Fish bioenergetics and growth in aquaculture ponds: I. Individual fish model development

Abstract

A dynamic model of fish bioenergetics and growth at the organismal level under controlled environments was developed as a tool to study, evaluate, and improve the management of fishpond grow-out system. The model incorporated five key variables, namely body size temperature, dissolved oxygen, unioinized ammonia and amount of food, and 17 growth parameters which defined the species of fish used. Parameters were estimated for channel catfish. Fish growth was more sensitive to changes in food consumption parameters than to changes in metabolic parameters. Within either the food consumption component or the metabolic component, fish growth was more sensitive to changes in temperature parameters than to changes in parameters for body size, dissolved oxygen or unionized ammonia. The model may be reparameterized to represent different species of fish in different environments and provides a common ground for theoretical, laboratory and field studies. It also provides a means by which research activities of several groups can be coordinated toward achievement of a common goal.