The Science of Digestibility in the Pond Environment

Exciting news from our latest research on fishponds and fish!

We have found that natural pond food and ecosystems can help carp digest better. This means that plankton and the pond environment work together to break down tough foods like cellulose, chitin, and phosphorus (phytate) in the fish's stomach.

Interestingly, during times when the water is clear, with low algae but lots of tiny zooplankton, carp digestion improves even more. This discovery could help us manage fishponds more efficiently.

The effect is called “Synergistic digestibility effect”. It was theorized in our previous article (2022) and verified in the current study (2024).

More updates on how this can revolutionize pond feeding, you can find in the publication:

Roy, K., Kajgrova, L., Capkova, L., Zabransky, L., Petraskova, E., Dvorak, P., Nahlik, V., Kuebutornye, F.K.A., Blabolil, P., Blaha, M., Vrba, J., and Mraz, J. 2024. Synergistic digestibility effect by planktonic natural food and habitat renders high digestion efficiency in agastric aquatic consumers. Science of the Total Environment, 927, 172105.

The study was part of the Czech Science Foundation project: GAČR 22-18597S.

Written by: Koushik Roy, Ph.D. Graphical abstract: BioRender (license JA26MXISBO)