Fish Farming & Feeding

Fish farms hatch fish and stock lakes, rivers and ponds.

Fish are farmed in ponds, cages or tanks and used to stock ponds, lakes, rivers or for food. Demand for fish is great among people and animal populations due to pollution, oil spills and natural calamities. Fish farming, also called aquaculture, is a reliable way to maintain a supply of food that we can count on. Farming fish can be done by an individual with a small pond or as a large corporation providing tons of fish each year.

Pond, Tanks, Cages

Numerous fish can live in a pond built to accommodate them.

Make your pond according to the space your land allows. Up to five surface acres is ideal to manage. Include at least three depths to accommodate the growth of water plants and the number and size of fish you plan to farm. Indoor fish farming in tanks is expensive to start and requires close attention, since filtering, temperature, aeration and circulation are maintained electronically. Cages are used to farm saltwater fish. The cages are moved often to provide clean water and prevent damage to the ecosystem on the ocean floor due to buildup of waste.

Controlling Vegetation

Pond vegetation will grow out of control.

Thin plants in your pond or they will grow out of control, crowd pond space and rob oxygen from your fish. Your fish will become susceptible to disease and toxins. Excessive pond vegetation protects and encourages mosquito larvae.

Aeration

Fountains oxygenate the water.

Fountains are a beautiful way to add oxygen to your pond. Providing oxygen is one of the most important factors in breaking down decaying plant matter. Aeration cleans the water, adds more oxygen for the health of your fish and prevents the pond water in your fish farm from becoming stagnant.

Stocking Your Pond

Fish are released into a pond.

Calculate the total gallons of water in your pond by multiplying 7.48 gallons per cubic foot. Calculate the number of cubic feet by multiplying the length, depth and width of your pond. Select species that love the pond environment. A 5,000-square-foot building with an indoor recirculating system allows you to produce an amount of fish equal to the same amount you can raise in an outdoor pond.

Spawning

Baby fish congregate in safe pond harbors.

Add eight to ten piles of pea gravel per acre between 3 and 5 feet deep if you are farming bass, crappie or blue gill. Gravel piles should be positioned 4 feet apart with 3 gallons of rock in each pile. Catfish prefer to lay their eggs in a secure location with an open end facing the bank. Place five to seven containers per acre 3 to 5 feet deep. Provide shallow pond harbors for minnows to escape larger fish.

Feeding

These fish wait to be fed.

Feed your fish what they will eat in 5 to 10 minutes. Floating feed is easy to see and judge how much food to use. Note their eating habits as the seasons change. Your fish will eat less in colder weather.

Problem Animals

Turtles gather where there is food.

Problem animals will gather where there is sustainable food. Use humane methods to remove fish farm predators like turtles, herons, beavers and muskrats from your pond. Contact the Department of Wildlife or Fisheries and Parks in your state before using a plan for removal and setting traps.

References

• Wildlife Department: Feeding Your Farm Pond Fish
• Cornell Cooperative Extension: Fish Management in NY Ponds: Pond Habitat Assessment
• EDF: The Promise and Perils of Fish Farming:
• National Geographic: Giant Robotic Cages to Roam Seas as Future Fish Farms?
• Mississippi State University: Common Problems with Farm Ponds

Resources

• NOAA: Aquaculture in the U.S.
• I Fish Illinois: Pond Construction
• FAO: Aquaculture
• Finfish: Robotic Offshore Cages