What do farmed fish eat? Usually they eat a feed that comes in the form of dried pellets packed with essential nutrients. Much like you’d give a growing baby the kind of food that helps them stay healthy and grow up to be strong, fish food for farmed fish does the same thing.
Did you know, for example, that growing fish need about 40 essential nutrients? They have to get them from somewhere, right? Dried pellets contain several key vitamins, minerals, amino acids and even some fats so that the fish are getting a nutritionally-balanced, consistently-good diet. It’s good to know the hatchery can control what fish end up ingesting.
What are the dried pellets made of? They’re most made from fishmeal, fish oil, plants and various animal trimmings.
Different species of fish require different nutrition, so there’s “fish food for farmed fish” for different types of fish, just like pet dogs have a variety of dog foods to choose from. For example, carnivorous fish like salmon will eat other fish in the wild– therefore, their pellets will be heavy on fishmeal and fish oil to meet their needs. Fish who feed on plants should have pellets that are more plant-based, obviously.
So do farmed fish eat other fish? In the form of the fishmeal/fish oil found in their pellets, they do. Why is this? Well, just like humans eat fish– because they’re so rich in healthy nutrients– fish do well by eating fish, too.
If you have specific questions about food to feed farmed fish, please call 361-798-5934. The Kenneth Henneke Fish Hatchery has been reputably raising fish in ponds and lakes for more than three decades. With time and experience, the hatchery has got feeding its fish down to a science that works well. The family run business based out of Texas raises a variety of fish, including bass, bluegills, and catfish.
Interesting info!