Vannamei Feeding Rate Chart & Calculator: Daily Feed by Body Weight

Estimate standing biomass, apply the feeding-rate percentage for the latest valid average body weight (ABW), then divide the result into the farm's planned meals.

The answer is only a starting ration. Biomass error, partial harvests, natural food, feed quality, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and shrimp health can all change the amount the pond can use.

Check several trays and review recent sampling, mortality, harvest, and water-quality records before increasing or maintaining the calculated amount.

These are the reference points in Shrimply's shared grow-out curve. The calculator uses linear interpolation between points so the rate changes smoothly as ABW rises.

Published schedules differ because feed formulation, stocking density, natural productivity, water stability, and target FCR differ. Treat this curve as a consistent management baseline and compare it with the feed manufacturer's table and pond response.

Use the calculator for shrimp at or above 1.65 g ABW. Enter known standing biomass, or estimate it from initial stocking, survival, cumulative partial harvest count, and ABW.

The tool uses the same linear interpolation curve as Shrimply's shared pond calculations. It then divides the baseline daily ration by your selected meal count and calculates the amount placed on each monitoring tray.

To calculate a baseline daily allocation, use current standing biomass and the feeding-rate percentage for the latest valid ABW.

The primary calculation formula is: Daily Feed (kg) = Standing Biomass (kg) × [Feeding Rate (%) ÷ 100]

If biomass is unknown: Current Population = (Initial Stock × Survival %) − Cumulative Partial Harvest Count. Standing Biomass (kg) = Current Population × ABW (g) ÷ 1,000.

Worked example 1: At 12.0 g ABW, the shared curve interpolates a 3.47% baseline. A 3,500 kg standing biomass gives 3,500 × 0.0347 = 121.5 kg/day, or about 30.4 kg per meal across four meals.

Worked example 2: From 200,000 stocked shrimp at 80% survival with 20,000 already harvested, current population is 140,000. At 8.0 g ABW, biomass is 1,120 kg and the interpolated rate is 4.10%, giving 45.9 kg/day before pond-response adjustments.

Feed trays (also called check trays, lift nets, or anco) help the team compare feed response over time. They do not measure the appetite of every shrimp in the pond.

Published commercial schedules use different tray percentages and check times by shrimp size. The calculator defaults to 1.2% of each meal across all selected trays; change it to match the farm's written procedure and keep placement, timing, and tray loading consistent.

Use several representative trays. Avoid placing every tray in one current pattern, a stagnant corner, or heavy sludge, because location can distort the result.

• All trays clean once: Record the result, but do not increase feed from one observation alone. Confirm the pattern, recent growth, and water quality.
• More than 10% remains on several trays: Reduce the next ration according to the farm procedure and check dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH trend, weather, and shrimp behaviour.
• Trays disagree: Check feed distribution, tray position, current, sludge, and whether every tray was loaded and lifted at the same time.
• Feed response stays weak or mortality rises: Hold further increases and seek technical or aquatic-animal-health support; tray results alone cannot diagnose disease.

Dissolved oxygen: Check the current reading and recent trend before feeding, especially around pre-dawn and after unstable weather. If DO is below the farm target or still falling, prioritise aeration, delay or reduce the meal, and recheck before resuming.

Temperature: Feeding response changes with temperature and shrimp size. Research shows that the temperature for fastest growth is size-specific, so a single temperature multiplier is not reliable for every pond.

Rain, plankton change, pH movement, and salinity change: Compare conditions with the pond's normal range and recent tray response. Use smaller, reversible feed changes and confirm the next observation rather than applying an automatic fixed cut.

Natural food and feed quality: Pond productivity, pellet stability, palatability, and nutrient density can change compound-feed intake. Follow the feed label and investigate storage or feed-quality problems when tray response changes suddenly.

Shrimply combines initial stocking, recorded mortality, cumulative harvests, and the latest valid MBW to estimate current population and biomass. Missing or outdated records still make the estimate less reliable, so the app does not remove the need for field checks.

The feeding-rate curve in this page is shared with Shrimply's pond calculations. When enough suitable records exist, the pond view can compare feed-based biomass with recorded biomass and flag a repeated mismatch for investigation.

Actual feeding records can deduct feed inventory. Sampling records store biological observations such as MBW and feed context but do not deduct inventory, preventing a sample from being counted as a warehouse movement.

Treat these as observations that require checking, not as proof of one cause:

• Possible over-allocation: Repeated feed left on several trays, worsening FCR, rising feed-to-biomass mismatch, deteriorating bottom condition, or a downward pre-dawn DO trend.
• Possible under-allocation: Repeatedly clean trays together with weak growth, aggressive edge feeding, or a daily ration consistently below the biomass baseline.
• Possible distribution problem: Tray results differ sharply by location or size variation widens. Check broadcast coverage, current, tray placement, sampling method, and population estimates before blaming feed amount alone.
• Possible data problem: A sudden improvement or decline appears after missing mortality, harvest, feed, or MBW records. Correct the records before making a large ration change.

Escalate when mortality continues, shrimp show abnormal swimming or appearance, feed response remains weak across several meals, water quality cannot be stabilised, or the pond does not improve after cautious corrections. Feed trays and calculator results cannot confirm an infectious disease.