What’s the optimum feeding strategy for tilapia? (2024)

FAQs

What’s the optimum feeding strategy for tilapia? ›

“The results revealed that feeding of Nile tilapia fingerlings three times per day is better than both one and two times / day due to increasing the chance of feed intake and ingestive behaviour which lead to optimum growth rate, decreasing surfacing behaviour, improving swimming behaviour and reducing aggressive ...

Tilapia are suited to deal with regular supplies of food or little and often. Feed is distributed evenly or in several sites so that all fish have access to food. Feed is placed in a B-net (32 mm mesh size) feeding bag and tied in poles. The bag is suspended in pond water surface.

Nile tilapia has a diverse feeding habit that includes macrophytes, phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish scale, insects, and detritus. Macrophytes and phytoplankton was the dominant food item consumed by the adult Nile tilapia while juvenile mainly depends on zooplankton and insect larvae.

At this time, the theory of feeding principle is to adhere to the “Fixed point, timing, quality and quantity” of feeding, generally feed twice daily at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. respectively. The fish feed amount is 3% to 4% of fish weight, and ensure protein content is 27％~29％ in the feed. 3.

To evaluate the utilization of feed, Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated that was given to the fish as feed supplement. The expected FCR for tilapia ranges from 1.5 to 2.0 [9].

Farmed fish typically are fed 1-5 percent of their body weight per day. Fish can be fed by hand, by automatic feeders, and by demand feeders. Many fish farmers like to hand-feed their fish each day to ensure that the fish are healthy, feeding vigorously, and exhibiting no problems.

In nature, most fish feed in the early morning and at dusk. Exceptions are herbivores and omnivores that forage throughout the day, and nocturnal species. Although aquarium fish can be fed at any time of day, morning and evening feedings are best.

Spotted tilapia are prey to a variety of organisms including other fishes, birds, reptiles, and humans. Cichlidogyrus testificatus, a monogenetic trematode (flatworms) is reported to parasitize Tilapia mariae.

Tilapia only grow fast when they are kept in optimal conditions and fed a nutritionally perfect diet in precisely measured portions.

Fish fed 4 times a day gained less weight than higher frequencies. No differences in WG from 5 to 9 times a day were observed. In a study by Tian et al. [27], the authors observed feeding frequencies of 1, 3, and 6 times a day and noted that weight gain increased from 1 to 3 times a day and declined between 3 and 6.

Can you over feed tilapia? ›

It was also possible to observe liver changes due to high frequency feedings, with damage to fish fed 9 times a day. Through these results, it is possible to recommend the feeding of tilapia fingerlings five to six times a day.

Tilapia in the wild feed on algae, but on farms they are reared on corn or soybean meal. However, when no other feed is provided, they will eat “poop.” There have been instances where fish farms in Asia were found to be feeding poultry, sheep or hog manure to tilapia.

As such, fish can lose their appetite if there is a build up of fish wastes (e.g. ammonia, nitrite or nitrate), if the water temperature is too low or too high, if the dissolved oxygen is low, if the dissolved carbon dioxide is high, if the pH is wrong and if there are toxins in the water.

As a general rule, juvenile tilapia should be fed 2-3% of their body weight per day. This means that a 100 gram fish should be fed 2-3 grams of food per day. It is important to feed juvenile tilapia a diet that is high in protein. A good diet for juvenile tilapia will contain 30-35% protein.

The preferred temperature range for optimum tilapia growth is 82° to 86° F. Growth diminishes significantly at temperatures below 68° F and death will occur below 50° F.

An increase in bass growth is detected with stocking rates as low as 10 pounds of tilapia per acre, on larger lakes where a high stocking rate is cost prohibitive. However, a greater and more consistent impact is achieved with stocking rates from 50 to 100 pounds per acre. ponds as well as pelleted feed.

Biology and Life History: In the wild, tilapia are found in turbid rives and lakes. They are herbivores who feed mainly on plankton, algae, and other vegetable matter. As a result of their feeding patterns they do not accumulate toxins in their bodies.

Some aquatic plants like water lettuce, water hyacinth or alligator are also good feed for Tilapia. Making feed by them, farmers just need to directly cut them into pieces or mix them into compound feed after cutting. Microcystis and Cyanophyceae are easy to digest to both Tilapia fingerlings and adult Tilapia.

Results of the study have revealed that Mystus tengara is a carnivorous fish and zooplankton is the basic food group for this fish species; rotifera has also been observed as the most preferable food class.

Young fish feed primarily on aquatic detritus, aquatic insects and zooplankton, while adults feed mainly on insects, snails, crawfish, green algae, aquatic plants, seeds, small fish and terrestrial insects (Wellborn, 1988). Channel catfish feed at night (after sunset and before sunrise).