Aquaculture Feed Rate

Water temperature adjusts an internal multiplier this calculator applies on top of your chosen feed rate percentage, because fish appetite and digestion track water temperature directly. In water between 70°F and 85°F the multiplier stays at full strength, but below or above that band it scales down, so the same biomass and feed rate percentage produce less daily feed in cold or overly hot water than in the comfort band.

This calculator's default and typical range is 2-5% of body weight per day for grow-out production, which is a commonly used starting range before adjusting for observed feeding response. Younger, smaller fish generally need a higher percentage of their body weight in daily feed than larger fish approaching market size, so the right figure shifts across a single production cycle even at a constant water temperature.

No -- in this calculator, the estimated feed conversion ratio depends only on the water-temperature adjustment, not on total biomass or the feed rate percentage you enter. It gets worse (a higher, less efficient ratio) specifically when temperature pushes the feed-rate multiplier below 1.0, reflecting that fish convert feed to growth less efficiently outside their comfort temperature range, but it's capped at 2.5 -- the top of the stated typical 1.5-2.5 range -- rather than climbing without limit at the coldest temperatures.

Monthly cost is calculated by multiplying the monthly feed total in pounds by a flat feed price estimate of $0.35 per pound, which is a rough placeholder rather than a live commodity price. Actual feed cost varies substantially by protein content, pellet formulation, and regional supplier pricing, so treat the dollar figures here as a rough budgeting starting point rather than a quote.