Tilapia Feeding - Minimal Nutritional Practices
After genetic make up or genetic endowment, proper nutrition of Tilapia makes the difference between a proiftable and non-profitable Tilapia farming business. - Reaching one's Tilapia farming target size within farming time frames is essential to profitability.
Simple nutirition that keeps Tilapia fish alive is not enough for American fish farmers competing with foreign raised Tilapia. Proper nutrition refers to nutrition that delivers no less than 35% protein to fingerling and bigger, growing fish at the most economically feasible price, within the shortest time possible.
Experts in the field of fish nutrition suggest several percentages of nutrition for Tilapia fish. Minimal and ideal levels are 45, 40, 35 and 30% of protein intake for fray, fingerling, growing and breeding Tilapia fish.
Considering different growing stages and multiples weighs and sizes, a 36% of protein and other supplements must be the minimal nutritional diet for Tilapia fish. Additional supplemental food, other than fish feed, certaintly adds to fish nutrition and must be considered whenever economically viable to fish farmers.
Below a list of Fish-Feed and the basic ingredients in the feeds -
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Feed Fish Table
The following information here exemplifies clearly the best nutritional diet for Tilapia. The information from Dr. KevinsFitzimmons from he uNiversity of Arizona with references from investigative work from other expert aquaculturists.
Tilapia best growth rates when they are fed a balanced diet that provides a proper mix of protein, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, mineral and fiber. Jauncey and Ross (1982), El-Sayed and Teshima (1991) and Stickney (1996).
The nutritional requirements are slightly different for each species and more importantly vary with life stage.
Fry and fingerling fish require a diet higher in protein, lipids, vitamins and minerals and lower carbohydrates
Higher protein levels when fish is developing muscle, internal organs and bone for rapid growth.
Sub-adult fish need more calories from fat and carbohydrates for basal metabolism and a smaller percentage of protein for growth (Table 1)
Adult fish need even less protein, however the amino acids that make up that protein need to be available in certain ratios (Table 2)
Feed formulators must adjust protein sources to fit the desired pattern of amino acids through the growth cycle.
Broodfish may require elevated protein and fat levels to increase reproductive efficiency (Santiago et al. 1985; Chang et al 1988)
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Fish feeds "formulations and chemical tests" generally correlate well enough with biological methods of feed evaluation (growth studies, tissue, levels) to be very useful to feed formulators, but they are still chemical tests that are subject to experimental error during nutrient level determination. However, the proximate composition of fish meals changes during the spawning season.
Generally, the lipid levels increase before spawning and decrease after spawning. This will alter the percent of protein, ash, and carbohydrates in fish meal as the seasons change. Similarly, many plant feedstuffs vary in proximate composition with their stage of maturity at harvest, location grown, and other environmental conditions, such as the weather. Tabled values represent an average value that is usually close enough to the actual value to allow accurate feed formulation.
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