Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Cost of Feeding Trout.

A quick number check to see if I am getting the math close....

50# bag of Trout Chow = $40.00

assume 50 - 75 fish at 1 lb a piece fed 1 x per day at 3-4% of
body weight = 2.5lbs of feed per day

2.5 lbs * $40/50 lbs = $2.00 per day for feeding.

Am I even close?

I think you're in the ballpark, based on my experience feeding catfish and about 20 years of Math classes.

Thanks.

Just wanted to be sure there wasn't some missing factor like.... 'they only eat 10% of the pellets' or something else of that magnitude that would throw the number way off.

I am really not that concerned with the exact economics of it, as it is not going to be a commercial effort. I really wanted to understand what I could expect if the clouds of mosquitos and other creatures do not satisfy their needs.

In fact, I may be the simplest of future pond owners to satisfy. As I start this project, I have only 1 goal.... 'To spend somewhere less than $20k to grow a single trout to 2# and catch that trout on my flyrod then eat that trout with a dozen celebratory beers.'

math is right but $40 for trout chow, dang expensive food up north there

With farm grain prices close to double those of past years expect all fish food prices to be higher in 2008. I expect Aquamax to go near $30 / 50 lbs this year.

I've been in a bad mood all day, but this quote jerked me right out of it.

Cheers!

Wow! I thought my trout budget was out of line. Let's see . . .

A really big cooler and aerator to get the fish home, $150
Forty-five 12-inch trout, $75
Gasoline for round trip to pick up fish, $15
Gasoline for round trip to return fish guy's transport box and aerator, $15 (I didn't need the cooler or aerator -- but both had already been modified, so I couldn't return them)
A new wallet after I fell in while putting the trout in the pond, $20
A camera to take pictures of the poachers stealing my fish, $150
Two 20# bags of feed, $20
A new ultra-light "trout" rod, $35
Various kinds of new bait and tackle, $40
Second trip for different bait and tackle, $40
Third trip for different bait and tackle, $25
A dozen celebratory beers, $15



After all this, I think I'm catching Bruce's bad mood!

I guess I can just think of my trout as priceless.

Good fishn'
Ken

Glad I could help..... Hopefully I am going into this with the right mind set.

I think you are. You really offered me some nice perspective. Thank you.

3 to 4 % is on the high end. You're assuming your water temps will be in the optimum range for maximum feeding percentage all year long. Not so, especially if you are feeding in a pond. In Canada you probably will have a period where you may not even feed them depending on how much flow you have into the pond. My trout pond freezes over in the winter (I shut the well off from November to March), and I don't feed my trout at all. They come out of winter just fine.

One thing I started doing a couple of years ago that has helped keep feeding costs down is I feed only once a day vs. twice a day. It doesn't seem to effect their growth and they are not as unGodly obsese as they used to be.