The first step is to get hold of one of those simplified free-to-use computer applications.
Then get the ingredients and tools like mixers and weighing scale.
I recently came across a study conducted in the country that had looked at farm-made fish rations and it gave shocking findings.
One of them is that there was significant deviation of the farm-made feeds from the approved nutrient standards for commercial feeds in terms of moisture, crude protein and mineral content.
The sampled feeds did not meet the recommended nutrient content for raising tilapia fish. In the study, some farmers were using trial and error feed formulation methods that saw them come up with their own on-farm recipes.
The consequence is that fish at harvest was of low weight and overall production was small, what led to losses and frustrations.
Therefore, farmers need to get it right when making fish feeds as using the correct formula and ingredients will enable one to make affordable, highly palatable and nutrient-balanced feeds for faster growth, increased fish production and accelerated development of the fish industry.
Onesmus Githui displays fish pellets during an interview at Kabaru in Nyeri County on February 15, 2021.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi | Nation Media Group
Quality fish feeds
To make quality fish feeds on the farm, the first step is you must get hold of one of those simplified free-to-use computer application that offer a wide range of choices for ingredients to use.
These apps do not only make your work easier but also improve accuracy thus the quality of feed made.
You can download the app on your computer or smartphone. One such app is the feed calculator that is available on Google Playstore. You can use the app to make any kind of fish feed, from starter to grower and finisher.
The target population in each recipe is 100 tilapia fish. Although they will consume 47.4kg in total, 1,000kg of each recipe is used as an example.
The 1,000kg can feed 2,100 fish, but the good thing is that one can adjust the quantities, according to the targeted number of fish they keep.
Have all the ingredients ready plus a weighing scale. A big spring scale of more than 50kg, a bucket or a drum, a shovel, and a thick tight plastic sheet or clean floor.
Mix all the micro-ingredients (premix, bone ash and vitamin) with 5 to 10kg of maize bran thoroughly in a bucket, drum or floor using your hands or the shovel. The maize bran should be completely dry to avoid formation of crumbs.
Add the micro-ingredients on top of a larger amount of maize bran like 100kg and use the shovel to mix thoroughly. Add this mixture to a bigger amount of macro-ingredients and again ensure they are thorough mixed.
The trick here is to mix the micro-ingredients with bigger amounts of macro-ingredients making sure that there is thorough mixing before adding the contents to a bigger macro-ingredient, repeating until all the ingredients are mixed.
The final products can be packaged in bags and stored on top of pallets on a clean floor and away from the wall to avoid rodent infestation.
How to feed
Each feed can be used to rear fish from the start to the end but the best results are achieved when there is a transition from starter to grower feed at 10 weeks of age.
Note that the pellet size is 2mm and 3mm for starter and grower feeds respectively. Total starter feed is 8-78g = 8.94kg while total grower feed is 78-280g = 38.5kg. Total feed need is 47.4kg.
