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. Objec-tives: 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 expe-rimental 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 qua-lity of the grain: the concentration of vitamins increases, the ash content of the grain increases by an ave-rage 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 % com-pared 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 suita-bility of this fish for food use, no significant pathologies were detected.