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POND BOSS MAGAZINE

The Cutting Edge - Science Review

Fish Food Update
By Eric West


Fish growth often is limited by food availability and supplemental feeding is a logical tool to improve the condition of fish in small impoundments. The question then becomes many times more complicated because the immense variety of cultured fish species hampers efforts to simplify production of feed (pellets) industry wide. Over 170 types of fish are currently cultured, including carnivores like Bass, Trout and Hybrid Striped Bass, herbivores such as Tilapia, planktivores including Shad, and omnivores one being Catfish, each having its own set of nutritional demands
Fish food must be designed to meet the nutritional requirements of the applicable species and must be manufactured into pellets that the fish will readily accept and utilize efficiently. Several factors can affect the ability of fish to find , eat and utilize a food pellet including physical characteristics such as pellet density (floating, sinking, sinking rate), size (shape, diameter, and length), color (contrast), texture (hardness) and smell (taste) . For example as a strict carnivore, Largemouth Bass have been found to be negatively impacted by carbohydrate levels of 20% or more. Other studies showed the several magnitude increase in efficiency and growth when Bluegill are provided adequate food through supplemental feeding. The more we look the more evident it becomes that fish food requirements are species dependent. Bass are carnivores, bluegill, while related, have both carnivore and omnivore traits, as do catfish a true omnivore, while grass carp and tilapia are herbivories. We all know that wolves, bears, humans and sheep each have different food requirements. So it’s no surprise that different fish species do also.

In brief, an overview reveals that fish meal (from limited supplies of herring type fishes) has historically been the preferred protein source (gold standard) used in many fish food diets, but high costs and environmental/availability concerns are serious issues for a growing aquaculture industry. With the fast growing demand in fish consumption (for many years at twice the rate of population growth) there has been unsustainable demand on wild fish stocks and a compelling need to develop an alternative to fishmeal from wild fish stocks. A number of recent studies have addressed alternative sources of proteins from animals and plants. Plant based products contain anti-nutritional factors which have greatly limited them as a viable option. Some of the studies are reported and others are proprietary. Dietary protein, lipids and carbohydrates (if needed) must be kept in proper balance because a deficiency or excess of any one can cause issues. Fish fed diets deficient in lipids will metabolize more expensive dietary protein (or muscle) to meet energy requirements. Most pond fish, other than herbivores, do not require carbohydrates in their diet, as complex carbohydrates cannot be digested and utilized efficiently by most of these species. For this reason, diets fed to carnivores and most pond species rarely contain more than 20% complex carbohydrate. The exception among predator fish is Hybrid Striped Bass which can digest carbs and can become obese on standard fish foods. Conversely, warmwater omnivores or herbivores (e.g., channel catfish, tilapia, common carp, and white sturgeon) adapt well to diets containing as much as 40% dietary carbohydrate. Further although vitamins and minerals are required in minute amounts compared with protein, lipid, and so forth, they are critically important, as every micronutrient has a deficiency disease associated with it, the effects of which are sometimes irreversible or fatal. For a few vitamins and most minerals, excess can be equally detrimental, resulting in toxicity.

Some older studies reported that plant proteins are often associated with nutritional deficiencies due to incomplete amino acid profiles, reduced palatability, and various anti-nutritional factors. While others reported that, when plant and animal protein sources are properly combined to produce complementary amino acid profiles, growth and survival can significantly increase.

It was recently reported that one leading University in collaboration with others developed a proprietary soybean-based, high performance protein ingredient for fish food that is both economical and sustainable. The process involves using a food grade microbe to greatly reduce the anti-nutritional factors that have long hindered the use of plant based proteins in fish food. The process produces a product that is 70% protein which is more digestible (near 100% vs 80% for standard fish meal) and can be formulated to meet various amino acid, vitamin and mineral requirements. Tests were conducted on multiple species for palatability, digestibility and conversion efficiency and found to exceed marine fish meal. The product has been tested in other university research facilities and numerous commercial aquaculture sites yielding outstanding results in marine and freshwater fish species and shellfish. The product ME-PRO is now in commercial production and used all over the world. Look for its use in your favorite fish foods.

That is some cutting edge science that should help pond enthusiasts.