Note: For Training Purposes Only.

Not for Publication

Role of Fish Nutrition and Feeding in Tropical Aquaculture
Relicardo M. Coloso, Ph. D.
SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department
Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines
Introduction
Aquaculture continues to advance and expand to provide fish for a rapidly
growing population. It is now a well established industry worldwide and the fastest
growing food production sector. The growth in production will surely impact on the
demand for aquaculture feed as well as on key feed ingredients and exacerbate the effects
of aquaculture on the aquatic environment. Many of these effects are brought about by
the diet because feed is the biggest contributor to the total production cost. Thus, fish
nutrition and feeding of fish must be focused on improving feed composition, increasing
the efficiency of production, and decreasing the impacts on the environment by
improving nutrient retention.
Global aquaculture production of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, etc has exceeded 60
Mmt by 2012 with a value of more than 120 trillion US $. Most of this took place in
inland waters (over 40 Mmt) and the rest in marine waters (FAO 2012). If seaweed
production is added to this value, the production of all aquatic organisms would exceed
79 Mmt with a value of more than 125 trillion US $. Close to 90% of global aquaculture
production of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, etc happens in Asia, 4% each in the Americas
and Europe and 2% in Africa and Oceania.

2
Recently, most of the increases in production growth have been based on the
application of aquaculture feed. At an annual growth rate of about 4-5% and about 75%
of production due to feed taking species, the feed demand exceeds 20 Mmt annually.
With an average crude protein of 30% for the aquafeed, the protein requirement will
exceed 6 Mmt per year. With fish meal being the dominant protein source for aquafeeds,
it is already evident that an industry of this size cannot continue its dependence on fish
meal. Alternative protein sources have to be required.
Feeds in aquaculture
A nutritionally balanced feed and appropriate feeding management are important
in maximizing production and profitability. Good quality feed also improves feed
conversion efficiency, lowers production costs, and reduces the impacts on the
environment. A good feeding program requires a thorough understanding of the
principles of fish nutrition and feeding. The nutrient requirements of specific fish species
for culture as well as their feeding habits and behavior and abilities to digest and utilize
food must be known.
Cultured species must be given the right amount of macro- and micronutrients,
such as proteins and essential amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids and essential fatty acids,
vitamins and minerals. Feed quality is dependent on the level of available nutrients. For
instance, the protein requirements of an herbivore like tilapia and an omnivore like
milkfish are generally lower than those of carnivores like grouper, sea bass and snapper.
Different fish species also require different amounts of essential amino acids.
Furthermore, the requirements for lipids and essential amino acids differ for those species
adapted to freshwater, brackish water or marine environments. Fish also require vitamins

3
and minerals for good growth, absence of deficiency symptoms, improved resistance to
disease, and improved survival. Thus, a good understanding of the nutrient requirements
of the cultured species is needed to improve nutrient retention, feeding efficiency, and
survival.
The performance of aqua feeds is also dependent on the quality of raw materials,
reduced feed cost, and improved on-farm feeding management. The addition of
attractants, growth promoters and binders will ensure the attractability and stability of the
feed in the water. During feed preparation, nutrient composition should be maintained
and measures to reduce or eliminate the anti-nutritional factors that might be present in
the feed ingredients must be done. The quality of the feed must be maintained from
ingredient selection, feed preparation and processing, storage, and use in the farm. In
addition, a good feeding management should also be done in the farm to improve feed
performance. What to feed the fish, how much to give, when, how often and where to
feed them are important questions to answer in the exercise of good feeding practices.
Good feeding management improves nutrient retention and feed utilization and reduces
food wastage which will improve production efficiency, lower costs, and maintain the
quality of water and sediment.
Feeds and the environment
Aqua feeds have to be environment friendly. Feeds not only provide adequate
nutrition to fish, but they can also be sources of pollutants and metabolic waste products
like ammonia, urea, carbon dioxide, phosphorus, hydrogen sulfide, and organic matter
from uneaten food, feces, and colonizing bacteria. As production intensifies, the amount
of metabolic wastes in the farm also increases and eventually slows down fish growth and

4
increases fish mortalities if allowed to proceed unabated. The amount of feed given
should be enough to sustain good growth and survival, minimize unconsumed feed, and
prevent the degradation of the environment which can encourage diseases, poor harvests
and huge financial losses.
Feed formulation should take into account the following factors to ensure the
sustainability of aquaculture.
1. Feeds should have a well-balanced composition. It should contain the right
amount of nutrients, a balanced protein to energy ratio as aquatic animals eat to satisfy
their energy requirements, more nutrients assimilated, and less metabolic waste output to
the surrounding environment.
2. The total phosphorus in feeds should satisfy the requirement of fish for this
mineral and should be provided by highly available forms. The control of phosphorus
excretion will result in reduced levels of phosphorus in the effluents and better pond
management.
3. The feed ingredients used should be digestible to reduce organic wastes from
feeds. Better nutrient retention and efficiency will reduce metabolic wastes.
4. Pelleted feeds should be water stable and good binders and proper pelleting
techniques should be used. Unstable pellets will result in the build up of uneaten feeds at
the pond bottom and in the rapid degradation of water and sediment quality.
5. The use of alternative protein sources to fish meal should be encouraged
through continuous research and development.

5
6. The levels of anti-nutritional factors in feed ingredients should be minimized
through proper ingredient choice and processing methods to minimize or eliminate these
factors in the finished feed. The finished feeds should be properly stored to eliminate the
growth of fungi, molds and other organisms which contain mycotoxins that can degrade
feed quality in storage and become toxic to fish and consumers.
Feeds and sustainable aquaculture
Research and development on feeds is absolutely necessary in making aquaculture
sustainable for future generations. Much has been achieved in the last forty years in
terms of progress in feed formulation for many tropical species of fish and crustaceans,
but there are still a lot that we do not know in the nutrition and feeding of tropical fish,
crustaceans, mollusks and other aquatic organisms. R & D in aqua feeds has been a
priority but we still have a lot to do to achieve the goals of sustainable aquaculture.
1. Alternatives to fish meal and fish oil have to be found. Global fish meal supply
is limited at 5 Mmt and fish oil at 1 Mmt tons. Aquaculture is already using about 70%
of the supplies. For aquaculture to be sustainable, its dependence on fish meal and fish
oil has to be reduced. We have already been successful in bringing down the level of fish
meal in fish diets but more has to be done. Agricultural by-products such as vegetable
and animal meals should be used to produce cheap and cost effective diets for
aquaculture. Many agricultural by products such as meat meals, poultry offals and
feather meals, legumes such as beans and peas, wheat gluten, and other grains are
potential fish meal replacements. The use of fish meal should be reserved for use in
specialized feeds such as larval feeds and for the development of aqua feeds for emerging
species. In addition, replacements for fish oils have to be found and making diets with

6
optimal lipid and fatty acid profiles will be needed. Biotechnology can contribute novel
products and ingredients to produce aqua feeds with desirable nutrient profiles and are
cost effective.
2. Feed cost has to be reduced. As feed is the most expensive item in fish farming,
the availability of a cost effective feed is a bottle neck in aquaculture. Feed formulations
have to be refined to make them cheaper by using locally available ingredients. Because
the availability of raw materials differ from one country to another, the location,
availability, nutrient composition, and cost of these resources have to be known so that
cost-effective feeds can be formulated.
3. The natural productivity of ponds and other systems have to be maximized so
that the feeds for many aquaculture species in the tropics can be used only as a
supplement to the natural food. Feeds are often expensive because they are complete diets
for the intended species, but supplementary feeding practices for systems that are able to
increase natural productivity should be encouraged to lessen the dependence of fish
farming on artificial feeds.
4. Feeds that are environment friendly should be developed and used with
efficient feeding management to minimize the environmental impacts of aquaculture.
Environment friendly feeds require the use of renewable ingredients and modern
extrusion technologies to produce healthy and consumer safe products. Balanced feeds
with good nutrient retention, stability and efficiency should be developed and used
together with efficient feeding strategies to increase production, profitability, and
sustainability. These innovations require the expanded research support of both public
and private sectors to make the aquaculture industry sustainable for future generations.

Suggested References:
FAO 2012. FAO yearbook. Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics. 2010/FAO annuaire.
Statistiques des peches et de laquaculture. 2010/FAO anuario. Estadisticas de
pesca y acuicultura. 2010. Rome/Roma, FAO. 78 pp.

Millamena, O. M., Coloso, R. M., Pascual, F. P. (eds). 2002. Nutrition in Tropical

Aquaculture. Essentials of fish nutrition, feeds, and feeding of tropical aquatic
species. SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department, Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines. 244
pp.