# What Should Fish Stocking Density Be? A Guide for Cages and Ponds

> How is stocking density (kg/m³) set in cages, ponds and RAS? The effect of high density on FCR, growth and mortality, and the right stocking calculation.

- URL: https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/aquaculture/fish-stocking-density
- Language: en
- Updated: 2026-10-03
- Publisher: FCRSOFT (https://fcrsoft.com)

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# What Should Stocking Density Be?

Stocking density is the weight of fish per unit volume (kg/m³). The right density uses your facility’s capacity while protecting growth and health.
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## How is stocking density calculated?

Stocking density (kg/m³) = Biomass (kg) ÷ Volume (m³)
[Free tool Fish Biomass Calculator](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/tools/fish-biomass-calculator)

## Typical ranges

At harvest, 15–25 kg/m³ is common for sea bass and sea bream in sea cages, 20–40 kg/m³ in trout raceways depending on water exchange, and 50 kg/m³ or more in intensive RAS. The right value depends on oxygen, water exchange and species.
**Digitise Your Net-Pen Operations**Manage stock, feeding, water quality and camera events per cage from a single panel.
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## Effects of high density

- Oxygen consumption rises and critical drops appear in the early morning.

- Competition and size variation increase, and FCR rises.

- Stress and disease risk increase, and mortality rises.

## Plan stocking for density at harvest

When stocking juveniles, aim for the density at harvest, not today’s. Work backwards: harvest biomass from volume, fish count from harvest weight and juveniles from expected survival.
[Free tool Stocking Density Calculator](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/tools/stocking-density-calculator) FCRSOFT

## FCRSOFT does this for you automatically

You don’t need to do the calculations and checks on this page by hand every day. FCRSOFT derives them all automatically from the records entered in the field.

- Capacity, biomass and FCR are tracked separately for each cage.

- Mortality, feeding and behaviour events are recorded by camera.

- Maintenance of nets, boats and feeding equipment is tracked with work orders.

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Last updated: 10/3/2026

## Related tools and guides

[Free tool ### Stocking Density Calculator From cage or pond volume, target density, harvest weight and survival, calculate the biomass you can carry at harvest and the number of juveniles to stock. Open the tool](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/tools/stocking-density-calculator) [Guide ### Managing Dissolved Oxygen in Aquaculture What mg/L of dissolved oxygen fish farming needs, why it drops, when to measure it and what to do when it falls. Aeration calculation and monitoring guide. Read the guide](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/aquaculture/dissolved-oxygen-in-aquaculture) [Guide ### How to Estimate Fish Biomass Estimating biomass in cages and ponds: how to sample-weigh, how many fish to weigh, how to reduce error and how biomass affects feeding. Read the guide](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/aquaculture/how-to-estimate-fish-biomass) [Guide ### Why Does FCR Rise in Fish? Overfeeding, temperature, low oxygen, stocking density, disease, feed quality, measurement error and stress: the 8 most common causes of rising FCR and how to fix them. Read the guide](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/fcr/why-does-fcr-increase)