Fish & shrimp feed calculator
Fish Feed Calculator: Cycle Tonnage, FCR and Cost per Kg Harvested
Size an aquaculture cycle from stocking density, survival and conversion, and see the feed cost carried by each kilogram you harvest.
Inputs
Results
- Effective FCR
- 1.60
- Fish harvested
- 85,000
- Biomass harvested
- 51.0 t
- Total feed required
- 81.6 t
- Feed cost of the cycle
- 73,440
- Feed cost per kg harvested
- 1.44
- Margin over feed per kg
- 0.76
Fish feed required = biomass harvested × FCR. Stock 100,000 tilapia, harvest 85% at 600 g and you produce 51 tonnes of fish; at an FCR of 1.6 the cycle needs about 82 tonnes of feed, and at 900 per tonne that is roughly 1.44 in feed cost per kilogram harvested.
The formula
- Biomass harvested = stocked × survival % × harvest weight
- Feed required = biomass harvested × FCR
- Feed cost per kg harvested = (feed required in tonnes × price per tonne) ÷ biomass in kg
Worked example — 100,000 tilapia to 600 g
- · 100,000 stocked
- · 85% survival
- · 600 g harvest weight
- · FCR 1.6
- · 900 per tonne
- → 85,000 fish, 51 t of biomass harvested
- → 81.6 t of feed for the cycle
- → ≈ 73,440 in feed, about 1.44 per kg harvested — 65% of a 2.20 farm-gate price
Aquaculture FCR and feed benchmarks
| Category | Typical range | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Tilapia | FCR 1.4–1.8 | Extruded floating pellet, 28–32% protein. |
| African catfish | FCR 1.5–2.0 | Higher protein, intensive systems. |
| Carp (semi-intensive) | FCR 1.8–2.5 | Partly reliant on natural productivity. |
| Shrimp (vannamei) | FCR 1.3–1.7 | Very sensitive to feeding management. |
| Feed share of production cost | 50–70% | The dominant cost in most systems. |
Indicative commercial ranges across tropical production systems.
Turn the tonnage into offers
Once you know the tonnage, the next step is pricing it. Send the volume and the specification and we run it across qualified manufacturers and ingredient suppliers, then return every offer normalised to landed cost per tonne. Supplier-neutral and free for buyers.
Price this volumeFAQ
Common questions
How much feed does a tilapia farm need per cycle?
Multiply the biomass you expect to harvest by the FCR. 51 tonnes of tilapia at an FCR of 1.6 needs about 82 tonnes of feed. Stocking numbers alone are not enough — survival and harvest weight decide the biomass.
What is a good FCR for tilapia and shrimp?
Tilapia typically run 1.4–1.8 on extruded pellet, and vannamei shrimp 1.3–1.7. Values well above those ranges usually point to overfeeding, poor water quality or feed that is breaking down before it is eaten.
How much of aquaculture production cost is feed?
Usually 50–70%, which makes both feed price and feeding management the two largest levers on farm profitability.
Does pellet quality change the calculation?
Yes. Water stability, floatability and fines directly change effective FCR: feed that sinks or disintegrates is fed to the pond, not the fish. Ask for water-stability data and fines limits in the specification, not just protein percentage.