Preliminary study of acceleration based sensor to record nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) feeding behavior at water surface

In this preliminary study, the acceleration based sensor was developed to monitor the activity of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) feeding behavior at the water surface. This study was conducted for three weeks in a fish pond with 40 m² in size, stocked with 850 fingerlings of Nile tilapia strain Nirwana-2 (average biomass of 13 g, fed four times a day at 8 am, 12 pm, 4 pm, and 8 pm). The acceleration sensor system was installed floating in the pond and was designed in a way so that the xz plane of the sensor will be parallel with water surface, while the y-axis will be pointing downward. By sensing the acceleration caused by the surface wave, the activities of fish near surface water could be monitored. The result showed that there were three distinctive patterns could be observed which was related to the feeding activity of fish. Generally, it can be concluded that this acceleration based sensor system can be integrated with automatic feeder machine, in particular by analyzing the recorded patter, it is possible to monitor when the fish stop eating, and so the right amount of feed could be given to the fish.