BY HERBERT MUSOKE
“I simply drop the feeds on top of the water. The fish come up, feed until they are tired,” says Margaret Muwaya, a fish farmer. In the process, just like other fish farmers, she makes losses.
Feeds and feeding management has for long posed a challenge to the Fish Farming enterprises learning to low production and profitably.
This is why the latest harvest money master classes focused partly on fish feeding. Aired live on Bukedde TV1, Ivo, Van der Lee, a fish feed expert from the Netherlands tasked fish farmers to determine the right feeding strategy and keeping track of Tilapia fish farm performance.
The master classes are organized by Vision Group, in conjunction with Koudjis Nutrition BV, The Embassy of the Netherlands, dfcu Bank and KLM Airlines. Koudjis provides experts from the Netherlands who facilitate the training.
Ivo cautioned farmers to be mindful of the quality of the feed rather than focusing on the price because cheaper feeds with low quality will in the long run lead to stunted growth of your fish thus giving you poor harvest which lowers productivity and profitability.
Considerations
Ivo explains that there are factors fish farmers must put into consideration while choosing the feed and at the time of feeding to optimally utilize the feed.
Stocking density: For proper management, stocking should be put into consideration. Proper stocking should be 1-3 fisher per square metre but if you have capacity to refresh your water for oxygenation you can stock 3-4 per sqm for those in ponds. If you are rearing from cages in water bodies like lakes, you can stock 80-120 fish per cubic metre. Tilapia need more oxygen than cat fish for health, proper feeding and growth.
Water quality: Water is key in fish farming, therefore should be of the best quality in terms of cleanliness and oxygen levels. Dirty water will stop your fish from eating well. You can know your water quality is poor when all the fish swim to the clean water during the time of refreshing.
Cage positioning: Make sure you space your cages with paper spaces to allow water to have space to clean before entering the next cage as water quality based on cleanliness is important for fish growth and performance.
Fish age and size; Fish feed must be mixed according to its age and must keep changing with the growth size and age. Young and small fish should be fed on feeds with high nutritional content preferably pellets which enable their bodies and essential body parts to grow faster and properly.
Also, the feed should have small particles which are smaller than its eye. This is because big particles can choke them and others can die of hunger for failure to eat.
Feeding: He advised farmers to always watch and understand the language of their fish according to their response in the pond or cage. A fish should be fed weighing 20% of its body weight. The total feed of the day should be equally divided into three feeding sessions.
Temperature: He says that this influences the feeding behaviour of the fish. When it is cold, the fish won’t eat. Therefore, you should feed your fish when it is warmer and the ideal temperature should be 27 degrees. And you should have some extra feed on the backet such that you can add them some more in case they are still on top after serving them. Therefore, the first feeding should be at an hour after sunrise and the last at two hours before sunset.
Feed efficiency: This is how much feed you need to get a kilogram of fish. He argues farmers should always weigh their fish to monitor their development but also know the conversion ratio to help you make informed decisions on feed brand choices. Here, you should weigh your fish every two weeks when your fish is below 500gms and one a month above that. You can move them to one corner and scoop into a bucket they weigh at once. Count them as you put them back, then get the average weight minus the weight of the backet. Here, you will be able to know if your fish is putting on weight.
Record Keeping: It is important to record whatever you do on your farm right from how much you stock, the feed among others. This will help you in trucking the performance of the farm but also will help you electrify the possible mistakes at the next stocking.
Cleanliness: Much of the diseases that affect the fish is mainly from fungi which can only be eliminated by practicing proper cleanliness. Therefore, you should clean your ponds and cages before stocking and after harvesting. Although planktons are the natural feed for the fish, too much green on the water is not good as it blocks oxygen thus stopping the breathing.
Fish language: Fish tell a story and if a farmer takes kin interest to learn his/her fish behavior, you will know if they are well or not. For example, if you come with feed and its feeding time but they don’t come up, you can know that the temperatures are not good or water quality is affecting them.
The Harvest Money Master Class coaching sessions are organized by Vision group with support the Embassy of the Netherlands, KLM airlines, Koudijs Nutrition BV and dfcu Bank.
During the training, Koudijs will provide experts from the Netherlands.
This master class edition focusing on pproper feeding and feed management in poultry and piggery farming was televised live on Bukedde TV1 from 10:00am to 11:00am from Monday January 22 to Thursday January 25, 2024.
Yohan Verhoek a nutritionist and Koudijs representative in East Africa, says that as the leading company in supplying farmers with quality feed and feed concentrates, they organize those trainings to equip farmers with knowledge to effectively manage their farms.
