On April 1, Fishy 2001 a microcomputer program developed at Mississippi State University will be available for fish farmers. Fishy records, analyzes and makes reports for fish farmers to keep track of fish numbers, feedings, weights and sizes. Historical information is entered directly into the program, such as feed provided, fingerlings stocked, fish moved and observed mortality. Simulated data deals with future aspects, such as harvest schedules, feed needs and potential fish production. Background data includes feed conversion ratios, feeding calendars and estimated monthly mortality and comes with the program.
Farmers can change the background data to better reflect their ponds' characteristics.
Catfish farmers carefully keep track of fish weights until harvest, and some continue to track through processing. Fishy 2001 allows more in-depth reports to aid farmers in tracking discrepancies between pond bank fish weight and the weight of the fish actually sold to processors. This discrepancy can be caused by such things as the fish being too small, too large or of the wrong species. Catfish farmers appreciate computer software such as Fishy because it organizes critical information needed to efficiently manage their ponds. Originally designed in 1981 as a DOS program, Fishy is now a Windows-compatible program.