Feed nutrition
What the number on the bag means.
Every feed bag carries a protein percentage, and most farmers are told a higher one is better. It is not that simple. Protein is the most expensive thing in the bag and the fish needs less of it as it grows — which is why a range has grades at all, and why the right answer changes four or five times across one crop.
Why protein falls as the fish grows
A young fish is building body tissue fast, and tissue is protein. An older fish is putting on weight more slowly and using more of its feed for energy rather than growth. So the requirement drops through the crop, and feeding a fry-grade protein to a grow-out fish does not make it grow faster — it makes you pay for protein the fish burns as energy and excretes into your pond as ammonia.
ICAR-CIFA publishes the requirement for carp as about 35% crude protein for spawn and fry, falling to around 25% for grow-out and broodstock. Work on common carp fingerlings puts the useful band at 35–40%, with the best growth and conversion around 38%. Our own grades run 42% through hatchery and nursery, 36% at fingerling and 32–34% at grow-out, which sits on or above those published bands.
What goes into every batch- Higher is not betterProtein above the requirement is burned for energy and excreted, not converted into fish.
- It is the cost driverProtein is the most expensive component, so over-specifying it raises your cost per kilo of fish.
- It loads the waterExcess dietary protein leaves as ammonia, which is a water quality problem you then have to manage.
- Stage, not speciesThe number that matters is what your fish weigh, not what they are called.
Published requirements for carp
These are the ICAR-CIFA figures, given by stage. They are the reference the Indian carp industry works to, and they are what a specification should be read against.
| Stage | Crude protein | Gross energy | Crude fibre |
|---|---|---|---|
| SpawnFirst feeding | 35% | 4,000 kcal/kg | 6% |
| FryNursery | 35% | 3,500 kcal/kg | 8% |
| Grow-outTo table size | 25% | 3,000 kcal/kg | — |
| BroodstockOvarian development | 33% | 3,000 kcal/kg | — |
Published ICAR-CIFA figures, not our specification. Their commercialised carp nursery feed is formulated at 34–35% crude protein with 5–6% ether extract and 4–5% crude fibre. Their broodstock work uses 33% protein with 14% lipid supplying both linoleic and linolenic fatty acids, which materially improves ovarian development, fecundity and egg size.
The four numbers
What each one is doing.
Builds the fish
Supplies the amino acids that become body tissue. The most expensive component, and the one whose requirement falls as the fish grows.
Powers the fish
If energy is short the fish burns protein for it, which is the expensive way to run a pond. Balanced against protein, not maximised.
Concentrated energy
Also supplies the essential fatty acids. Published nursery feed carries 5–6% ether extract; broodstock diets run far higher.
Largely indigestible
Fish use very little of it, so it is a ceiling rather than a target. Published carp figures are 6% at spawn and 8% at fry.
Protein quality, not quantity
Lysine and methionine are the ones usually short in plant proteins, which is why they are added separately rather than assumed.
Small inclusion, large effect
A fraction of the bag by weight. Their absence shows up as poor growth and weak immunity long before it shows on a label.
Common questions
What farmers ask about specification.
Should I just buy the highest protein feed I can find?
No. Above the requirement for the stage, protein is burned for energy rather than converted into fish, and it leaves the fish as ammonia in your water. You pay more per bag, you get no extra growth, and you create a water quality problem. Match the grade to what the fish weigh.
Your grow-out grade is 32–34%. Published requirement is 25%. Why?
Published requirements are minimums for the nutrient, established under controlled conditions. Commercial feeds are generally formulated above them, because pond conditions, ingredient digestibility and feeding losses all sit between the specification and what the fish actually absorbs. We publish both numbers so you can see the gap rather than take the higher one on trust.
Why is fibre listed if the fish cannot digest it?
Because it tells you how much of the bag is doing nothing. Fibre arrives with plant ingredients and cannot be removed entirely, so it is treated as a ceiling — published carp figures are 6% at spawn and 8% at fry. A high fibre number means a larger share of what you bought passes straight through.
Do you publish a full nutritional analysis?
We publish crude protein and pack size for every grade, and the ingredient list for the range. We do not publish figures we do not hold to — if you need a full analysis for a commercial or institutional requirement, ask us and we will tell you exactly what we can certify.