Catfish Nutrition
Feeds and Feed Formulation
Pond catfish get only a small portion of their food nutrients naturally. Thus, need to be fed a complete feed to provide all required nutrients in the proper proportions necessary for rapid weight gain, high feed efficiency, and a desirable composition of gain (high protein gain and low fat gain). As a catfish producer, you should carefully consider feed selection and usage.
Catfish feed Ingredients
Commercial catfish feeds contain a mixture of various feed ingredients, vitamins and mineral premixes that provide the right essential nutrients as well as the energy necessary to use the nutrients. Only one feed ingredient can not supply all of the nutrients and energy catfish need for best growth. The amount of each feed ingredient depends on several factors which including;
Nutrient requirements
Ingredient cost
Availability of each
ingredient
Processing characteristics.
Protein and Energy Supplements
Catfish feed containing 20 percent crude protein and 80 percent protein supplements. Protein supplements may be classified as animal or plant proteins. Protein used in catfish feed include marine fish meals, catfish offal meal, meat and bone/blood meal, and poultry byproduct meal.
PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT:
Animal proteins have higher quality than plant proteins. Animal protein is essential in the diet of fry and small fingerling catfish. Fish meal prepared from whole fish appears to be a better protein supplement than other animal proteins but does not appear to be essential in the diet of catfish with size of 6 to 7 inches.
Animal proteins have higher quality than plant proteins. Animal protein is essential in the diet of fry and small fingerling catfish. Fish meal prepared from whole fish appears to be a better protein supplement than other animal proteins but does not appear to be essential in the diet of catfish with size of 6 to 7 inches.
Note: animal proteins can be replaced by plant
proteins in catfish feeds without affecting growth and feed efficiency.
Plant protein sources used in catfish feeds are oilseed meals, such as soybean meal, cottonseed meal, and peanut meal.
Plant protein sources used in catfish feeds are oilseed meals, such as soybean meal, cottonseed meal, and peanut meal.
ENERGY SUPPLEMENT:
Energy supplements are feed ingredient that contain less than 20 percent crude protein. They include grain, grain byproducts and animal fat or vegetable oil. It is important to include non protein energy sources in catfish diets because they are the most economical source of energy, and they prevent dietary protein from being used for energy. Energy sources typically used in commercial catfish feeds include corn, corn screenings, wheat grain, wheat middlings, rice bran, milo, animal fat, and fish oil.
VITAMIN AND MINERAL PREMIXES:
They are made from high quality ingredients, using forms of vitamins and minerals catfish can readily digest.
Vitamin and mineral premixes are generally added to catfish feeds. They provide more vitamins and minerals than what is needed for growth to make up for any losses during feed manufacture or storage.
Energy supplements are feed ingredient that contain less than 20 percent crude protein. They include grain, grain byproducts and animal fat or vegetable oil. It is important to include non protein energy sources in catfish diets because they are the most economical source of energy, and they prevent dietary protein from being used for energy. Energy sources typically used in commercial catfish feeds include corn, corn screenings, wheat grain, wheat middlings, rice bran, milo, animal fat, and fish oil.
VITAMIN AND MINERAL PREMIXES:
They are made from high quality ingredients, using forms of vitamins and minerals catfish can readily digest.
Vitamin and mineral premixes are generally added to catfish feeds. They provide more vitamins and minerals than what is needed for growth to make up for any losses during feed manufacture or storage.
Feed Formulation
Catfish feeds are based on a fixed formula with little use of a least-cost approach as is used in other animal industries. Manufacturers must know the cost of feed ingredients, the nutrient concentrations in catfish feed, nutrient requirements, nutrient availability, and nutritional and non-nutritional restrictions.
Here are some examples of restrictions placed on nutrients and feed ingredients for least-cost formulation of catfish feeds.
Feed Manufacturing
Catfish feed manufacturing puts mixtures of feed ingredients and feed additives into a usable form for the purpose of increase profits of catfish production by increasing the nutritional value of the feedstuff or a mixture of feedstuffs. Depending on the animal species, this process may range from a simple reduction of particle size to forming feed pellets through steam pelleting or extrusion. The uniqueness of catfish feeds is that, it must be pelleted, water stable, and generally made to float on the water surface. Most commercial catfish feeds are manufactured by extrusion. If a particular feed additive will not withstand extrusion, the feed may be manufactured by steam pelleting into a sinking pellet. Fat is typically sprayed on the feed pellets to reduce feed dust before shipping.
catfish feedsAs the years go by, boys will become men and idels will become indusries, but seed not planted today will never be harvest
the fact that you have very little resource to start does not mean there will be no bumper harvest tomorrow. nothing in life gets moving until you make a move, so give a start and invest in agriculture today, you will see success follows
Animal feed supplements give cattle that much needed boost of nutrients. Always go for animal feed supplement manufacturers that make organic feed supplements.
ReplyDelete