What to Feed Crucian Carp to Make Them Grow Fast? Scientific Feeding Methods
AbstractCrucian carp mainly feeds on natural bait and artificial feed. Natural bait mainly includes animal-based organisms such as bryozoans, rotifers and cladocerans, and plant-based ones such as Spirogyra and the seeds and leaves of higher plants. Artificial feed is mainly synthetic pellet feed, with a protein content above 33%. You need to take advantage of the crucian carp's characteristic of eating little by feeding it many times a day, providing it with nutrients so that it grows quickly and yields increase.
1. Natural bait
The crucian carp has fairly omnivorous and broad feeding habits, eating both animal and plant bait. Its feeding habits differ somewhat at different growth stages. Animal bait mainly includes bryozoans, rotifers, cladocerans, copepods and shrimps, while plant bait includes Spirogyra, the seeds and leaves of higher plants, and diatoms. When the body length is 1-5cm, the variety of food increases, and besides plankton there are also fragments of young shoots and tender leaves of higher plants. When the body length reaches 10-15cm, the amount of higher plants eaten increases noticeably, and when the body length is above 15cm it mostly feeds on benthic animals.
2. Artificial feed
The crucian carp is especially suited to being raised in fertile water, because it can feed on various phytoplankton and animal- and plant-based feed as well as organic debris. If the farmer has not set up a livestock and poultry farm at the pond side, then about every 10-15 days, 200-300 kg of fermented organic fertilizer should be applied per mu, or 2.5 kg of urea and 5 kg of superphosphate. In addition, artificial feed with a protein content above 33% needs to be given. The crucian carp has no stomach and eats little each time, so feed must be given many times a day to meet its nutritional needs and ensure normal growth. This is the key factor for a bountiful harvest in artificial crucian carp farming.
Feeding crucian carp also follows the four-fixed principle, and the number of feedings differs from month to month. From April to May, feed 5 times a day; from June to September, feed 8 times a day; in October, feed 4 times a day; in other months, feed 2-3 times a day. In summer and autumn, when temperatures are higher, crucian carp grow faster and have a strong appetite, and the amount of feed given is about 6% of body weight; in winter and spring, when temperatures are lower, the amount of feed given is about 3% of body weight.
Particle size and feeding rate of pellet feed
The particle size of crucian carp feed is chosen according to the size of the fish: when the size is below 10 g/fish, choose feed with a particle size of 0.5mm; when the size is 10-30 g/fish, choose 1.5mm feed; when the size is 75-100 g/fish, choose 2.00mm feed; for 150-300 g/fish choose 2.4mm; for above 300 g/fish choose 3.2mm.
The size of the fish and the water temperature of the pond have a direct effect on feeding ability, so the feeding rate should be adjusted according to the actual conditions of the fish pond.