Catfish Feed: Nutritional Needs, Types & Tips for Feeding!

The catfish feed provided is the key to the success of your cultivation. Balanced nutrition will increase the growth rate of catfish.

You need to know that catfish is one of the cultivated fish that is not fussy about feed. So the operational costs of buying feed are relatively low and the market is very broad, so catfish farming is profitable.

However, the feed that you provide must also be efficient and economical. Catfish feed that is too expensive can increase your operational costs.

So choose the best feed for your catfish. Moreover, recent research has revealed the main needs of catfish, starting from efficient, economical nutritional formulas, and feeding strategies.

Catfish Nutritional Needs to Grow Big Fast

Adequate nutritional needs are the main key to the success of catfish farming. If you provide adequate nutrition for catfish, the growth process will be faster.

Here are 5 essential nutrients for the growth and development of your catfish. 

1. Proteins

70% of the weight of dry catfish contains protein. Therefore, protein is the main nutrient for the growth of catfish. Generally, the price of protein is relatively expensive, so many cultivators mix protein from different sources to make cultivation more economical.

The protein used is usually sourced from plants and animals. Some examples of protein sources include soy flour, cottonseed meal, bone/blood meal, and fish meal.

2. Fat

Fat is needed by catfish to maintain its metabolic processes, especially essential fatty acids. However, avoid giving feed with too much fat content.

Usually fat is used as feed to reduce the amount of expensive protein ingredients. However, too much fat can cause excessive accumulation of fat in the catfish's body. This will reduce the quality of catfish.

3. Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are one of the main sources of energy for catfish. Sources of carbohydrates are also relatively cheaper than protein. You can use carbohydrates from grains or their by-products. Examples include corn seeds, wheat seeds, and others.

4. Vitamins

Vitamins are needed in small amounts to support the growth, health and reproduction of your fish. Catfish can be given a vitamin premix which is equipped with all the essential vitamins. So your catfish can grow big quickly.

5. Minerals

In making catfish feed, you must also consider the availability of minerals in the feed. This is because, minerals are very important for the metabolism and growth of catfish bones. 

Although catfish can absorb minerals from pond water, they can be deficient in minerals. This mineral deficiency or deficiency often occurs, for example in phosphorus minerals. You can mix phosphorus-containing plants such as Moringa leaves in the feed.

3 Types of Catfish Food to Grow Big Fast

There are many types of catfish feed that you can choose from. Of course, if you use feed that is rich in nutrients, the catfish will grow up quickly. However, you also need to pay attention to economic factors so that the feed is not too expensive.

Here we summarize 3 types of catfish food that are cheap and rich in nutrients so that catfish grow up quickly.

1. Maggot (Magot Flies)

Maggot with the Latin name Hermetia illucens is a favorite catfish feed, because of its high protein content up to 40%. You can also breed maggots yourself. Maggots can also live by eating household waste such as tofu dregs and vegetable scraps, so their feed costs are economical.

2. Trash Fish

Trash fish is a leftover fish that you can find at fish auctions. Its small shape makes it unattractive as food consumption. So you can buy this fish at a cheap price. 

3. Snail

Snails are a favorite food for catfish farmers because they are easy to find and relatively inexpensive. The protein and iron content of this snail is very high so that it helps the growth and development of catfish.

4 Ways to Make Your Own Catfish Feed

How to make catfish feed is not as difficult as many people think. Here are 4 easy steps to make your own catfish feed.

1. Flour Preparation

You need to determine the type of fish feed flour used. You can make it from a mixture of 2 kg of soybean flour, 5 kg of corn flour, 8 kg of fish meal, 2 kg of tapioca flour, 3 kg of fine bran, 0.2 kg of fish oil and 0.2 kg of minerals. 

It would be better if you used various types of protein as above, so that the nutritional content of catfish would be more fulfilled.

2. Dough Making

You can then mix the flour with enough water. Make sure the dough doesn't spill if you hold it, if it spills, you need to add water.

3. Print Catfish Food

The dough that has been made is then put into the pellet molding machine. Then, the pellets are dried in the hot sun to dry quickly.

4. Pellets Storage

After drying, you can store the pellets in a plastic bag so that they are watertight. Furthermore, the pellets are stored in a room that has good air circulation.

Proper Catfish Feeding

There are several factors that you should pay attention to in feeding. To produce a low FCR, feeding catfish must be done properly. Here's the strategy for feeding catfish that is right.

1. Feeding Time

You can provide feed in the morning at 07:00, noon at 12:00, in the afternoon at 17:00, and at night at 22:00. The frequency is also different, if the fish are still small it can be done 4-5 times a day, while the fish that are big enough 3 times a day.

2. Feed Amount

The ideal amount of feed is around 3-6% from the weight of your catfish. An easy way to find out, after 10 days you can sample the weight of the fish. If it increases, you can give twice as much feed. Furthermore, before the harvest period, the feed weight can be reduced by up to 2-3% from the weight of the catfish.