Fish Feeds (Aquaculture)
A major factor in sustaining a vibrant aquaculture sector is the
ability to use the right fish feed. Among the various fish feeds available,
plankton remains the most desirable and it is an essential ingredient or
component in cultivating a sustainable symbiotic culture. Plankton is best
described as diverse microorganisms that live in water.
Their microscopic composition makes them susceptible to water
currents and they move with the flow of the water. In addition to plankton,
fish also feed on other organisms that exist in aquatic environments, and these
include nekton and benthos. The cultivation of these organisms is crucial to
sustaining any aquaculture sector.
Part of pond aquaculture includes increasing plankton density. A
total of three-fourths of the earth’s oxygen supply is produced by
phytoplankton in the oceans. Phytoplankton helps increase the oxygen levels in
water and is a major source of dissolved oxygen in pond
photosynthesis. Plankton is also crucial to high altitude fish farming.
The words nekton and benthos are used to denote, small
burrowing organisms, including creepers that occupy the bottom of water bodies
or water expanses. They include crabs, amphipods, tendepeds, some bivelves, and
certain types of fish, worms and crustaceans, all of which are an important
source of nourishment for fish.
Ideally hatchlings should feed solely on plankton. In the initial
or early stages fish larvae do not react to dry feeds and require life feeds
that swim actively and stimulate their raptorial behavior. Larval fish usually
do not ingest or are not able to digest formulated feeds.
Plankton is divided into two components; the plant component is
called phytoplankton and the animal component is called zooplankton. The larvae
of most species of fish can feed exclusively on zooplankton or a combination of
plant and animal plankton.
The growth of phytoplankton is stimulated in pond aquaculture by
using the sun’s heat and light. Inorganic matter and carbonic acid are
transformed into organic matter in the form of vegetable tissues.
In addition to providing sustainable nourishment for fish and
maintaining the oxygen levels in water, plankton also helps stabilize pond
water quality by balancing PH levels. Most studies indicate that phytoplankton
and pond algae are just as vulnerable to toxins or pollutants in water, like
chlorine, as are fish and zooplankton.
Pollutants can, therefore, affect photosynthesis and other aspects
of energy utilization and incorporation and, thus cause changes in population
growth rates. Such changes are most easily seen in systems populated by algal
and plant nutrients.
Plankton is critical to breeding healthy cold water and warm water
stocks and it is essential in both normal aquaculture and high-altitude
aquaculture. Light is the main ingredient in cultivating plankton and it can be
cultured in tanks like how spirulina is cultured but the tanks need to operate
without water filters. Filtering will hamper the growth of cultured species.
In warm water environments there is a species of fish that can be
used to remove the dirt or fish waste that sinks to the bottom of fish-tanks.
The fish is called plecostomus or as it is more commonly known, the sucker
mouth catfish. It lives at the bottom of tanks or on the floor of water bodies
and feeds off dirt and other residue that sink to the base. The fish cohabits
well with other breeds like carps and it is suitable for use in warm water
aquaculture.
Plecostomus is an aggressive species and as the fish increases in
size, it may have to be removed. Normally it is customary to have a small
plecostomus for tank cleaning purposes and once the fish grows to a certain
size, release it back into the wild or abandoned ponds.
Plankton also helps reduce or minimize pathogenic and the unwanted
microbial content in water by competing for available nutrients and this is
critical because it reduces the need for water treatment and limits the use of
antimicrobials or antibiotics.
Fish thrive best in natural environments and therefore where
possible it is best to emulate or reproduce the salient features of its natural
habitat.
The long-term use of plankton further reduces the percentage of
cannibalism or fish consuming other fish. Phytoplankton ensures adequate oxygen
levels in water and zooplankton and benthos ensure that fish are adequately or
sufficiently nourished. Sometimes feeder fish (a term used to define
inexpensive fish that are used to feed carnivorous pets) or tadpoles are used
to feed symbiotically cultivated species. The use of feeder fish and tadpoles
however is somewhat controversial and has drawn criticism from fish keeping
hobbyists around the world.
The most common type of feed that is used in aquaculture is dry
feed i.e. little pellets that float on the surface of the water, like plankton.
One of the advantages of using dry feed is that it is produced to ensure
optimum growth and maximize nutrients. It is also cheap and easy to use and
there is some uniformity with quality but it does contaminate the water and the
water has to be continuously recycled.
Copyright © 2019 by Dyarne Jessica Ward and Kathiresan Ramachanderam
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