Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Mellick feed, YP, size and composition questions

I just got some literature from Mellick and have a couple questions. They have listings of sizes and corresponding fish lengths, which is nice, but surely a 4-5" LMB will eat a bigger pellet than a YP, and so forth. I was wondering what size feed YP are capable of consuming as fry, fingerling, 2 year old,and so on. Also, what percentage of protein/fat should a fish get to grow the best?

Try this chart from Purina

http://aquamax.purinamills.com/yellow_perch_chart.html

I just (this morn) received some YP fingerlings & need to grow them out before putting in the main pond. So I was wondering the same thing Joe. Looks like maybe the 5D03 maybe? These fish are 2 - 3". Don't have any idea how much they weigh.

The size c hart is very useful, I would say you are about right onthe size too Ric. What protein level is recommended?? Mellick offers 32 to 50% prot. and as low as 3% and as high as 15% fat?? I don't want couch potatoes inthe pond, I was thinking about a 40/10 mix, it's very reasonable at $.48/lb. 50% stuff is listed at $.78/lb. What do they really require??

32% is the suggested min. for growout of YP. For small fingerlings what you suggested would be better (40/10).


Yellow Perch, Lake Perch
Perca flavescens Drawing courtesy Maynard Reese, 1991.
Fish Iowa! Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources
Common name: Yellow perch, lake perch
Scientific name: Perca flavescens
Production potential: Moderate, due to slow growth of males
Marketing potential: Potential: High
Size: 3-5 fish per pound
Market: Food
Temperature requirements: Growing: 55-78 F
Spawning: 50 F
Lethal: NA
Feed requirements: Protein: 32-40%
Fat: NA
Spawning requirements: Fish spawn in the spring when water temperatures reach 50 F. Eggs are contained within a gelatinous ribbon. A 0.5 lb female will produce 10,000-20,000 eggs. Eggs hatch in approximately two weeks at 53 F. Spawns may be obtained by stripping eggs from ripe females and mixing with milt from males in a dry container, mixed thoroughly and then water is added to activate the sperm and permit fertilization.
Most common
production systems: Ponds stocked at 200,000-300,000 fry per acre for production of 3-5 inch fingerlings. For food fish estimate 1,500-2,500 lbs. per acre.

http://aquanic.org/publicat/state/il-in/as-495.htm

From this chart you can see that the Purina suggested products for YP go from 50%/17 to 41%/12.

http://aquamax.purinamills.com/aquamaxproductlist.pdf

Thanks Ewest, I had thought it would suffice but it's nice to see it in print. Better than 32% will be the plan, lowest fat I can get away with.

Yes thank you again ewest! You made it easy for me .. again.

ewest's protein requirement from aquanic web site is for 3 to 5 fish per pound. These fish are significantly larger than 2"-3" perch. For 3" perch there would be somewhere between 100-125 per pound and 2.5" likely close to 200/pound. For smaller perch of 2"-6", I have the best luck with fast growth if I use 50% or 45% protein food. As fish get larger they can often get by with less protein as adults. However this often depends on the species and their specific dietary requirements. Aquamax 5D03 is a 50% protein and 5D04 is 45% protein. The small perch will handle the high fat content okay. It is when they are adults that too much fat could be a problem. If you use either of those 03 or 04 or something similar the perch will do well providing they are trained to eat pelleted food. 5D04 is a little large for the 2"-3" perch although they could eat it well if it was softened as per Cody's article in May-June 2008 Pond Boss Mag.

I appreciate the input there Bill, sound advice too. So no one has any Mellick feed experience or input then?? I am sure Aquapro is glad to have such support from the patrons of this site but Mellick is made in PA and I would prefer to support a company in PA if I can.

I believe I would try to figure out what that protein is made of. Some proteins, like chicken feathers, aren't digestible.

Point taken Dave, but Mellick is a good quality feed, I am not afraid of it's composition. I simply wanted some input on what others had experienced with their products. At this point I am leaning toward 45/12 feed starting at 2.5mm and work up as the fish grow.

Joe the bag should have a label with the contents. I would sure check that. If they are not providing a large part of the protein from fish meal I would not feed it to predator fish like YP.

I will still check that out Ewest, you both do have a valid point. Thanks.