Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Purina mills catfish 32 floating feed

Is Purina mills catfish 32 floating feed good for a new stocked lake

I have 6 to 8 in LMB and catfish and 3 to 4 in BG

I am sure you will be told to go with Game Fish Chow or Aquamax 500 or 600.

But we can wait to see what the experts say.

I would like to know as well what the difference is between the Catfish food and the GFC. Since both are grain based.

I for some reason thought that GFC was fish meal as well like the AM, or thought I had read fish meal on the bag.

Maybe it is just not as high of a %.

Thanks

I have feed this a few times. Just getting started. I have seen the catfish eat them off the dock but most either sink or float off. There is an area that I threw some the other day and the fish were going crazy. Couldn't tell what they were but I thought it was the bass. I saw some small BG and threw some by them and they would swim by it but never eat it.

Well I am sure they will eat it, they just have to get used to it, mine took about 2 weeks to really go after it when I started last year.

This year I am not sure how long as it was a month later before I got back to the pond and when I threw some out by hand they just went nuts so they have now taken to it as well.

I use GFC, mainly because I wanted to make sure I was going to feed and continue to do so, see if they would eat it, it is the same price as the catfish food, and about 1/2 that of AM 500.

I also have a ton of CC and GSF in the pond and not sure either one of them would benefit much from the AM over GFC and they seem to dominate the food.

I may consider mixing the AM with the GFC, if so I may go up the AM 600 and see how the fish do with it.

Just give it time and I am sure it will pay off, but you may want to consider options on the food depending on your goals.

Plus I have heard of many on here that their fish prefer one over the other so you may need to find what they like as well.

Thanks

GFC is better for BG and LMB. Catfish is better for CC etc. GFC is fish meal based not plant based. Catfish chow is mixed base (plant and fish meal). AM is a little better for LMB , HSB and for denser populations of BG. GFC is good for BG in most normal (non-aquaculture) pond situations. Any of the 3 CC , GFC and AM are better than nothing in standard pond situations (Supp. feeding) where the limiting factor for growth and condition is lack of food.

There are of course other factors like cost , goals and water quality that should be considered.

It depends on your goals. If your goals are to grow large catfish, then feed the catfish food. If your goals are to grow large LMB or BG (or a combination of both) stop feeding the catfish food and then start with feeding AquaMax 400 or 500 (probably 500). BG and LMB are carnivores, not omnivores, so they need food that is formulated for carnivores.

While BG and LMB will eat the catfish food, they will not grow nearly as fast on omnivore formulated food. If your goal is to grow fish as fast as you can, then AquaMax is the most readily available food to feed them to get the results that you are looking for.

What size food to feed? Feed the fish pellets that are the size of their eyes. If you have large and small fish in the pond, mix AquaMax 600 and 500 together.

Eric, do you know of any LMB or BG growth studies where GFC is compared against AM?

Not by name as that would be proprietary to Purina. I have seen results using several different methods and read studies using #s with proteins , lipids/fats and carbs and their sources.

For the Forum it’s important for someone to give a broad spectrum of possibilities and info due to the large differences in ponds , locations , goals and potentials. As you noted it is about goals and the specifics of the pond in question. Lots of aquaculture studies and data which balance cost and results (it’s a business) show 32% fish meal protein is plenty for BG. In the right situation they will grow faster on higher fish meal protein (AM). In ponds seeking faster growth with denser populations with less natural food then AM is better. If the owner wants the fastest possible growth and dense populations then AM is even better. But it costs more and while someone may do that on a 1 or 2 acre pond it may be totally uncalled for in a 10 acre pond. Bill and I keep preaching that feeding fish does not necessarily mean bigger faster growing fish populations as it can , absent correct harvest/morts, lead to lots more skinny fish. As I noted at PB IV the biggest by far (in hundreds of studies)factor in poor growth and condition is lack of food. Fish populations move toward the max # for the food sources available and will get there absent harvest. Done correctly supp feeding can give outstanding results (see recent Richmond Mill threads and PB mag articles).

Like all of life it’s a balancing of options. But to make the best choice you have to have the knowledge first.

Thanks Eric. Like usual, I think your advice is spot on.

Since CC will eat about anything would their growth be any faster if they were eating AM 500 or 600 as compared to GFC, or CC Food.

I know they do not need the higher protein but just wanted to knwo if they would grow faster like the BG do if given GFC or AM

Thanks

They should grow somewhat faster with higher fish meal content than with other protein sources up to about 40% total protein. So GFC and AM should result in faster growth. It may cost more to get that extra growth however. For example a CC may get to 3 lbs on GFC and AM a few mths ahead of one eating Purina omnivore food but it may cost twice as much. I will find an example of what commercial CC growers feed and post it.

SRAC

https://srac.tamu.edu/index.cfm/event/getFactSheet/whichfactsheet/24/

Commercial feeds for food fish
generally contain 28% or 32% protein.
A 26% protein feed is also
available from some feed mills.
Research has shown that protein
levels as low as 24% can support
maximum growth if fish are fed as
much as they will eat. Low-protein
feeds cost less, but usually
result in more body fat and lower
processed yield. Research has
shown that there is a marginal difference
in the processed yields of
fish fed a 28% or 32% protein feed
(about 0.3 to 0.4 percentage unit
reduction in fish fed the 28% protein
diet), but the difference may
be significant to catfish processors.
The type of feed to choose
depends on whether fish prices
are based on live weight or on
processed yield. Although fish fed
higher protein feeds (35% to 40%)
have better processed yield and
lower body fat content, these
feeds usually are not economical.