harvesting or transporting them.

• In general, fry can be starved for 24 hours, fingerlings for 48 hours and adult fish for about 72 hours.

• This enables the fish to digest the food completely before stressful events.

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