Fish Nutrition and Feed Technology (2+1)

17.2.Methods of Feeding

Unit 17 - Feeding devices and Methods

17.2.Methods of Feeding
There are two broad methods of feeding practices viz.

• Hand feeding or manual feeding
• Mechanized feeding.

Hand feeding
Hand feeding refers to distribution of feed by hand which allows dose observation of the appetite and feeding behavior of cultured fish species, which feed actively at the surface and grown in clear water system. Effective hand feeding necessitates some initial training and experience if food wastage is to be avoided.

The advantage of hand feeding is that, it is possible to adjust the feed requirements of the fish. It also ensures the observation of behavior of the farmed animal regularly observed and anomalies can be addressed. On the other hand it is disadvantageous as it is labor intensive and time consuming work and limited in its application on large farms.

Mechanized feeding
At present, there are different types of feeding equipments being used. Fish feeders can be divided into two major groups, as follows:

(a) Stationary feeding equipment
(i) without supplied energy - Example: demand feeders
(ii) with supplied energy -Example: automatic feeders (electric, pneumatic, hydraulic)

(b) Mobile feeding equipment
(i) feeding carts
(ii) feeding boats