PART II:SEMESTER 4 SEC-1 AQUARIUM FISH KEEPING ZOOA-SEC(B)-4-1-TH

PREPARATION AND COMPOSITION OF FORMULATED FISH FEED

Introduction
Artificial fish feed are prepared for the pet fishes kept in aquarium. The fish feed is normally
composed of macronutrients, trace elements and vitamins necessary to keep the fishes in
good health.
Though all the culturable species of fish mainly depend on a variety of natural feeds such as
plankton. algae, small crustacean, detritus, etc., supplementary feeds are required for
intensive culture systems. The supplementary feed is a combine nation of different
ingredients both from plant and animal origin and it can be administered in different forms.

The conventional method is by broadcasting the feed in dry Powder form in the fish pond.
Broadcasting has its own disadvantages. Much of the amount is likely to be wasted by getting
dissipated in water due to the disturbance caused during the feeding of fish. Further,
supplementary feed in powder form cannot be stored for a longer period.

Alternatively, the feed is given in the paste form. To avoid the instability of these ingredients,
the feeds are now prepared into dry type pelleted feeds. Dry pellets are easy to handle and
store, have longer shelf-life and are free from accumulation of lethal toxic materials like
alphatoxins. Further, such pellets reduce wastage on feeding and ensure uniform composition
of the various nutritional components. Owing to these advantages, the fish culturists are
assured of maximum return when they use dry pellets. Pelleted forms, some of’ which sink
rapidly, are often used for larger fish or bottom feeding species such as loaches or catfish.
some fish feeds also contain addives such as sex hormones or beta carotene to artificial
enhance the colour of ornamental fish.

Qualities of a good fish feed

Any good artificial fish feed should have he listed desirable qualities:-
· Fish feed should provide the fish with fat and amino acids for proper growth of the
fish.
· The fish feed must be readily digested in order to prevent any infection or diseases.
· The fish feed should not pollute the aquarium.
· Aquatic diet for carnivores must contain vegetable matter such as Spirulina.
· It should be stable in the medium.
· It should not have an anti-nutritional effects.

Classification of artificial feed:-

Simple feed : Simple feeds are prepared by the inclusion of simple ingredients.
Examples- Rice bran, ground nut oil cake, etc.
Disadvantages:
§ They do not provide all the necessary ingredients to the fishes.
§ The fishes may become disinterested in same type of food.

Compound feed: Compound feed is made by inclusion of more than two or more ingredients

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Lecture notes by Dr Adity Sarbajna | Department of Zoology, Surendranath College
PART II:SEMESTER 4 SEC-1 AQUARIUM FISH KEEPING ZOOA-SEC(B)-4-1-TH

Examples- mixture of different ingredients like trash fish, slaughterhouse waste or a mixture
of powdered ingredients.
Advantages:
§ They will provide all the nutrients for the growth of the fishes.
§ They are balanced and complete.
§
Efficiency of fish-feeds :-

While formulating a feed, it is essential to determine its efficiency in terms of food

conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), etc.

Food conversion ratio (absolute conversion ratio):-

The FCR (expressed in kilos) denotes the amount of dry feed necessary to produce 1 kg of
fish.

Total dry weight of feed

=
Total wet weight gain

However, the relative food Conversion ratio (RFCR) is different from FCR and is obtained
by dividing the quantity of total feed (natural feed plus Supplementary feed) consumed by the
fish by the total production. FCR depends not only on the feed but also the stocking density,
weight of individual fish. age of fish,. temperature of water and methods of feeding, i.e.
quantity, frequency of feed distribution, etc.

Protein efficiency ratio:-

By this, the efficiency of protein in the conversion as meat could be determined.

Total wet weight gain(growth of ish)

PER =
Total dry weight protein fed

Compostion of fish feed :-

A well balanced fish feed must have the following nutrients:-
· Amino acids- the basic components of proteins in food,
· Fats- they are the main source of energy for the fishes especially for heart and
skeletal muscles.
· Vitamins- Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble. They can only be digested,
absorbed and transported in conjunction with fats.
· Carbohydrates- It is composed of molecular substances that include sugars, starches,
gums and celluloses.

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Lecture notes by Dr Adity Sarbajna | Department of Zoology, Surendranath College
PART II:SEMESTER 4 SEC-1 AQUARIUM FISH KEEPING ZOOA-SEC(B)-4-1-TH

Sources for the fish feed :-

Protein and amino acids
Fish meal, soybean meal, fish hydroxylate, skimmed milk powder, legumes and wheat gluten
are good sources for protein.Free amino acids such as lysine and methionine are
commercially available.
Lipids
Oils from the marine fish and vegetable oils from canola, linseed, sunflower are common
sources for lipids.
Carbohydrates
Cereals, corn, wheat, raw starch, sugars and gums are good sources for carbohydrates.
Vitamin and minerals
Vitamins and minerals are commercially available as vitamins and mineral premix. This
premix is added to the diet to supply vitamins and minerals.

Other important elements:-

Pigments
A variety of pigments are available to enhance coloration in the flesh of the fish and the skin
and the skin of freshwater and marine ornamental fish.
Examples- astaxanthin is the most commonly used additive.
Binding agents
Binding agents provides stability to the pellet and reduce leaching of nutrients in water.
Carbohydrates such as starch, cellulose, pectin and various other polysaccharides are used as
binding agents.
Preservatives
Preservatives, such as antimicrobials and antioxidants are used to increase the shelf life of the
product. It also prevent the rancidity of the fats.Commercially used antioxidants are butylated
hydroxyl anisole(BHA) or butylated hydroxytoluene(BHT). BHA and BHT are added at
0.005% of dry weight of the product.Sodium and potassium salts of propanoic, benzoic or
sorbic acids are antibacterial in nature.

Remarks:
In many fish-feeds, protein is the most expensive portion and is invariably the primary
substance. The energy level of the diet is adjusted to a desired level by the addition of high-
energy supplements,
which are less
expensive than
protein supplements.
The square method
is an easy way to
determine the proper
dietary proportions
of high- and low-
protein feeds for use
in the dietary

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Lecture notes by Dr Adity Sarbajna | Department of Zoology, Surendranath College
PART II:SEMESTER 4 SEC-1 AQUARIUM FISH KEEPING ZOOA-SEC(B)-4-1-TH

requirements of fish. [or example, if rice-bran and groundnut oilcake arc to be used as chief
ingredients to prepare fish-feed with 40 per cent protein, the procedure is as follows:
A square is designed and the above mentioned ingredients are put on the two left corners
along with their protein contents. The desired protein level of reed is placed in the middle of
the square. Next, the protein level or the reed is substracted from that or the already used
ingredients (i.e..r ice-bran and ground nut oilcake) placing the answer in the opposite corner
from the feed. This could be elucidated by an example (Fig. 93). That is for the preparation of
36.8 kg of fish-feed with 40 per cent protein; 3.5 kg o1 rice-bran and 33.3 kg of groundnut
oilcake are added. In other words, for the preparation of 100 kg of fish-feed with 40 per cent
protein. 9.5 kg of rice-bran and 90.5 kg of groundnut oilcake are needed.

Preparation of the feed:-

The artificial food production involves the following steps-
Selection of ingredients
The ingredients which should be supplied are
1. Protein
2. Carbohydrates
3. Lipids
4. Vitamins
5. Minerals

Grinding
The selected ingredients are to be grinded to fine powdered form in a hammer mill. This
helps to obtain a homogenous mixture of a particular size.
Sieving
The powdered ingredients are then sieved through a sieving machine of a particular mesh size
depending on the size.
Mixing and homogenizing
The sieved ingredient are mixed thoroughly in mixing mills to avoid selective feeding of a
particular ingredient.
Steaming
The feed ingredients are passed through a conditioning chamber where 5% of the water and
stream is added.Water provides lubrication for the pellets.Stream helps in killing bacteria and
other pathogens.
Pelletizing
The conditioned feed in converted into pellets. This is done by a machine known as
pelletizer.
Drying
the pellets are transferred to a oven at a temperature 70oC to 120 oC. The pellets are dried to a
moisture below 10%.
Packing
The pellets are packed in bags.
Storing

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Lecture notes by Dr Adity Sarbajna | Department of Zoology, Surendranath College
PART II:SEMESTER 4 SEC-1 AQUARIUM FISH KEEPING ZOOA-SEC(B)-4-1-TH

The pellets are stored in air tight containers.

Sample feed formulations:-

QUESTIONS

1.Why artificial fish feed is prepared?

2.List the desirable qualities of a good fish feed?
3.Why compound feed is superior over simple feed?
4.What are the essential elements of a fish feed?
5.What is the role of binding agents in fish feed? Give examples.
6.List some sources for each essential ingredients of fish feed?
7.What are the various preservatives used in an artificial fish feed?
8.Briefly describe the process of artificial fish feed production?

Reference:
· A Manual of Fresh-water Aquaculture. Ramasamy Santhanam, N. Sukumaran,
Pavanasam Natarajan. Oxford & IBH Publishing Company, 1987
· Home Aquarium and Ornamental Fish Culture. N. Arumugam, K.V. Jayashree, C.S.
Tharadevi. Saras Publication,2015

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Lecture notes by Dr Adity Sarbajna | Department of Zoology, Surendranath College