If you have decided to raise fish in your pond, you may be wondering if cow dung is the right choice. This article will give you the lowdown on alternatives to cow dung, as well as discuss the effects of cow dung on fish yield and pond water alkalinity.
Alternatives to cow dung in fish feed
Cow dung is a natural bio-resource that is readily available and cheap. Its traditional uses are well-known in India. It contains a wide variety of microorganisms that help improve soil fertility and manage environmental pollutants. Moreover, it provides valuable nutrients for phytoplankton.
In the past, cow dung has been used in the preparation of fish feed formulas. This method has numerous advantages over other alternatives for fish farming, such as reduced cost and increased sustainability. It also contains substantial amounts of crude protein, crude fat, and NFE. It is a natural fertilizer that will improve the health of your fish.
Effects of cow dung on fish yield
Cow dung contains various microorganisms which can promote soil fertility and increase crop yield. Among them are Bacillus subtilis, which is a culturable microbial community with antagonistic activity against a variety of plant pathogens. These organisms can be used as bio-inoculants in tropical agriculture.
Cow dung has several uses in agriculture and medicine. The smoke from burnt cow dung can be used to ward off mosquitoes, while the ash from it is used as a cleaning agent for kitchen utensils. These various uses of cow dung reflect the traditional knowledge associated with the animal. The cow has a high socioeconomic value and has a significant role in rural areas.
The use of cow dung for pond fertilization has long been practiced in aquaculture. However, there are several challenges to this practice. For one, the proper dosage and its after-effects have to be established. Another challenge is the effect of over-administration of fertilizers. To overcome these challenges, aquaculture practitioners have to find out the optimal levels of cow dung to add to their ponds. For this reason, researchers conducted this study in glass tanks of 25l capacity using different levels of cow dung.
The researchers concluded that cow dung can increase the growth rate of fish in ponds. They compared the results with two other treatments for the same nutrient content. Both treatments were found to improve fish growth. However, in the sludge-cake treatment, the growth rate of fish increased by 50 percent, while in the case of the poultry manure-cake, the growth rate was increased by 20 percent.
Effects of cow dung on pond water alkalinity
One study examined the effect of cow dung on pond water alkalinity. The experiment was conducted on two fish species – silver carp and catfish. When fed sewage sludge, the silver carp grew larger and developed a better tolerance for it than the catfish. The effects of cow dung on the growth of tilapia were also examined. The experiment also examined the effects of poultry manure and sewage sludge on fish growth and plankton production.
The results of the experiment indicated that the cow dung increases the pH of pond water. However, the alkalinity decreased after 60 and 75 days. The amount of dissolved oxygen remained relatively high, but the concentration of NO3-N decreased with time.
The researchers found that cow dung did not reduce TBC in the pond. The CM-treated ponds had the highest TBC levels, followed by the FCM-treated ones. Nevertheless, the TCC did not significantly differ between the treatment groups, but the proportion of FCM was the highest.
Similarly, broiler manure exhibited higher plankton densities than the pig-manure-fed ponds. Plankton density was associated with catfish and tilapia growth in the broiler-manure-fed pond. However, the effect on pond water alkalinity was not directly correlated with plankton density, but with microbial richness in catfish and tilapia guts.
