NUTRA LIFESTART FOR TILAPIA - A GLOBAL TEAM APPROACH TO TILAPIA STARTER DIETS  

The global tilapia industry sector is developing rapidly and Skretting is producing tilapia feeds in Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe. Our global tilapia team of product managers identified the need for a dedicated tilapia starter feed.

A wide range of starter feeds and feeding practices exists for tilapia around the world. These starter feeds are seldom formulated for tilapia but rather for a multispecies approach. Technology is often simple and single 'powders' are fed to tilapia larvae from hatch till fingerling. Therefore, tilapia fry do not get the right nutrition offered in too small and unstable particles which does not contribute to a good lifestart.

We commisioned Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre to develop a dedicated tilapia starter feed with the following specifications:

-      Establish the protein requirements of tilapia larvae, fry and fingerlings, respectively

-      Establish the energy requirement of tilapia fry

-      Compare the latest feed technology in extrusion and micropelleting.

Research results will be presented and discussed (see for example Figure 1 as an illustration). Based on the findings a dedicated tilapia starter feed has been defined in 4 sizes:

1.      Nutra 0 -  400 micron extruded crumble for the larval and sex-reversal phase

2.      Nutra 80 - 800 micron extruded crumble for fry from 0.5-2.5 grams

3.      Nutra 120 - 1200 micropellet for fry from 2 - 10 grams

4.      Nutra 160 -  1600 micropellet for fry from 8-25 grams

Optimal early lifestart nutrition for tilapia is the fundament for profitable tilapia farming.