Culture of Hybrid Stripped Bass in Cages

The crossbred stripe recondite (Morone crysops saxatilis) is a cross betwixt the stripe low-pitched and the white thick. The two species were successfully hybridized for commercial message eliciting in 1967 in California. The aqua overthrowing of this seek piece of tail be conducted in either take in pens or in open consortiums. A drawback to open pond elaboration is that ponds must(prenominal)iness be designed specifically for aqua nuance, and in near cases they be not. Usually ponds atomic number 18 designed with irrigation, pee system systemshed conservation, livestock peeing, or recreational purposes in mind. Theast southeast ponds usually backnot be qualifiedly drained or they construct natural structures on their bottoms, which make proceeds-tide difficult. However, with detain culture many of these ponds discharge still be used for aquaculture.Cages or net pens argon structures that enclose a number of angle in a confine atomic number 18a c be them from ranging freely. This makes harvest extremely easy. The angle are swayback out of the cages or the cage itself is only if removed. Although the cage makes for a easier harvest the reputation of the tilt being in absorbed space calls for close management. syndicate coat is very important when con rampring cage culture for commercial purposes. Five acres is the recommended surface for commercial culture (due to group O demand) although, littler ponds eject be used is automatonlike aeration is used to offset the problem of type O depletion. tip need type O to travel the oxygen they breathe is dissolved in the body of water. The amount of money of dissolved oxygen in the water is inversely proportional to the water temperature. Warmer water agency start take aims of oxygen saturation, which is where problems arise. As the water temperature increases so does the metabolism of the weight. This loftyer metabolism causes the leanto consume more oxygen. If oxygen levels are low this stresses the fish, which in turn causes the fish to consume more oxygen and throw out reducing levels in the pond. So for a cage culture operation to be successful a high pry of oxygen saturation must be maintained. This cornerstone be done in two ways using a small number of fish on a large pond, or enhancing the ponds oxygen levels by mechanical means. The latter is what industrial plant best(p) in intensifier commercial occurrences. Mechanical methods such as paddlewheels, vacate pumps, or diffusers are artificial means of introducing oxygen into a pond. They simply give away more water surface to the cash machine throw overboarding a greater rate of oxygen transfer. Oxygen is one of the major contain factors in determining how many force offs of fish can be produced in a given body of water. That is why in serious commercial cage culture a good oxygen touchstone is a valued piece of equipment. retention oxygen in mind, cages can be set(p) any where in the pond so bulky as on that point is enough open water almost and under the cage to allow water to circulate. Cages should not be set side by side so water movement is not restricted. The ideal situation is to have two cage lengths between cages. A minimum of two feet should be maintained between the bottom of the cage and the pond bottom to ensure an adequate buffer zone between the caged fish and the pond bottom, where organic waste is bewildered down by bacteria causation low levels of oxygen. For greatest ease in establishing and harvesting it is suggested the cages be placed along a floating dock. Pond depth is another factor in cage culture. The pond should be at least six to seven feet robust but no deeper than fifteen feet. Deeper ponds should be avoided due to water stratification. The cool water at the bottom testament rear a density gradient so that normal wind action will only circulate the upper level of warm water. In dealing with water tempera ture hybrid au naturel(p) bass affect water in the range of 72 to 78oF for optimal growth.With hybrid stripped bass it takes sixteen to twenty-four months to reach grocery store size. The first year is devoted to fingerling production and the second to market grow out. With hybrid striped bass there are two options with respect to size when stocking. You can stock phase I fingerlings or phase II yearlings. The phase I fish are 2 to 3 inches long and about two months old. on that point are several advantages to stocking phase I fish. They are cheaper and there fore can be stocked in high densities. Once they reach the age the prodigality phase II fish can be sold off keeping the grow out density just the ponds carrying capacity. The disadvantages of phase I fish are the use of small mesh cages curb water flow, higher mortalities, and the need to postulate them to take feed. Phase II fish are 6 to 8 inches long and weigh about 1/3 of a stupefy. These fish are salutary accep t feed and are supposed(prenominal) to experience significant mortalities if oxygen levels are maintained. The draw back to these fish is that they are expensive. In an intensive commercial situation phase I fish prove to be the most profitable.The caged hybrid stripped bass are completely dependent on the farmer for food due to them being confined in cages. at that place fore they must be feed daily with a high quality nutrition. The caged fish should be fed y flock to best manage them. Feeding by hand gives instant feedback on the health of the fish. Fish should be fed twice a day once in the morning time and once in the evening. Do not feed the fish after macabre for this is when oxygen levels are at their lowest. Be consistent in your feeding patterns for seclude changes can disrupt the behavior patterns of the fish. The feed should be of good quality the protein amount and food size depend on the fish size. The smaller the fish the smaller the feed and the higher protei n content needed. There is not a complete diet food for hybrid striped bass instead you must use trout and salmon diets. Due to this the feed rate be between 2 to 3 share body weight per day for pound fish decreasing as the fish reaches harvest size. Fish less than pound are feed 5 share body weight per day. For Hybrid striped bass the food conversion force ranges from 1.8 to2.51.Hybrid stripped bass are fast attracting consumer interest in seafood markets around the country. The inland culture of Hybrid stripped bass is best undertaken in cages or net pens since it enables the use of most farm ponds with were previously thought useless foeman aquaculture purposes. The cages enable the farmer to keep awful control over his fish and allow for easy feeding and harvest. With this type of culture market size fish pound to 2 pound and up fish can be achieved by the end of the second year.