The "feeding state" of fish is the most direct health barometer in the breeding process, but it is often overlooked by farmers. From being healthy to falling ill, a fish often shows obvious abnormal changes in its eating behavior.
Mastering these key signals can not only prevent large-scale fish disease outbreaks in advance, but also significantly improve the aquaculture efficiency. Today, let's uncover the health codes hidden in the feeding behavior of fish schools!
Eating too much food: It might be a precursor to illness!
Sometimes, farmed fish suddenly show an overly aggressive eating behavior, with their enthusiasm for competing for food exceeding their normal feeding state. Such overeating may indicate viral or bacterial infections, such as grass carp hemorrhagic disease or carp herpesvirus disease.
Why do fish suddenly overeat?
After the pathogen invades, the fish body needs a large amount of energy to resist, resulting in an abnormal increase in appetite. Overeating can easily lead to indigestion, causing liver damage, enteritis and other problems. If the feed is not controlled in time, the fish may die suddenly after eating the feed.
Countermeasures:
Reduce the feeding amount to avoid increasing the burden on digestion. Observe whether there are any abnormalities in the fish body (such as bleeding on the body surface or white gill filaments); Test the water quality and disinfect or adjust it if necessary
2. Poor enthusiasm for eating: Be alert to water quality, weather or diseases!
Fish suddenly lose their appetite for food. The reasons can be very complex. Common ones include:
Water quality issues (excessive ammonia nitrogen and nitrite, insufficient dissolved oxygen); Sudden weather changes (temperature drop, heavy rain, low air pressure); Recent operational impacts (such as water replacement, pest control, netting, etc.); Latent diseases (such as bacterial enteritis, parasitic infections).
How to judge?
First, test the water quality to rule out abnormal ammonia nitrogen, nitrite and pH. Recall whether you have carried out disinfection, feed change or other operations recently, and inspected the fish body to see if there are any abnormalities in the gills, body surface and anus.
Countermeasures:
Improve water quality (increase oxygen, change water, sprinkle EM bacteria); Reduce feeding when the weather is bad. If a disease is suspected, take samples for testing in a timely manner.
3. Spitting: A dangerous signal, don't ignore it!
It is commonly seen in carnivorous fish (such as raw fish, mandarin fish, and eels), and after eating, they spit out undigested feed, which may be:
Gill parasites (such as Trichoderma) cause hypoxia; The feed has deteriorated and the fish refuse to eat it. Sudden weather changes or deterioration of water quality cause stress to the fish bodies. If left untreated, it may cause enteritis and even lead to a large number of deaths!
Countermeasures:
Check if there are any parasites in the gills and kill them specifically. Change the fresh feed to avoid mold. Strengthen oxygenation, especially at night.
4. "Breaststroke" after eating: There's something wrong with your liver!
Grass carp, black carp and other fish float up and down on the water surface like "frog swimming" after eating food. This might be:
Liver injury (pale and fragile); There is a local lack of oxygen on the feeding platform, and the fish are uncomfortable.
How to solve it?
Liver and gallbladder protection: Add bile acids and multivitamins to the feed
Enhance aeration: Install waterwheel aerators near the material platform
Feed control: Reduce high-fat feed to avoid overburdening the liver
5. "Swarm explosion" while eating: Are the fish frightened? No, it might be illness!
When fish are eating at the feeding table and suddenly scatter in all directions (commonly known as "frying the table"), it might be:
Bites from parasites (such as anchor fleas and ringworm); Gill rot disease makes it difficult for fish to breathe. Enteritis or liver and gallbladder diseases cause discomfort in the fish
Countermeasures:
Examine the fish body, especially the gills and the body surface; Targeted medication (insecticidal or bactericidal); Reduce stress and avoid sudden noises or strong light.
Daily management: Prevention is better than cure!
Reasonable feeding: Feed more when the weather is good, and reduce or stop feeding when the weather changes
Water quality control: Regularly improve the bottom and increase oxygen to maintain stable water quality
Health care and disease prevention: Add liver-protecting and immune enhancers (such as multivitamins and probiotics) to feed
Regular inspection: Observe the feeding status and deal with any abnormalities in a timely manner