Hello everyone,
Myself SRIHARI N C, B.F.Sc., Here we are about to discuss Importance of Feed management in Shrimp Farming and It’s control methods.
(I)Feed Management and It’s Importance:
· Proper feeding protocol and strict feeding management is essential for successful shrimp farming. As feed contributes about 50-60% of operational cost, some strategies should be aimed at controlling the Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) and optimizing feed inputs.
· Quiet often the failure of culture is blamed on quality of Post-larvae, although in the most cases, the origin of problem might be poor aquaculture management practices, which includes,
1. FEED MANAGEMENT
2. FEED SELECTION
(II)Feed Quality and Feed Selection:
· Shrimp requires approximately 40 essential nutrients and this need is met by consuming both natural food and supplemental feed.
· A formulated aqua feed (shrimp feed) must meet several criteria which includes both Physical and Nutritional Qualities.
A.Physical Qualities:
|
Physical Qualities |
Why? |
|
Pellet size |
Suitable for animal mouth size |
|
Uniformity of Appearance |
very low size variation in pellet |
|
Water Stability |
High water stability (>3 hrs) |
|
Attract ability and smell |
Improves feed precision and reduce response time |
|
Powder percentage |
<0.1% |
|
Color |
Indicates quality |
B.Nutritional Qualities:
|
Nutritional Quality |
Quantity |
|
Protein |
35% - 40% |
|
Lipid |
6% - 8% & <10% |
|
Minerals |
13% - 15% |
|
Moisture |
<10% |
|
Fiber |
3% - 5% |
(III) Feed Management:
· Feed management starts immediately after stocking.
· During first 30 Days Of Culture (DOC), feeding is followed by BLIND FEED CHART, which is purely based on assumptions.
· After DOC 30, feed ration is calculated based on Periodical Cast net sampling, which provides us Average Body Weight (ABW) & Survival and Check tray Observation.
· The daily feed rations can be offered at 3 to 4 hours interval, minimum of 4 times schedule of feeding must be followed and there must be a proper monitoring of feed consumption through check tray monitoring.
(IV)Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR):
· FCR is defined as a “Quantity of feed used to increase the biomass by 1 kg”.
· FCR plays a major role in profit margin. And controlling FCR has great impact on the profit margin. Here are some strategies to control FCR effectively .
(V)FCR Control strategies through Feed Management:
· Feed should be evenly distributed around the pond in the feeding area.
· Switching off Aerators ½ an hour prior to feeding time, to prevent the drifting of feed by water current
· Strictly following the check tray observation time based on DOCs
|
DOCs |
Check tray observation time |
|
1 - 30 |
3 hours |
|
30 - 45 |
2.5 hours |
|
45 - 65 |
2 hours |
|
65 - harvest |
1.5 hours |
· Switching on Aerators only after checking check trays
· Strictly following the check tray feed gram per kilogram of feed based on DOCs and ABW.
|
DOCs |
Check tray feed (g/kg) |
|
1-30 |
2 g |
|
30-40 |
3g |
|
40-50 |
4g |
|
50-60 |
5g |
|
60-70 |
6g |
|
70-80 |
7g |
|
80-90 |
8g |
|
90-100 |
9g |
|
100- harvest |
10g |
· Strictly following the check tray chart and environmental parameters to adjust the feed ration, followed by check tray observation.
|
Check tray observation |
Feed adjustment |
|
No feed left and more animal |
+10% |
|
No feed left over |
+5% |
|
<5% left over |
Follow the same |
|
10% left over |
-5% |
|
20% - 30% left over |
-15% |
|
>50% left over |
Skip the feed and continue next by +3% |
· Proper placement of Check tray in a flat bottom and slowly and in middle of feeding area which is having a surface area of 0.6 m² to 0.8m² with height of 2 – 3 inches
· Can use any software or MS Excel to track the record of feeding behavior of animal during various environmental conditions and physiological conditions (molting).
(VI)Conclusion:
· As I have said before, feed management is aimed at controlling FCR, many strategies are followed in various areas. Here I have briefly explained some of those strategies. So by following BMP in shrimp farming and feed management we can have a control over FCR in culture system and have high profit margin.
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