Crucian carp is a fish of the carp family, which has an unpretentious character. Almost omnivorous and able to adapt to any living conditions. Grows quickly with proper care. Thanks to these qualities, crucian carp are often chosen for cultivation and breeding in a self-made pond on a summer cottage. But many novice fish farmers are faced with a difficult question - what to feed crucian carp in a pond at the dacha?
Rules for feeding fry and adults
Proper feeding is the key to successfully growing fish at home. Although crucian carp are not picky eaters, quality nutrition is important for good growth and reproduction. Otherwise, it will begin to degenerate and become smaller. Complete food must correspond to the composition of the food that the animal finds in natural conditions.
What does crucian carp eat in its natural environment:
- duckweed;
- insect larvae;
- annelids;
- small crustaceans;
- seaweed.
The fry eat:
- algae residues;
- zooplankton;
- daphnia;
- small insect larvae.
The appetite of an aquatic inhabitant largely depends on environmental conditions. In hot weather, the fish do not eat well. When the thermometer rises above 25˚C, it stops feeding. Optimum temperature +22 ˚С. The lower the water temperature in the reservoir, the lower the activity of the inhabitants of the reservoir. Thus, at water temperatures below 10-12 °C, feeding is contraindicated. During this period, the fish goes to the bottom and buries itself in the mud for the winter.
Experienced fish farmers always monitor the temperature in the pond. Feeding when fish activity is low can cause the feed to settle to the bottom of the pond. This contributes to the deterioration of water quality, as uneaten food begins to quickly decompose and release substances that contribute to the active development of microorganisms in the water. This can lead to water blooming and make the pond unsuitable for further breeding.
What to feed carp in a pond
Carp is a fish that is classified as omnivorous, since it eats almost everything that is in the body of its residence. Nevertheless, when deciding to breed this fish, you need to carefully approach the issues of its food; you should not hope that you will be able to get by with environmental products.
It is recommended to use the following feed options:
- A special combined food produced specifically for breeding carp and ensuring their proper growth. The composition of such food includes fish flour, special meal, wheat, and so on. Ordinary combined food, which is used when feeding chickens and other animals, can also be used, only when feeding carp it is important to dilute it with water until its consistency begins to resemble dough, otherwise the fish will not be able to cope with such food.
- Cereal grains and beans can also be used to feed this fish. But it is worth considering that it is not advisable to use them on a regular basis. It is best to feed after thoroughly soaking these grains. If beans or peas are used for feeding, they need to not only be soaked, but also steamed. If this is not done, the fish may acquire toxins, which promises a serious deterioration in the health of your pets in the near future.
- Protein food , which includes worms and other animals, may also be suitable. This feeding option contains all the necessary nutrients and perfectly saturates the carp. It is best to feed carp with this food in the spring and autumn. This food should be added all year round to avoid the development of unwanted diseases in the fish.
- Boiled potatoes. Potatoes should not be given raw to fish; this option can only harm it. It is also impossible to feed carp with potatoes alone, because the fish must receive all the necessary vitamins and nutrients. So it is better to use potatoes as a supplement to your main diet.
- Bread and cake can also be used, but not separately. It is best to give them along with grain crops. The cake can also be combined with boiled potatoes.
It is worth noting that this fish loves to eat insects. You can feed her with them, but it is worth considering that catching a sufficient number of insects will not be so easy. However, if you approach the issue correctly and try to drive the same, for example, mosquitoes into the light, you can quickly collect the required amount of food for carp. To do this, you just need to place the lamp above the water, after which the insects will fly into the light, and the carps, seeing that they are very close, close to the water, will eat them.
Frequency and volume of feeding
In order to avoid excess food getting to the bottom of the reservoir, it is necessary to correctly calculate the amount of food that will be optimal for the animal and allow it to gain weight well.
Over 2 years, weight gain is:
- Golden crucian carp 500-600 g.
- Silver 200-300 g.
The norm is calculated based on the total number of individuals in the pond and their weight. For adult animals, the volume of food should not exceed 3-5% of their weight. The norm should be eaten by the fish within 15 minutes.
EXAMPLE
The dacha pond is home to 10 individuals. Each weight is 200 g.
For 3%: (10 × 200) × 0.03 = 60 g.
5%: (10 × 200) × 0.05 = 100 g.
This means the norm is from 60 to 100 g.
The frequency of feeding fish directly depends on temperature:
- at temperatures below +10 ˚С do not feed the fish;
- from +10 ˚С to +18 ˚С one feeding per day is enough;
- at temperatures above +18 ˚С they switch to two meals a day;
- after +25 ˚С feeding is stopped.
Attention! Feeding is carried out strictly in the same place at the same time. The fish quickly gets used to the diet.
The slave remembers well and reacts to sound signals. Therefore, before feeding, you can emit a conditioned signal. For example, whistling, ringing a bell and the like. Soon the crucian carp will begin to swim to the feeder at the first call.
Useful tips
Monitor the appearance of predatory insects in the pond, and also remove swimming beetles and their large larvae. The fish will destroy the small larvae itself.
- Fry food should be ground to form a paste.
- A fire pond is suitable for breeding crucian carp.
- To make the reservoir “shed” ice faster, sprinkle the surface with peat chips in the spring.
- If the water in the pond is very soft, then it is better to lower natural pieces of marble or limestone to the bottom. This type of fish prefers hard water.
How nice it is in the summer morning, throwing a fishing rod into your own pond and catching a few crucian carp for breakfast.
Feeding regimen depending on the season
In spring, feeding begins in late April - early May. They finish feeding the fish in the second half of September, as weather conditions worsen.
With the onset of frost and ice formation on the surface of the garden pond, it is necessary to provide air supply for the fish. Otherwise, the pond inhabitant will not survive the winter and will die from lack of oxygen. For this purpose, special aerators are used that provide air circulation. They are installed at several points throughout the entire reservoir area.
Manufacturers
There are several types of dry food: for fry, for commercial fish and for feeding fish in the pond.
Mixtures should be used carefully for other animals, in small portions. If you don’t want to take risks, pay attention to ready-made, high-quality food that has proven itself well. Some types also have a healing effect.
Find out what pond aerators are in this article.
Tetra
The company is a leader in the production of products for aquariums and garden fish farming. For cold-water fish, she offers the following food:
- Tetra Pond Sticks (universal food in the form of floating sticks);
- Tetra Pond Sticks Mini (food for small fish, suitable for fry);
- Tetra Pond Color Sticks (food that improves fish color)
- Tetra Goldfish (flakes and sticks for goldfish and other crucian carp);
- TetraPond Holiday (for feeding pond fish during vacation);
Nutritious food is suitable for all types of cold-water fish, including crucian carp. Price for 250 ml jars – from 150 rubles.
Goldfish food from this company is well suited for providing proper nutrition for crucian carp in a garden pond. The following foods are suitable for crucian carp:
- JBL NovoRed (universal food in the form of flakes);
- JBL NovoPearl (universal food based on wheat germ);
- JBL NovoRed refill (universal food in special packaging).
The price of a 100 ml jar is from 110 rubles.
Two types of food from this manufacturer are suitable for crucian carp:
- OTTO Goldfish (for golden fish);
- OTTO Koi Food (for koi).
They can also be used to prevent digestive problems in captive fish. Price for a 250 ml package. – 100 rub.
To ensure that your pond is enriched with oxygen, you can use pond compressors.
Feeding crucian carp in a barrel
Due to their unpretentiousness to living conditions, crucian carp can live in a barrel at the dacha in the warm season. It will not be possible to breed fish in such conditions, but it will cope with its decorative function perfectly well. The main thing is to provide good care.
- Carefully control the amount of feed and prevent it from settling to the bottom of the barrel.
- Monitor the water temperature.
- Place the barrel in the shade, away from direct sunlight.
- Provide a varied diet.
- To saturate the water with oxygen, you can attach an aquatic plant to the bottom of the barrel.
- Replace some of the water regularly.
Useful tips
Monitor the appearance of predatory insects in the pond, and also remove swimming beetles and their large larvae. The fish will destroy the small larvae itself.
- Fry food should be ground to form a paste.
- A fire pond is suitable for breeding crucian carp.
- To make the reservoir “shed” ice faster, sprinkle the surface with peat chips in the spring.
- If the water in the pond is very soft, then it is better to lower natural pieces of marble or limestone to the bottom. This type of fish prefers hard water.
How nice it is in the summer morning, throwing a fishing rod into your own pond and catching a few crucian carp for breakfast.
Where to get food to grow
When breeding in rural areas, anything that can be found at hand will be suitable as food for crucian carp in a country pond.
For adults you can use:
- grain crops that are pre-crushed and steamed;
- legumes are prepared in the same way as grains;
- mashed boiled potatoes;
- feed for pigs or poultry;
- porridge cooked without salt;
- grain flour;
- bran;
- meat and bone meal.
The crushed ingredients are mixed and diluted with water. The resulting food is divided into small parts and used to feed fish. Properly prepared food does not float to the surface.
To feed the fry, prepare a mixture of 4 types of flour:
- grain;
- legume;
- meat and bone;
- fishbone;
- vitamin premix (optional).
What can you give besides food?
Bloodworm
In addition to the main feed, I use supplements:
- larvae;
- bloodworm;
- worms.
It is not recommended to feed bread, as it quickly sours and begins to ferment.
You can add greens to your food as an additional source of fiber and vitamins:
- crushed dandelion leaves;
- finely chopped nettle;
- greens from the garden. For example, lettuce leaves.
An excellent option for saturating your diet is duckweed. But, if it is not possible to get it, you can get by by adding regular greens to the food.
Making your own food for crucian carp
The grain is crushed, the younger the fish, the finer the fraction should be from 3 to 8 mm. Next it is mixed with minced meat, bran and meat and bone meal. The resulting mixture is poured with boiling water, mixed thoroughly and left to steam for 30 minutes.
The resulting dough is then rolled into small balls, which are used for feed.
To increase the amount of nutrients, greens or bloodworms are added to the balls.
Recipe No. 1
Depending on the volume of the prepared mixture, take:
- wheat flour 4 parts;
- corn flour 2 parts;
- peas 3 parts;
- seeds 1 part.
Recipe No. 2
- corn flour 4 parts;
- wheat flour 3 parts;
- lupine greens 3 parts.
How to make a pond for growing crucian carp
Lucky are those who already have a pond on their summer cottage (a fire pond, a dam on a stream, part of a clean and fenced drainage canal). But if there are no such reservoirs, then you can make your own garden pond.
The optimal size of a country pond is approximately 4x6 m, and its depth varies from 0.8 to 1.5 m. The water in a garden pond will quickly warm up to 25°, which is considered the most suitable temperature for the normal functioning of fish. This small pond is perfect for housing two dozen crucian carp weighing 200-300 g.
Depending on the size of the pond, crucian carp of various sizes can be bred.
Before launching crucian carp, you need to equalize the water temperature between the reservoir from which you are transferring the fish and your pond. Otherwise, a temperature difference of even 2-3° can cause temperature shock and kill the fish.
When growing crucian carp, you need to take into account one interesting nuance - of its two types (gold and silver), the latter is more productive and gains weight much faster. Therefore, it is recommended to breed silver crucian carp.
In nature, male goldfish are very rare. And most of the crucian carp offspring are females. But this fact does not at all slow down the reproduction of this species, because males of similar breeds are successfully used for this - golden crucian carp, carp, carp. For breeding, it is advisable to take females 4-5 years old, with a tall body compressed from the sides - the offspring of such specimens grow much faster, gaining weight well.
It is preferable to breed silver crucian carp in a pond
