Unit-XI
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED
MANAGEMNT
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
•The nutritional requirements of fish are similar to those of land
animals for growth, reproduction and other normal physiological
functions
•Good nutrition in animal production systems is essential to
economically produce a healthy, high quality product.
• In fish farming, nutrition is critical because feed represents 40-50% of
the production costs.
• Fish nutrition has advanced dramatically in recent years with the
development of new, balanced commercial diets that promote optimal
fish growth and health.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Natural fish food organism or Live food organisms
•A variety of natural fish food organisms are found in a waterbody
•The natural food provides the constituents of a complete and
balanced diet
•Natural feeds have high protein and fat contents, which promote the
growth of the fish
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Classification of food and feeding habits of fishes
As per Schaprclas, 1933
Main food : It is the most preferred food on which the fish will thrive
best
Occasional food : It has relatively high nutritive values and is liked and
consumed by fish whenever the opportunity presents
Emergency food : It is fed upon/ accepted when other food material is not
available.
As per Nikolsky, 1963
Basic food : It is normally eaten by the fish and comprises most
of the gut contents.
Secondary food : It is frequently consumed in smaller quantities.
Incidental food : It is consumed rarely.
Obligatory food : The fish consumes this food in the absence of basic food.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
As per Das and Moitra, 1963
Herbivorous fishes : They feed on plant material, which forms
more than 75% of gut contents.
Omnivorous fishes : They consume both plant and animal food.
Carnivorous fishes : They feed on animal food, which comprises
of more than 80% of the diet.
Herbivores are divided into 2 sub-groups.
Planktophagous fishes : They consume only phyto- and zooplankton
Detritophagous fishes : They feed on detritus.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Plankton
• Fish production in a waterbody is directly or indirectly dependant on the
abundance of plankton.
• Planktons are free floating organisms found in water
Phytoplankton
• Phytoplankton gives green colour to the water due to the presence of
chlorophyll.
• Phytoplankton occupy the base of the food chain and produce
• phytoplankton consist of three major classes
a.Chlorophyceae
b.Cyanophyceae
c.Bacillariophyceae.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
a. Chlorophyceae
•These are called green algae due to the presence of chlorophyll.
•Many chlorophyceae members are useful as food to fishes.
•Chlamydomonas.
•Volvox,
•Chlorella.
Filamentous algae like
•Ulothrix,
•Spirogyra
•Scenedesmus
•Cosmarium. etc.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Cyanophyceae
• These are also called as myxophyceae
• commonly known as blue green algae
• This colour is due chlorophyll a. carotenoids and biliproteins
Nostoc
Oscillotoria
Anabaena
Microcystis,
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Bacillariophyceae
•These are called diatoms
•They are unicellular organisms with different shapes and sizes.
•These may be yellow or golden brown or olive green in colour
•The diatoms consumed by fish are
Diatom
Navicula
Nitzschia
Rhizosolenia
Cyclotella
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Zooplankton
Plankton consisting of animals is called zooplankton
The zooplankton forms an important group as it occupies an intermediate position
in the food web
a.Protozoans
b.Crustaceans
c.Rotifiers
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Protozoans
•Protozoans are most primitive, unicellular and microscopic animals.
•The protozoans with flagella are included under the class flagellata
•Euglena is the most common fish food organism under flagellate
Ceratium
Chilomonas and
Phacus are also used as fish food
•The protozoans with cilia are included in the class Ciliata
•Here the cilia persist throughout life
Paramecium
Metropus
Euplotes.
The ciliates are the dominating organisms among the zooplankton
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Crustaceans
•The aquatic animals with 19 pairs of appendages and branchial respiration
•The important microcrustaceans are copepodes and cladocerans
•The crustacean nauplii temporary planktons
•Copepods areCyclops, Mesocyclops, Diaptomus
•The cladocerans are Daphnia, Ceriodaphnia, Moina,
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Rotifiers
•Anterior ciliated wheel-like structure called corona and hence they are called wheel
animalcules
•Usually rotifers like, Keratella, Rotaria. Brachionus , Testudinella etc
•Rotifers offer several advantages as fish feed organisms.
They reproduce quickly
Rotifers are small and therefore are accepted as food by most fishes and shell
fishes (40 microns to 2.5 mm)
They are nutritious and their actual nutritional value can be improved
Keratella
Testudinella
Brachionus
Rotaria
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Bioenriched feeds
Process involved in improving the nutritional status of live feed
By feeding or incorporating within them various kinds of materials such as
Microdiets
Microencapsulated diets
Genetically engineered baker’s yeast
Emulsified lipids rich in w3HUFA (Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acid) together with
fat soluble vitamins.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Prepared (artificial) Diets
Artificial diets may be either complete or supplemental
Complete diets supply all the ingredients
•Protein
•Carbohydrates
•Fats
•Vitamins
•minerals
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Protein
•Protein is the most expensive part of fish feed
•It is important to accurately determine the protein requirements of the
cultured fish
•Proteins are formed by linkages of individual amino acids
•Over 200 amino acids occur in nature, only about 20 amino acids are
common
•Of these, 10 are essential amino acids that cannot be synthesized by
fish
•Essential amino acids
methionine, arginine, threonine, tryptophan, histidine, isoleucine,
lysine, leucine, valine and phenylalanine
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Protein levels in aquaculture feeds generally average
18-20% for marine shrimp
28-32% for catfish
32-38% for tilapia
38-42% for sea bass
30-40% for carp fishes
Protein requirements
•lower for herbivorous fish and omnivorous fish
•higher for carnivorous fish
•higher for fish reared in high density than low density systems
•higher for smaller fish
•protein requirement is less for large fish.
Protein is used for fish growth if adequate levels of fats and carbohydrates
are present in the diet
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Lipids (fats)
•Fats are the principal form of energy storage in plants and in animals
•Fat contains more energy per unit weight than any other biological product
•Lipids supply about twice the energy as proteins and carbohydrates
•Supply essential fatty acids (EFA) and serve as transporters for fat-soluble
vitamins
The two major EFA of this group are
Eicosapentaenoic acid
Docosahexaenoic acid
Simple lipids include fatty acids and triacylglycerols
a) Saturated fatty acids (SFA, no double bonds)
b) Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, >2 double bonds)
c) Highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA; > 4 double bonds)
Marine fish typically require n-3 HUFA for optimal growth and health ranging
from 0.5-2.0% of dry diet
Freshwater fish do not require the long chain HUFA, but often require an
omega -3 fatty acid ranging from 0.5 to 1.5% of dry diet.
In high lipid feed is used then the excessive fat deposition in the liver can
decrease the health and market quality of fish.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Carbohydrates
•Carbohydrates (starches and sugars) are the most economical and
inexpensive sources of energy for fish diets
•Carbohydrates are included in aquaculture diets to reduce feed costs and for
their binding activity during feed manufacturing
•Carbohydrates are the a major energy source for mammals, but are not used
efficiently byfish
•Mammals can extract about 4 kcal of energy from 1 gram of carbohydrate,
whereas fish can only extract about 1.6 kcal from the same amount of
carbohydrate.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Vitamins
•Vitamins are organic compounds necessary in the diet for normal fish
growth and health.
•They often are not synthesized by fish, and must be supplied in the diet
•Two groups of vitamins are water-soluble and fat-soluble.
•Water-soluble vitamins include
B vitamins, choline, inositol, folic acid, pantothenic acid , biotin and
ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
•Fat-soluble vitamins include
A vitamins (responsible for vision)
D vitamins (bone integrity)
E vitamins (antioxidants)
K vitamins (blood clotting, skin integrity).
•Deficiency of each vitamin has certain specific symptoms, but reduced
growth is the most common symptom of any vitamin deficiency.
• Other common symptoms are abnormal color, lack of coordination,
nervousness, hemorrhage, fatty livers and increased susceptibility to
bacterial infections.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Minerals
Minerals are inorganic elements necessary in the diet for normal body functions.
They can be divided into two groups
Macro-minerals
Micro-minerals
Based on the quantity required in the diet
Common macro-minerals are
Sodium
Chloride
Potassium
Phosphorous.
•These minerals regulate osmotic balance and aid in bone formation and integrity
•Micro-minerals (trace minerals) are required in small amounts as components in
enzyme and hormone systems
•Common trace minerals are copper, chromium, iodine, zinc and selenium.
•Fish can absorb many minerals directly from the water through their gills and
skin
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Feed Types
Commercial fish diets are
Extruded (floating or buoyant)
•Extruded feeds are more expensive due to the higher manufacturing costs
•The farmer can directly observe the feeding intensity of his fish and adjust
feeding rates accordingly
Pressure-pelleted (sinking) feeds
Shrimp, for example, will not accept a floating feed they feed on pellet feed
•Feed is available in a variety of sizes ranging from fine crumbles for small
fish to large (1/2 inch or larger) pellets.
•The pellet size should be approximately 20-30% of the size of the fish species
mouth gape.
•Feeding too small a pellet results in inefficient feeding because more energy
is used in finding and eating more pellets.
•Conversely, pellets that are too large will depress feeding and, in the
extreme, cause choking.
•Select the largest sized feed the fish will actively eat.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Types of feeds
Feeds can be classified based on the stage of the life-cycle at which
they are used
•Starter feeds
•Grower feeds and
•Finsher feeds
Feeds can be classified based on the stage of the life-cycle
•Started feeds
•Fry feeds
•Fingerling feeds
•Grow-out feeds and
•Broodstock feeds
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Feed Formulations
A complete diet must be
•Nutritionally balanced
•Palatable
•Water stable
•Proper size
•Texture
The basic information required for feed formulation are
•Nutrient requirements of the species cultivated
•The feeding habits of the species
•Local availability cost and nutrient composition of ingredients
•Ability of the cultured organism to utilize nutrients from various
ingredients as well as the prepared diet
•Expected feed consumption
•Feed additives needed and
•Type of feed processing desired
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
FEED INGREDIENTS
Ingredients %
Soybean meal 15
Rice bran 9.9
Fish meal 20
Meat meal (local) 20
Cotton seed meal 15
Maize 20
Vitamin and mineral mixture 0.1
Calculated chemical composition
Protein, % 40
Lysine 2.3
Methionine + cystine 0.8
Digestible energy, kcal/g 1.7
Cost/kg 27
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Processing recommendations for preparing fish diets
Procedure Specification
Mixing Mix all dry ingredients together except vitamin mix.
Grind the mixture in a stud or grist mill so that 90% passes through a 60-mesh sieve and
Grinding
67% passes through an 80-mesh sieve.
Wet mixing Add hot water and mix the grinded ingredients to a semi powder and wet condition
Steam cooking The wet mixed powder is steam cooked for 30 minutes and allowed to cool for 15 minutes
After steam cooking the feed mixture is allowed to cool after which the pre-weighed
Addition of vitamin and minerals
vitamin and mineral mixture is added and mixed well
In this process the prepared feed mix is allowed to pass through the extruder for preparing
Extruder
the feed pellets. The size of the extrude can made as per the requirement
In normal sunny days the extruded feed can be dried in direct sunlight or the extruded feed
Drying
can be dried in plate driers for 6 – 10 hrs at 50 centigrade to avoide charring of the feed.
Packaging After drying the final feed product can be packed and marketed
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Feed storage
•A manufactured diet requires storage at least at the place of
manufacture and on the farm.
•Feeds are composed of perishable biological material which
deteriorates with storage.
Deteriorative effects during storage are caused by
•Oxidative damage
•Microbial damage
•Insect and or rodent damage / infestation and
•Other chemical changes during storage.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Feeding Rate, Frequency and Timing
•Depends on stocking density
•Type of farming
•Type of species farmed
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Feeding Methods
•Bundh feeding
•Boat feeding
•Automatic machine feeding
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Mass culture of microalgae
Mass production of phytoplankton or “green water” for rotifers
Chlorella sp.,
Isochrysis galbana
Pavlova lutheri
Nannochloropsis oculata and N. gaditana
Dunaliella tertiolecta
Tetraselmis suecica.
FISH NUTRITION AND FEED MANAGEMNT
Mass production systems
For aquaculture purposes, microalgae are mass produced in three main ways:
•Batch (or discontinuous or multistep back-up system) culture
•Semi-continuous culture and
•Continuous culture
