Farm Made Aqua Feed

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According to New et.al (1993), farm-made aqua feed refers to a type of compound feed that has a pellet or other shape and contains one or more artificial and natural food ingredients and is only made for a specific farm. It is never commercially marketed or produced for profit.

Farm Made Feed Characteristics

1. It is made from local food ingredients, e.g.

  • Rice husk
  • Mustard oil cake
  • Wheat flour
  • Dried fish
  • Molasses
  • Kitchen waste
  • Cattle slaughterhouse waste
  • Poultry droppings
  • Blood meal
  • Bone meal
  • Aquatic plants (water hyacinth, Duckweeds etc.)

2. It is cheap in price;

3. Rich in essential nutrients

4. The ingredients are easily available

5. The quality of food includes:

  • Its durability in water is high 
  • Strong pellets
  • Palatable
  • Tasty
  • With Vitamin C.

 6. Feed Forms

  • Soft ball shaped (for carp)
  • Soft pellets (made daily)
  • Wet pellets (made daily)
  • Powder form and soft balls

You might also read: Fish Feed Evaluation and Quality Estimation

Image showing components of on farm feed production
Image showing components of on farm feed production

Classification of on Farm Made Aqua Feed

Food prepared on the farm or farm made aqua feed is classified into the following two main groups, viz

1. Natural food which is produced through the application of fertilizers in the culture system.

2. Natural food that is produced outside the culture system.

Image Showing Classification of Farm made Aqua Feed
Image Showing Classification of Farm made Aqua Feed

Sources of on Farm Feed Ingredients

Feed Sources

Feed Ingredients

Protein

Fish meal, Snail muscles; Trash fish; Poultry droppings

Fat/lipid

Fish oil; Vegetable oil; Soybean meal; Animal fat

Carbohydrates

Rice husk; Rice powder; Wheat bran; Wheat flour; Nut cake; Cassava chip

Vitamins and minerals

Di-calcium phosphate; Vitamin pre-mix; If vitamin pre-mix is not available for fish, then vitamin pre-mix for poultry can be used.

Locally available feed  ingredients

Duckweed, Sweet potato vines and leaves, epil-epil etc.

Manufacturing of Farm Made Aqua Feed Process 

The following is a description of food processing methods through flow diagrams:

Image showing flow of food making in the farm
Image showing flow of food making in the farm

Precaution

  • Food must be delivered at a specific place at a specific time every day.
  • Food supply may vary due to differences in natural food and temperature.
  • In winter, the amount of food supply must be reduced three times more than other times.
  • Food supply must be stopped during phytoplankton excess.
  • Food intake should be monitored from time to time after food delivery.
  • The amount of food needs to be increased or decreased according to the demand for food.
  • Food should be stored according to proper rules.

Factors affecting the feeding rate

Different types of factors/influencers affect the rate of food intake. The following are the names of some of these influencers:

  • Water temperature
  • Dissolved oxygen(DO)
  • pH(Water pH)
  • Salinity

Advantage  of Farm made Aqua Feed

  • Such food is cheap and very good for the health of the fish.
  • Able to meet the essential nutrients of fish.
  • Can be made from local food ingredients.
  • Can be made in the light of local or own knowledge.

Disadvantage  of Farm made Aqua Feed

  • Such food cannot be stored for a long time.
  • Decreases in quality tend to increase.
  • A combination of appropriate knowledge is required.
  • Many times the ratio of food ingredients cannot be fixed so the fish is deficient in nutrients and growth of fish become hamper.