ICAR-CIBA Advisory for Homemade formulated feed for aquarium keeping using household ingredients for use in COVID -19 lockdown period

Abstract

Aquarium keeping hobby is on the rise across the world including India, and feed assumes paramount importance in the ornamental fish maintenance. Nutrients essential to ornamental fish are the same as those required by most other food fishes, however colour and health is the focus on feeds used in ornamentals, rather than growth. Hence colour enhancing pigments (carotenoids) are commonly added to the diet of ornamental “aquarium” fishes to enhance their coloration. Most of the aquarium hobbyist and ornamental fish farmers procure the feed from commercial manufacturers through the dealers/agents, and household keepers get it from retail shops. The unprecedented lockdown jolted this particular sector and end users due to the non-availability of feeds to feed the fishes. Though the government has included feed for aquaculture under exemption category, the mechanism could not help the aquarium hobbyist and aquariculturists, there is a severe shortage of feed, as the retail stores of aquarium are also closed, and there was a felt need for the hobbyist to prepare their own feed at home. In this scenario an advisory pamphlet has been prepared to help the hobbyist for preparation of suitable feeds for own use, with resources available within their home. Here it is pertinent to note that, though the aquarium feeds are highly specialized functional feed, a standard maintenance feed for aquarium containing 20 to 25 grams of crude protein and 3 to 5 grams of lipid per 100 gram of feed can be prepared at home and use for feeding, during the period of non- availability of feeds through the normal outlets. In this back drop a detailed know how and methodology for homemade preparation of formulated feeds for aquarium keeping is given.