The Best Types of Catfish Food to Grow Big Fast

Hello, Mr/Mrs Cultivators! Feed is certainly one of the most important factors when cultivating. Apart from being one of the biggest expenses, feed is also a determining factor for the growth rate of cultivated fish. Likewise when cultivating catfish. Catfish food determines its growth. 

Before determining the right catfish feed, it's a good idea for you to get to know the various types of catfish feed that are commonly used for catfish farming.

Natural Feed for Catfish

Natural food is food that exists in nature and is not made by humans. Since catfish are omnivores, they usually eat the following:

• Small fish
• Small shrimp
• Grains
• Silk worms
• Artemia
• Water fleas
• Earthworms
• Trash fish
• Rice bran

Natural food such as artemia is often used as feed for catfish larvae. However, catfish larvae can only eat 30-36 hours after hatching. Newly hatched larvae still have food reserves in the yellow bag, so they don't need to be fed.

After 1 week old, you can give silk worms as catfish food. The small size of silk worms is suitable for catfish which are still fry and can provide sufficient nutrition to grow into juvenile fish.

Artificial Feed for Catfish

Artificial feed is feed made by humans. Even though it is artificial, this feed is still made from natural ingredients, such as fish, small shrimp, or seeds. Usually, this type of feed is processed again into small flakes or pellets.

If you want to use artificial feed, you can make the feed yourself or buy manufactured feed. Homemade feed can be made from fish meal, shrimp heads, bran/bran, and other flours, such as tapioca or flour. Make sure that the ingredients used are dry, for example fish or anchovies. These materials are then ground into flour and put into a pellet forming machine.

Apart from making your own feed, you can also buy manufactured fish feed that is available on the market. The feed produced by the factory has a varied protein content. You can choose the feed according to your needs. 

Keep in mind that feed in the form of pellets cannot be given to small fish because the fish will find it difficult to eat it. Choose feed that is the right size for the fish's mouth opening so that the fish have no trouble eating the feed that is spread out. 

How to Choose the Right Catfish Feed

With the various types of feed available, cultivators must of course choose the right feed for their cultivation. Here are tips for choosing the right type of catfish food for your cultivation:

• Check again the content/composition of the feed listed on the feed sack. You can also ask the feed agent.
• Choose feed that is suitable for use, for example for seeding / enlargement.
• Choose the size/shape of feed according to the age of the fish.
• Check feed expiration date. Choose food with a long expiration date.

For the frequency of feeding, you can adjust it to the needs of cultivation. To increase weight and accelerate growth, catfish should be fed about 4 times a day, namely morning, afternoon, evening and night. Because catfish are creatures that are more active at night, it is better to give more food at night than in the morning or evening.

Catfish can only be given feed in the form of flour after they are 15 days old. It is better if the feed that is started to be given contains a minimum of 40% protein. After 1 month old, then the fish can be given feed in the form of pellets. Keep in mind that the size of the feed given must be adjusted to the fish's mouth opening so that the feed is easy to eat.