Tilapia is one of the most widely cultured fish in the world. Protein, energy, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, all of them are vital to the health growth of Tilapia. Not just Tilapia, all cultured fish require them in the diet for growth, reproduction, and other normal physiological functions. These dietary requirements vary somewhat among species and within species relative to the stage of the life cycle, sex, reproductive state, and environment.
Taking Nile Tilapia for example, protein requirement in freshwater is as follows (protein requirements for optimum growth depend on fish size or age):
Lift Stage |
Weight (g) |
Requirement (%) |
First feeding larvae |
45-50 |
|
Fry |
0.02-1.0 |
40 |
Fingerlings |
1.0-10.0 |
35-40 |
Juveniles |
10.0-25.0 |
30-35 |
Adults |
25-200 |
30-32 |
>200 |
28-30 |
|
Broodstock |
|
40-45 |
Nutritionally complete, dry extruded feed (although extruded feeds are more expensive than compressed feeds of the same formulation, their advantages allow them to be significantly more economically efficient) should satisfy the nutrient requirements for the different life stages of tilapia, so feed manufacturers should pay much more attention to raw materials you are using, machines for making tilapia feed and feed production technology.
Some Common Ingredients Used to Produce Quality Tilapia Feed Pellets
The proper extrusion of the raw material and the balanced formulation of nutrients improve tilapia production till harvesting. High growth rates and low feed conversions improve the economic/financial results of the fish farmers.
★ Protein source:
soybean meal; corn gluten meal (60% crude protein); soybean meal; fish meal (good quality fish meals contain crude protein levels above 66%, being an excellent source of highly digestible protein); fish hydroxylate; oil cake (it contains relatively high protein percentages-≥20%- and always considered as protein supplement); skim milk powder; legumes; wheat gluten.
Fish require diets containing 30 to 55% of crude protein.
★ Energy feedstuffs: corn and wheat bran
★ Lipid source: fish oil, due to its high content of essential fatty acids, is used as a main lipid source in fish feeds. In recent years, because of the increase in fish oil price, tilapia feed manufacturers are searching for alternative lipid sources originating from plant-vegetable oils from canola, sunflower, and linseed to reduce production costs.
★ Carbohydrate source: Most of the carbohydrates are of plant origin. For tilapia feeds in Asia, the carbohydrate/energy source is largely dependent on locally available feedstuff.
★ Vitamin & Mineral source: Usually, tilapia farmers mix kinds of vitamins and minerals together as a balanced and pre-measured mixture known as a vitamin or mineral premix. It is added to the diet in substantial amounts to ensure that adequate levels of vitamins and minerals are supplied to meet dietary requirements.
★ Other ingredients: poultry by-products including feather meal and blood meal; grasses, leaves (e.g. cassava), and seeds of leguminous shrub and tree vegetable; chicken droppings, pigs manure, etc.
Extruded tilapia feed Making Machines and Manufacturing Technology
Tilapia feed-making machines related:
tilapia feed crusher → tilapia feed mixer → wet type fish feed extruder → tilapia feed dryer → tilapia feed cooler → tilapia feed packager
All kinds of tilapia feed ingredients are mixed in a feed mixer to ensure evenness. After mixing, a high-efficiency extruder will extrude feed powder into pellets. We manufacture 2 kinds of extruder machines: dry type and wet type. There is a little difference between them. To know more, please click Fish Feed Extruder for Fish Farmers to Produce Quality Feed.
To lower high moisture and temperature, tilapia feed pellets need to be dried. Hot tilapia pellets are soft and easily broken, which can result in a high percentage of fines, which is the reason that fish farmers should cool them after dried. The tilapia feed manufacturing process has been clearly introduced before. Please visit the tilapia feed production line to learn more about the process and related machines.