Aquafeeds

Building off the success and excitement of the fish-free aquaculture feed cash-prize contest that concludes this fall, the F3 Challenge has set its sights on a new target: fish oil alternatives. 

Research from experimental trials demonstrate that dietary potassium diformate improves survival, growth and productivity in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), including in the presence of the Gram-negative, pathogenic bacterium V. harveyi. 

This 10-week feeding trial aimed at complementing existing information on largemouth bass responses to oils with supplemental EPA and DHA. Dietary supplementation of these essential fatty acids may be required in feeds for this species. 

Grown worldwide, Camelina sativa is a tiny seed used for human consumption that also has big potential for driving the “green” economy. 

Shrimp aquafeeds – live, fresh or formulated – should not be an entry point of potential pathogens to the shrimp and/or to their culture systems. 

Producing a consistent shrimp feed pellet requires that all ingredients are processed properly and monitored through proper in-line quality assurance. 

This study compared two types of indoor, shrimp culture systems: clear-water RAS and biofloc systems. Clearwater RAS had the edge in water quality, but shrimp in the biofloc treatment had a higher feed conversion ratio. 

A study compared the bioavailability of crude protein and lipid from biofloc meals generated with an activated sludge system using two water sources: wastewater from shrimp experimental culture (BFL-W) and, artificially, using clean seawater (BFL-C). 

Green water, which describes the typical water color in tropical aquaculture facilities, consists mainly of various phytoplankton species along with bacteria, protozoa and zooplankton. It is relatively easy to produce without any supplemented nutrients. 

Like so many innovative solutions achieved in digital technology, a potential fix to aquaculture’s existential issue – the sustainability of feeds – was born in Silicon Valley. In a garage, no less. 

KnipBio, a Massachusetts-based biotechnology startup founded in 2013, is refining the manufacturing process for a promising aquaculture feed ingredient that may one day form the foundation of the food that farmed fish eat. 

Food digestion involves digestive enzymes to break down polymeric macromolecules and facilitate nutrient absorption. Enzyme supplementation in aquafeeds is a major alternative to improve feed quality and nutrient digestibility, gut health, compensate digestive enzymes when needed, and may also improve immune responses. 

Manufactured aquafeeds, if improperly managed, can result in undesirable oxygen demand that can reduce dissolved oxygen levels and pollution through effluents, and stress cultured animals. 

Preconditioning is an important step in the manufacturing of aquafeeds, because it increases the moisture content and temperature of ingredient meal particles, which is key to reach a high water stability desired in aquafeeds. Pre-conditioner efficiency requires consistent particle size and adequate mixing, residence time and fill ratio. 

Larval shrimp performance (feed conversion and final weight) in a biofloc nursery system improved with both added diatoms (Navicula sp.) and rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis).