Institute for Fish and Wildlife Health

Fish & Crayfish

Feeding and environment in perch production

The production of perch in aquaculture facilities is a young industry. Thus, knowledge about the needs of this fish species is limited. The absence of specialized perch feed on the market is one of the main issues. Moreover, the feeding behaviour of perch, as well as their optimal environmental parameters, are not yet fully understood. This often leads to suboptimal rearing conditions and increased stress vulnerability and subsequently increased disease susceptibility or even mortality.

This project aims to optimize nutrition to the specific needs of perch, with both optimizing food composition and environmental factors (especially light) influencing food uptake and digestibility. Furthermore, the effects and optimal concentrations of immunostimulants in comparison to essential vitamins (A, C, D & E) will be evaluated.

Contact: Dr. med. vet. Nicolas Diserens; PD Dr. med. vet. Heike Schmidt-Posthaus