Daily feed input is an important aspect of shrimp farming. Shrimp cannot grow healthily and optimally without sufficient and high-quality feed. Meanwhile, feed occupies the largest operational costs, namely 50-60% of the total production costs per cycle.
Due to the high cost, farmers have to be careful in feed management. Proper management or feeding strategy has many advantages. The advantages include well-maintained shrimp growth, fewer issues with water quality, and a reduction in feed input that improves feed conversion ratio (FCR).
There are several things that need to be considered in feed management, such as shrimp growth target, the ability of the pond ecosystem to recycle nutrients, the shrimp's ability to eat, feed quality, and daily feeding patterns.
Daily feeding needs to be regulated as efficiently as possible to ensure that shrimp grow optimally while minimizing production costs. Dosage, form and number of feed, daily feeding frequency, shrimp age and shrimp weight are interrelated. For example, shrimp younger than 15 days old should be fed crumbled feed three times a day with a feed dose of 75-15% because they are still developing their ability to digest large amounts of food.
The Importance of Daily Feed Evaluation
If you have implemented feed management based on the factors above, there is one thing that is no less important, which is feeding evaluation. Evaluation will help farmers monitor shrimp growth performance and assess the effectiveness of the feeding strategies that have been implemented. Farmers can observe which aspects are successful and which are not.
Using Feeding Trays for Feed Management
The feeding tray is a scoop net-like tool and also one of the most effective methods to manage shrimp feeding. This method allows farmers to monitor shrimp appetite and control the amount of feed given. In addition, this method also prevents waste that leads to losses.
The feeding tray method has several functions, including
- Monitoring shrimp appetite directly.
- Avoiding excessive feeding that may pollute the water.
- Increasing feed efficiency and reducing operational costs.
Advantages of Using Feeding Trays
The feeding tray method has several advantages in shrimp farming, including
- Reducing waste and increasing feed efficiency.
- Enhancing shrimp growth with more controlled feeding.
- Maintaining pond water quality by reducing the accumulation of residual feed at the bottom of the pond.
- Preventing diseases due to excessive feed contamination.
