USING SPROUTED WHEAT GRAIN TO FEED CARP

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of different types of feed on the growth of one-year-old carp under semi-intensive farming conditions: K-111 compound feed and sprouted wheat grain. Objectives: to determine the feed costs of the feed; calculate the economic efficiency of using sprouted grain and determine the impact on the condition of the fish. In 2022, one-year-old carp were grown at the experimental production base of VNIIR in two ponds, each with an area of 0.25 hectares: experimental pond № 5 (sprouted wheat grain was used for feeding) and control pond № 8 (feeding was carried out with K-111 compound feed). The grain mass of wheat was soaked at a temperature of 15–20 °C for 18–24 hours, while the sprout reached a length of 1–1.5 mm. The sprouting procedure improves the feed quality of the grain: the concentration of vitamins increases, the ash content of the grain increases by an average of 0.5 %, the protein content – by 15–20 %. The fish yield during cultivation was very high (more than 95 %), despite the very intense hydrological regime of this year. Quite low fish productivity – 4.1 and 4.4 c/ha, respectively, in the experimental and control ponds was due to the low density of fish stocking for fattening, only 260 specimens per pond, which is 1040 specimens/ha, which is 3 times lower than the standard values. The use of cheaper sprouted wheat grain allows to reduce feed costs by 30.75 % compared to the standard K-111 compound feed. However, the feed coefficient increased from 3.1 to 4.6 when using K-111 compound feed. The total period of fish rearing was 134 days. By the end of the experiment, the weight of fish in pond № 8 was 10.19 % more than in pond № 5. The experiment showed the same development of the natural food base in the ponds. Veterinary and sanitary examination showed the suitability of this fish for food use, no significant pathologies were detected.