What feed do mandarin fish eat? A detailed explanation of farming and feeding methods

The feed for mandarin fish is bait fish, and its species include: silver carp, bighead carp, mud carp, dace, Thai dace, crucian carp, common carp, etc., and the feed conversion ratio is generally 4-5. According to the growth size and food intake of mandarin fish, use ponds 3-4 times larger than the mandarin fish pond to cultivate and produce sufficient bait fish to feed the mandarin fish. In artificial farming, mandarin fish can be fed pelleted feed.

1. Early-stage bait fish: In the pond prepared for stocking mandarin fish, pre-stock 1-2 million fry (fish fry) per mu of silver carp, bighead carp, mud carp, dace, Thai dace, crucian carp and other fish as early-stage bait fish for mandarin fish. Feed peanut bran, wheat bran and other coarse feed, and after 15-20 days of cultivation, when the bait fish grow to 1.5-2.5 cm in body length, use 0.7 ppm copper sulfate and 0.5 ppm strong chlorine for disinfection and insect removal, then mandarin fish fry of 2-3 cm size can be put in for cultivation.

2. Mid-stage bait fish: In ponds of the four major Chinese carps, polyculture 200,000-300,000 fry per mu of mud carp, dace, Thai dace and other fish, or cultivate silver carp, bighead carp, crucian carp and other fry in dedicated ponds as bait fish for large-size mandarin fish.

3. Late-stage bait fish: In addition to self-production and self-supply, they can also be purchased externally. The late stage of farming generally enters winter, and mud carp-type bait fish are prone to freezing to death, so some cold-tolerant bait fish such as silver carp, bighead carp, and crucian carp should be cultivated and reserved in sufficient quantities to overwinter, to serve as reserve bait fish for mandarin fish in winter and spring.