Vitamin requirements of finfish and prawns

Vitamins are complex organic substances, usually of comparatively small molecular size (molecular weight usually less than 1000). They are distributed in feedstuffs in small quantities and form a distinct entity from other major and minor food components (Cho et a_l., 1985). The importance of vitamins as essential constituents in the diets of animals came to light in the early part of this century and during the past five decades active and rapid progress in vitamin research was made almost in all the coMmercially important specie

Development of artificial feeds for finfishes

successful fish culture depends upon provision of diets coritaining an appropriate balance of essential nutrients and adequate level of energy to permit the most efficient growth of fish. Application of modern techniques, with very high production potentials, demands supply of nutritionally balanced complete feeds in intensive sys-tems and suppLemental feeds in semi-intensive system

Feed ingredients available in India and their potential nutritional value

Development of practical feed formulations depend upon information on two major aspects; the nutritional requirements of the animals and the nutritive value of the potential feed ingredients. Once information on these aspects along with other essential parameters, become available for a specific species and size, it should be possible to develop low-cost practical feeds using linear programming. During the past two decades there has been a phenomenal increase in research activities relating to identification of raw materials for formulating feed ingredients both in the developed and developing nations of the world

Aquafeed biotechnology-an overview

Aquafarming is emerging as a successful small-scale bio-industry in India. In order to sustain this industry an organized feed industry is essential to manufacture and supply quality controlled compounded feeds for the different stages and production systems The exogenous feeds used in aquaculture can be broadly grouped into (i) supplementary feeds and (ii) complete feeds. Supplementary feeds, by and large are empirical formulations, which do not provide the essential nutrients in adequate levels and balanced proportions as in the case of complete feeds

Antinutritional factors in feed ingredients and their effects in finfish

One of the important criteria in selecting feed ingredients for manufacturing complete and supplement feeds relate to the presence of antinutritional factors, which can significantly reduce the nutritional value of the feeds. These anti-nutritive substances are often referred to as 'toxic factors' because of the deleterious effects they produce when eaten by animals. However, most of these produce sub-lethal effects such as reduced growth, poor feed conversion, hormonal changes and occasional organ damage

Mycotoxins in feeds and their impact on fish and shrimp - Winter school on recent advances in diagnosis and management of diseases in mariculture, 7th to 27th November 2002, Course Manual

Mycotoxins are a group of ubiquitous chemical compounds, widely diverse in their structures and toxic effects, produced by a variety of fungi. The name mycotoxin combines the Greek word for fungus 'mykes' and the Latin word 'toxicum' meaning poison

Lipids and essential fatty acid requirements of fish and shellfish

Lipids, the water insoluble biomolecules were considered as mere sources of energy for animals, until Burr and Burr (1930) for the first time demonstrated the need for a essential fatty acid in the diets of rates. Researches carried out duting the past three decades revealed the significance of lipids in the nutrition of fish and shellfish as important sources of energy (8 to 9 Kcal/g ME) an<3. fatty acids essential for normal growth and survival of both finfish and shellfish. Besides these functions, they do have important dietary roles as carriers of certain non-fat nutrients, notably the fat-soluble vitamins A, D and K. The unsaturated fatty acids play, an important role in the transportation of other lipids

Perspectives in Marine Biotechnology

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines Biotechnology as: "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use". According to Dr. Rita Colwell, Director, National Science Foundation, USA, the apt definition is making money from Biology. Biotechnology involves application of scientific and engineering principles to provide goods and services through mediation of biological agents. Traditional application includes antibiotic production through fermentation, microbial sewage treatment and water purification. Modem molecular biotechnology involves gene manipulation and gene transfer, DNA typing, bacterial cloning for production of biomolecules etc

Ecofriendly feed management for sustainable shrimp culture

Shrimp farming is emerging as a successful bio industry in the maritime states of India

Nutrition in aquaculture - An overview

Aquaculture is gaining more and more importance as a means to augment finfish and shellfish production in both the developed and developing countries of the world, to partially meet the growing demand for fish and shellfish protein. It has been predicated by TAG (1973) that by the year 2000, aquaculture could produce at least 50 million tons of animal protein, if certain research and development measures are undertaken, as against the production of 6 million tons of fish and shellfish through culture in 1975 (Pillay, 1976)