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November | December 2009

Feature title: Screening or cost-efciency

The International magazine or the aquaculture eed industry

International Aquafeed is published five times a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom. All data is published in good faith, based on information received, and while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies,the publishers accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of action taken on the basis of information published.©Copyright 2009 Perendale Publishers L td. All rights reserved. No par t of this publication may be reproduced in any formor by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed by Perendale Publishers Ltd. ISSN: 1464-0058

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Significant price increaseshave occurred during

the past years for major

aquafeed ingredients, includ-

ing fishmeal, fish oil, vegetable proteins

and fats. In the livestock industry

the combined efforts of industry and

academic institutes resulted in the

development of a wide range of addi-

tives to improve nutrient utilisation

helping to reduce feed formulation

costs and increase cost-efficiency.

Various types of feed additives have been

developed which enhance the digestibil-

ity and/or utilisation efficiency of nutrients,including exogenous enzymes, compounds

aiding in the digestive process, stimulators

of enzyme secretion, feeding stimulants, pre/

probiotics and botanical extracts modulat-

ing the gut microflora.

Some of these innovative additives show

great potential for use in aquaculture, but

their application is not evident as warm

blooded land animals have a different feed-

ing biology, digestive physiology and nutri-

ent requirements compared to fish and

shrimp. The development of aquaculture

additives is a relatively new but promising

field. In this article we report on our recent

progress with the development of species-specific digestive aids to increase growth,

feed utilisation and meat yield in various

fish species.

Screening for optimalperformance andcost-efficiency

A wide variety of concepts and products

are being investigated for improving diges-

tion and feed utilisation in pigs and poultry.

However, it is difficult to predict the

functionality of many of these products

for a wide range of fish species, covering

carnivorous/omnivorous/herbivorous feed-

Some innovative additives show great potential for use in aquaculture, but their application is not evident as

warm blooded land animals have a different feeding biology, digestive physiology and nutrient requirements

compared to fish and shrimp. The development of aquaculture additives is a relatively new but promising 

field.

by Pete Coutteau1, Sam Ceulemans1, Alexande van Halteen1, rocio robles2, and Ahmad Hadadi3 

(1) NUTrIAD Technology Cente, Belgium

(2) Caditec Testing SL, Pueto real (Cadiz), Spain

(3) Depatment of Maine Affais and Fisheies, Sukabumi, Indonesia

Screening forcost-efficiency:Application of novel digestibility enhancers to

improve performance and filleting yield in fish

36 | IntnatInal AquAFeed | november-December 09 -

ing habits, marine/freshwater habitats, cold/

tropical climates, and extremely different

feed formulations.

At the NUTRIAD Technology Center,

a continuous program of empiric screen-

ing for different aquaculture species aims

at identifying promising compounds for

application in aquaculture.

Pre-selected synergistic blends of 

digestibility enhancing additives are being

screened for their capability to improve

growth and food conversion in a number of 

model species (rainbow trout Oncorhynchus

mykiss; European seabass Dicentrarchus

labrax ; Nile tilapia Oreochromus niloticus;

Tra catfish Pangasius hypophthalmus). Test

feeds are formulated to be representative

for average industry standards per species

and processed using industrial extrusion

technology.

Trials executed under controlled lab

conditions at Caditec Testing, Spain, and

at the Department of Marine Affairs

and Fisheries, Sukabumi, Indonesia, have

revealed enormous differences in efficacy

among different additive concepts designed

to improve digestion (see Figure 1).

Some digestibility enhancers seem to be

incompatible with the digestive physiology of 

certain fish species and affected fish perform-

ance negatively. The addition of selected

blends of digestive aids improved growth/

FCR in trout (up to +6/-8 percent change

versus non-supplemented control group),

tilapia (+5/-9%), pangasius catfish (+6/-15

percent), and

seabass (+5/-5

percent).

T h e s e

results show

the potential

of digestibility

enhancers to

improve feed

efficiency in fish

farming, result-

ing in improved

e c o n o m i c s ,

more sustain-

able use of feed

i n g r e d i e n t s

and reduced

environmental

impact.Data show

results for

growth (SGR,

percent/day) and

food conversion

(FCR) relative

to the perform-

ance of the non-

supplemented

control group.

Feeding trials

were run in trip-

licate tanks for

rainbow trout

(trial duration 64 days; starting

from 19g); Nile tilapia (56 days;

starting from 9g); Pangasius catfish(70 days starting from 16g); and

European seabass (84 days; starting

from 224g).

Dose-reponsetrial with Tilapia

Dose-response trials under laboratory

conditions provide useful data to explore

the most cost-efficient dosage to be recom-

mended for field verification.

The supplementation of 1.5kg per tonne

of feed of a digestive aid (AQUAGEST® 

OMF) yielded significantly better FCR (-5

percent), growth (+4 percent) and protein

efficiency ratio (+4 percent; see Table 1).

A new generation of omega-3 lipids

with a broader spectrum of health

benets.

- High DHA contents, preferably in

easily digestible and highly bio

available form for aquaculture use.

- Numerous benets on improving

the immune response, better 

weight gain and physical conditions of land animals.

Marine phospholipids

Fiskerihavnsgade 35P.O. Box 3596701 EsbjergDenmark 

Phone +45 79120999Fax +45 79120888E-mail 999@999.dk Web www.999.dk 

. 1 1 : 1

Table 1: Dose-response effect for a digestive aid in Nile tilapia (trial duration: 8 weeks;average (n=3) ± stdev, different letters in the same row denote significant differences atp≤0.05; Ceulemans et al., 2009).

- november-December 09 | IntnatInal AquAFeed | 37

Enhancers

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When increasing the supplementation

from 1.5kg to three kg per tonne of feed,

all these factors were further improved.

The hepatosomatic index was reduced by

increasing the level of the feed additive,

amounting to a reduction of 11 percent

for the 3kg/tonne-supplemented diet. The

viscerasomatic index was reduced by eight

percent in the 1.5kg/tonne-supplemented

diet. The decreased viscerasomatic and

hepatosomatic indexes and increased pro-

tein efficiency ratio indicate that more

dietary energy/protein is made available

for growth.

This allows the farmer to improve feed

conversion, fillet yield and reducing visceral

wastes.

Table 2: Two different application regimes evaluated for supplementing a digestive aid to the feedof Pangasius catfish in two farm locations of Hung Vuong Mien Tay breeding Joint Stock Company

in the Mekong Delta (van Halteren et al., 2009)

Fish size(g)

Feedspecifications

(% crudeprotein)

Treatments

Control AQUAGEST 1 AQUAGEST 2

20 - 100 28 -AQUAGEST® OMF

1 kg/MT of feedAQUAGEST® OMF

2 kg/MT of feed

100 - 200 28 -AQUAGEST® OMF

1 kg/MT of feedAQUAGEST® OMF

2 kg/MT of feed

200 - 500 26 - -AQUAGEST® OMF

1 kg/MT of feed

> 500 22 - - -

Figure 1

38 | IntnatInal AquAFeed | november-December 09 -

Enhancersfor FCR and individual daily

growth rate were excellent

compared to the industry

average in Vietnam (FCR:

1.6-1.8; growth: 4-5 g/day). 

The results from both

trial locations showed

improved growth and food

conversion, and a short-

ening of the productioncycle with the application

of the feed additive. The

improvement on growth

performance was modest

Feed utilisation andfillet yield in Pangasiuscatfish farming

Pangasius catfish production has grown

very rapidly in Vietnam to reach more than

a million tonnes in recent years.

This rapid growth has resulted in the

industrialisation of feed production as well

as in culture technology. Whereas tradition-

al catfish farmers produce farm-made feedsby mixing and cooking local raw materials

in large kettle cookers, larger integrators

have installed state-of-the-art extrusion

lines producing compound feed following

stringent quality control schemes.

Due to declining market

prices for Pangasius, farmers and

feed producers are continuously

searching for ways to improve

feed performance and optimise

fillet yield to maintain profitability.

The optimal application of 

novel feed additives requires field

evaluations to provide information

in terms of farm economics and

processing qualities of the fish.

The effect of different appli-cation regimes for a digestibil-

ity enhancer was evaluated for

Pangasius hypophthalmus (‘Tra’) in

two farm locations of Hung Vuong

Mien Tay breeding Joint Stock 

Company in the Mekong Delta

(Van Halteren et al., 2009). The

various treatments differed in the

inclusion level of the digestibility

enhancer (AQUAGEST® OMF,

Nutriad, Belgium) in the extruded

feed and the period during which

it was applied during the produc-

tion cycle (see Table 2).

Trials were carried out under

standard production protocols

in earthen ponds of approxi-

mately 5-6000m2 (Trial site TraVinh) and 8500-12,000 m2 (trial

site Sa Dec). The ponds were

stocked with juveniles with an

average size of 15g at a density of 

45-50fish/m2 in Tra Vinh, and 30g

fish were stocked at 34-38 fish/

m2 in Sa Dec.

Gain for the farmer:growth, feed conversion and 

 production cost Overall, the results obtained

our mission is crystal clear

www.nutriad.net

INVE Nutri-ad is now Nutriad. 

While we do look a little different on the outside, we are still the same global company dedicated to bringing you

natural and sustainable aqua solutions that add value through health and nutrition. AtNutriad,a multidisciplinary

team of nutritionists, biologists, veterinarians and feed technologists focus on the specic development and

optimal application of feed additives for various aquaculture species. Our scientists make use of state-of-the art

equipment and facilities including the central analytical laboratory, a pilot plant for the production of aqua feed

and aquaculture test centres to screen product options in various sh and shrimp species.

Developed for aquaculture species and supported by aquafeed experts

AQUAGEST®  Digestibility enhancers

AQUABITE®  Attractants & Palatability Enhancers

AQUASTIM®  Immunomodulators

SANACORE®  Multi-angle defense complex to reduce stress/disease incidence in sh & shrimp

AQUAVIT C Stable Protected Vitamin C for immune function maintenance

APEX® Aqua Standardized and stabilized natural bio-active ingredients

NUTRI-BIND Low inclusion binders with proven efcacy in aquafeed production

applying nature for a healthy and sustainable future

- november-December 09 | IntnatInal AquAFeed | 39

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in three stages, first the total fillet is

cut from the fish, secondly the skin is

removed from the fillet and finally the

fillet is adjusted to the market demands

(less or more fat left depending on the

destination country.

The first stage ‘whole fillet’ ratio is aver-

ages 1.9-2.2 in Vietnam and is reported for

the trials in Table 4. Overall, the whole fillet

yields obtained in the current trials wereexcellent in comparison to the industrial

average in Vietnam (1.9-2.2).

Nevertheless, whole fillet yield improved

drastically in all trials because of the addi-

tion of the digestibility enhancer, that is

2.4 to 4.6 percent for the lowest application

and 7.5-9.25 percent for the highest dosage

evaluated (see Table 4). 

ConclusionDigestibility enhancing additives have

the potential to improve nutrient utilisa-

tion from cheap ingredients and stimulate

the conversion of nutrients into meat gain

and less into fat accumulation in muscle

and viscera. The current results showed

the need for specific product development

searching for digestive aids, which are

compatible with the digestive physiology

of each fish species.

The optimised application in the field

was illustrated for Pangasius in Vietnam

where economic gains were observed

both for the farmer (up to 2.4 percent

reduction of feed cost per kg of whole fish

produced and 16.4 percent shortening of 

the production cycle) as well as for the fish

processor (up to 9.25 percent improve-

ment in fillet yield).

better economics due to the application of 

the digestibility enhancer. This was due to a

combination of the improved feed cost per

kg of fish produced (0.2-0.7 percent for the

lowest appli-

cation regime

and 1.4-2.4

percent for

the highest

application regime) and

the significant shortening

of the production cycle.

Gain for thefish processor

The fillet ratio is animportant criterion

for the processor in

the Pangasius indus-

try as the main mar-

ket is sales of fillet.

The fillet ratio was

determined in the

fish processing plant

of Hung Vuong Joint

Stock Company

after harvesting the

ponds.

Pangasius fil-

lets are obtained

for the lowest dosage applied only during

the initial period (treatment Aquagest 1).

However, very significant improvements

were obtained for the second treatment

(Aquagest 2) compared to the control,

including improvements of FCR by 3.3-3.2

percent, daily weight gain by 10.6-14.8 per-

cent and a reduction of the culture duration

by 5.2-16.4 percent. All farm results showed

Table 3: Effect of two different application regimes of a digestibilityenhancer on duration of the production cycle, growth and FCR of Pangasius catfish in two trial locations in Vietnam (van Halteren et al.,2009)

Treatments(see Table 2)

Days of cultureto reach 850g

(days)

Individual fishgrowth rate

(g/day)FCR

TRIAL SITE 1: Tra Vinh

Control 210 3.96 1.52

 Aquagest 1 207 4.04 1.51

 Aquagest 2 199 4.38 1.47

Treatments(see Table 2)

Days of cultureto reach 850g

(days)

Individual fishgrowth rate

(g/day)FCR

TRIAL SITE 2: Sa Dec

Control 171 4.53 1.55

 Aquagest 1 171 4.40 1.53

 Aquagest 2 143 5.20 1.50

Table 4: Effect of two different application regimes of a digestive aid onfillet ratio (kg whole fish needed for 1kg of whole fish fillet) of Pangasiuscatfish in two trial locations in Vietnam (percentage shows differencecompared to non-supplemented control) (van Halteren et al., 2009)

Treatments(see Table 2)

TRIAL SITE 1:Tra Vinh

TRIAL SITE 2:Sa Dec

Control 2.14 2.16

Aquagest 1 2.09 (-2.4%) 2.06 (- 4.6%)

Aquagest 2 1.98 (-7.5%) 2.00 (- 9.25%)

40 | IntnatInal AquAFeed | november-December 09

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