Chapter 1
DIET DEVELOPMENT FOR SEA BASS, GROUPER AND PENAEID SHRIMP CULTURE IN MALAYSIA

(A Survey of Fish Feeds and Initiation of Programme)

by

Kai W. Chow
Consultant (Fish Feed Technology)

1. INTRODUCTION

The Coastal Aquaculture Development Project at Gelang Patah, Johore, was established by the Malaysian Government under the country's Third Plan (1976–1980) for the development of aquaculture to supplement sources of fish production as a means of increasing protein intake and providing employment opportunities. This Project receives UNDP/FAO assistance under the country project “Coastal Aquaculture Development” (MAL/77/008) in the form of experts, including short-term consultants.

Four species of fish that abound in the coastal waters of Malaysia were selected by the Project for study with respect to feeding requirements under intensive culture conditions. These species are:

1. Penaeid shrimp (Penaeus monodon and P. merguiensis)
2. Sea bass (Lates calcarifer)
3. Grouper (Epinephalus tauvina)
4. Rabbit fish (Siganus spp.)

Intensive fish culture, whatever the culture system, requires artificial feeding. Because feeds also represent more than 50 percent of total production cost in aquaculture, successful operation of a fish farm hinges on the provision of well balanced diets that not only should be efficient, but should also be economical to use.

With the exception of the rabbit fish, the species selected for study are presently cultured on a small scale by local fish farmers using prepared feed, consisting of trash fish (for grouper and sea bass) and imported dry, pelleted feed (for penaeid shrimp). The availability of trash fish is seasonal and supplies are increasingly scarce. Imported pelleted shrimp feed is very expensive. Therefore, there is need to develop substitute diets based on more readily available and less expensive feed ingredients that can be obtained locally.

Precise knowledge on the nutrition of the four species is limited, and for the rabbit fish it is not known if artificial diets will be accepted. Much research is, therefore, needed to increase this knowledge in order that better feeding methods and more efficient diets can be developed. One of the principal elements in the Projects programme for demonstrating production from aquaculture is the development of such diets from locally available feed ingredients that will meet these criteria.

The Project is newly established and will not be able to conduct intensive research on nutritional requirements of fish in the immediate future. However, to meet its own immediate needs for feeds, a programme of activities towards development of optimal diets for pond culture of the selected species has been considered. The programme shall have the following primary objectives:

1. development of diets that will provide the highest economic returns; and

2. development of knowledge of the interchangeability of raw feed materials to ensure continued economic operation during periods of shortages (and increase in prices) of certain key ingredients.

The secondary objectives will be to develop knowledge concerning:

1. nutritional requirements of the cultured species; and

2. optimal feeding rates and feeding frequencies under a variety of rearing conditions.

In order that as wide a selection of raw feed materials as possible can become available for development of low cost diets, a thorough survey of all feed materials is necessary. Such a survey should not be confined only to conventional feed ingredients, but should include unconventional sources such as food processing waste and raw animal and vegetable wastes as well.

Test diets should be formulated to:

1. meet all known (and unknown) nutrient requirements of the species;

2. include only locally available feed ingredients;

3. possess physical and chemical attributes that will ensure ready acceptance and good water stability to minimize wastage and pollution load.

2. TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE CONSULTANCY

During the period 7 September to 3 October 1981, a consultancy was carried out at the Coastal Aquaculture Development Project, Gelang Patah, by the author under the following terms of reference:

1. Specify food formulations for penaeid shrimp (Penaeus monodon and P. merguiensis), sea bass (Lates calcarifer), grouper (Epinephelus tauvina) and rabbit fish (Siganus sp.) using locally available ingredients.

2. After surveying feed mills in Malaysia, to ascertain their capabilities and willingness to produce the specific rations, make recommendations as to how Malaysia's needs for formulated fish and shrimp feeds can be met.

3. Specify equipment required to produce small amounts of feed on a research scale for special applications such as hatchery, nursery and maturation of broodstock.

3. COUNTERPART

Mr. Ismail bin Abu Hassan, hemist attached to the Project was designated counterpart to the consultant.

4. SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS AND WORK COMPLETED

4.1 Survey of Feed Raw Materials

Feed raw materials consumption in West Malaysia is estimated at 1 million tonnes for 1981. Despite the country's strong agricultural base, 80 percent of all feed ingredients consumed in the country have to be imported. Demand over the next decade is expected to continue to increase as the feed industry expands at an estimated 6 percent per annum.

4.1.1 Principal feed ingredients

The major items of import are maize, rice bran, sorghum, tapioca chips, meat meal, fish meal, leaf meal, ground nut cakes and sesame cakes. The principal supplying countries are Thailand, China, India, Indonesia, Burma, Australia, Chile and Peru. Until this year, soybean meal was imported in large quantities. Recent commissioning of two large soybean crushing and oil extraction plants has rendered the country self-sufficient with respect to this important protein source for livestock feed.

Local products include: rice bran, wheat bran, palm kernel cakes, copra cakes, soybean meal, fish meal, torula yeast, distillery and brewery yeasts, grass meal, molasses and shrimp waste. Waste from slaughterhouses and food canneries, although available in fairly large quantities, is not fully utilized as feeds.

A list of commonly available feed ingredients appears in Table 1 of the Appendix.

4.1.2 Prices and availability

Prices of feed commodities generally reflect free market forces of supply and demand although, for certain items, particularly soybean meal and wheat bran which are locally produced from imported grains, protective quotas and tariffs imposed on imports artificially raise prices beyond normal levels. As a result of heavy dependence on imports, wide fluctuations in prices are common. Feed grains such as maize and sorghum, the former primarily from Thailand and the latter also from China, are seasonal crops and the absence of buffer stocks often leads to shortages and, consequently, high prices. Silo storage is limited to a few large modern feedmills, but capacities are less than 6 months' consumption.

While the demand for imported feed ingredients will continue into the next decade at a high rate, the ability of traditional supply sources to maintain exports poses a serious problem for planners in the feed milling industry. China, India and Indonesia are rapidly expanding their poultry and livestock industries, and the present surplus may disappear eventually. Thailand will continue to be Malaysia's most important supplier of basic feed raw materials, with feed grains constituting nearly 20 percent of all feedstuffs consumed in the country.

Currently, most of the imports are handled by commodity traders although large quantities are imported by the feedmills themselves. Retail of feed ingredients is widespread since it is estimated that close to 50 percent of all feeds used are mixed on the farm. General availability of most feed ingredients throughout peninsular Malaysia is good due to an efficient road transportation system.

The needs of aquaculture for feed ingredients will not have a noticeable impact on their overall supply in the foreseeable future.

4.1.3 Quality

Although an Animal Feeds Act regulating the manufacture and sale of compounded animal feed has been in force for almost two decades, there is still no regulation of feed raw materials. Quality standards of feedstuffs xvary with individual ingredients, their production methods and sources. Because the bulk of ingredients imported are for meeting the demand of a rather sophisticated feed milling industry, quality is generally good. Prices are fairly consistent with product quality and, for some items, pegged to those quality specifications most likely to vary, e.g., moisture levels for maize, and crude protein levels for fish meal. The larger feedmills maintain quality control laboratories to check on raw material quality and to monitor feed manufacturing processes. Involvement by the larger mills in commodity trading also has a positive effect in fostering the maintenance of consistency in quality of feed ingredients.

4.1.4 Potential for indigenous feed materials

As a country based largely on agricultural production, Malaysia is well positioned to increase its domestic output of feed ingredients, particularly feed grains and their by-products which, together, account for well over 50 percent of all feed ingredients consumed in the country.

The fish meal industry which went into large-scale production less than a decade ago, is expected to produce about 25 000 tonnes of the product in 1981, triple that in 1976. However, there are indications that production of this crucial item may be reaching its peak since fish reduction plants are now operating at half capacity on a year-round basis. On the other hand, the high cost of fuel may be limiting harvesting of trash fish, while at the same time making the reduction plants uneconomical to operate.

The Government agricultural research body, MARDI, has been actively studying the processing of trash fish into fish silage as a cheaper alternative to fish meal for use in feeding of conventional livestock. The Project is also planning similar studies to develop fish silage as a substitute for fish meal in aquaculture diets.

Slaughterhouse wastes, particularly fresh blood, are not being fully utilized as feed resources. The country's well regulated abbatoirs are suited for collection of such wastes in sufficient quantities to make their use in aquaculture feasible.

The food processing industry is potentially an important yet inexpensive source of feed raw materials. Canneries, breweries and distilleries produce an assortment of protein-rich waste products that have high feeding value for livestock and fish. A large soy product factory visited during the survey indicated regular production of large quantities of such material from sauce production, which awaits users. A large brewery visited also indicated availability of spent solids from the fermentation process that can be used as feed for both livestock and fish. Sludge from the country's massive palm oil industry is presently discarded and represents a major industrial pollutant. This sludge has high nutrient value and can be developed into a major raw material for compound feed manufacture.

4.1.5 Raw Feed Materials for Fish Feeding

All the feed ingredients listed in Table 1 are suitable for preparing fish diets.

Significant differences occur between conventional livestock and fish with respect to nutrient requirements and levels of tolerance for certain nutrients in the diet. Generally, fish have a higher requirement for protein, ranging from a low of 25 percent of the diet for certain warm water species, to a high of 45 percent for larvae of almost all species. This compares with a maximum of 25 percent for poultry and 20 percent for pigs. On the other hand, warm blooded animals have a high tolerance for dietary carbohydrate unlike fish, poikilotherms, which utilize carbohydrates poorly. Different requirements for dietary fatty acids have also been established for fish.

Therefore, when formulating diets for fish, using the ingredient list, one should be aware of these requirements and limitations. More will be said about fish diet formulation for the Project in the section concerning diet development.

4.2 Survey of the Feed Milling Industry

The feed milling industry of Malaysia is of rairly recent origin. Begun in 1960, it has grown into perhaps one of the biggest manufacturing industries in the country. There are at present about 70 feed mills throughout peninsular Malaysia, producing 500 000 tonnes of compounded feed annually. Half a dozen modern mills account for more than 50 percent of this output. Eighty percent of the imported raw feed materials are consumed by commercial mills and practically all production is for poultry and pigs.

Marketing of manufactured feed is conducted via four distribution channels. The first is direct sales by the manufacturer to the end user. This form of transaction involves sales to very large farms. More often, a retailer with no exclusive territorial rights handles sales to the farmer. This second form of product distribution is preferred by a mill that has its own distribution office or warehouse within the marketing area. Where the mill does not maintain a physical presence, it often appoints a local distributor who, in turn, sells the products through a network of retailers. A fourth product distribution channel is through an appointed agent with full sales franchise through its own network of distributors and retailers. Such an agent usually enjoys state-wide marketing rights. In view of heavy competition within the industry and with excellent road transportation systems within peninsular Malaysia, this latter marketing method, which incurs considerably higher overheads, is seldom in use now.

Feeds, both compound or raw ingredients, sold direct to farmers by mills or through retailers, are on credit terms, averaging 2 months deferred payment. Considering the longer growing period required for fish to reach marketable size, as compared to poultry and pigs, a fish farmer may need better payment terms.

4.2.1 Commercial diets for aquaculture

Evidently the concept of feeding farmed fish with commercially prepared feed is not new to the feed milling industry in Malaysia. A few years ago, Gold Coin Mills, the country's largest feed milling group, was approached by a small fish farm operator to manufacture a compound mash diet for him using the latter's own formulation. This custom-made diet was made in very small quantities for not more than 6 months when further orders were cancelled. According to an interview with the mill manager, the farmer cited high cost of feeding such a diet as the reason for the stoppage. The fish farm ceased operating soon after feed orders stopped.

Although the feed milling industry is equipped with machinery that can be easily modified for manufacturing dry, sinking-type pelleted fish feed, there is still no expertise within the industry for commercial production of such products. Existing equipment will have to be upgraded for fine grinding of ingredients, and proper selection of raw materials, as well as more stringent manufacturing procedures, will have to be adopted for production of products at high water stability. There is also no existing technology in the country for commercial production of either dry, floating-type, or moist and semi-moist pelleted feed. Development of the latter type feed can, however, be aided by traditional knowledge of noodle making.

While interest has been shown by the two leading feed milling concerns-Gold Coin Mills and Sin Heng Chan - in fish feed manufacture, the industry's general lack of knowledge and experience in aquaculture, plus an absence of immediate markets for compounded fish feed are discouraging factors in its decision to invest in development work on these products.

4.3 Fish Diet Development at Gelang Patah

Development of diets for fin fish and shrimp at Gelang Patah can be based on present knowledge of nutritional requirements of these species. Where such knowledge is not available, recommendations established for species with feeding habits similar to those proposed for culture can be used as guidelines for initial diet development work. Such work would involve formulation, preparation and testing of practical diets using feed ingredients commonly available.

A programme for development of least-cost diets, incorporating the concept of ingredient substitution according to ingredient availability, should also be included in the plans for continuing research in fish nutrition at the Project.

In view of the Government's intention to fully exploit the Project as a principal centre for research in fish nutrition and fish feed development, it is appropriate to briefly review the Project's physical facilities, equipment, technical manpower and supply logistics with respect to needs for carrying out such work.

4.3.1 Physical facilities

The Project consists of ponds, an administrative building, laboratories and workshops and staff residences on 20 hectares of reclaimed swampland. An entire building earmarked for the nutrition unit has been delineated for the installation of feed processing and chemical laboratory equipment (see Figure 1, Appendix). These physical facilities appear adequate to support the proposed activities relating to diet preparation and testing.

4.3.2 Equipment

At the time of the consultant's visit, diet preparation equipment consisted of only a hand-operated meat mincer which was being used to grind trash fish for feeding to sea bass fingerlings.

The presence of an already established feed milling industry capable of manufacturing dry pelleted feed, together with the availability of a broad range of conventional feed ingredients, justifies development work to be carried out by the Project on dry pelleted diets that can eventually be produced commercially. At the same time, the advantages of semi-moist feed for small-scale fish-farm operators who can produce such feed with simple kitchen utensils should not be overlooked. Production of semi-moist pellets can also benefit from wider use of trash fish (either fresh or in the form of fish silage) and inexpensive slaughterhouse waste.

For the preparation of dry pelleted feed, a laboratory model pelleting machine equipped for steam conditioning of mash prior to the pelleting process is desirable. The machine should come with 2.0 mm and 3.0 mm dies to provide the necessary flexibility for production of feed for fish of different age classes. Prior to acquisition of the pelleting machine, dry pellets may be made by drying semi-moist pellets prepared as described later. A small hammermill with a throughput of approximately 100 kg per hour will also be needed. It should be fitted with a fine mesh screen (1.0 mm screen hole diameter). Screen sizes of 1.5 mm and 2.0 mm should also be provided for pre-milling of certain coarse ingredients, e.g. feed grains. A 50-litre dough mixer will be sufficient to meet mixing needs for both dry and moist pellet production.

Semi-moist pelleted feed can be made by extrusion, using a motor driven meat grinder, after first making a dough with the feed ingredients. This dough should be a blend of the cooked (with water added) starchy components and a mixture consisting of the remaining ingredients. The extrusion device should be provided with 1.0 mm, 2.0 mm and 3.0 mm die sizes.

The Project is not presently equipped with laboratory equipment necessary for chemical analysis of feeds and fish. Diet development entails considerable chemical analysis work. Proximate analysis of feeds and fish, the latter at the close of experiments, is an integral part of nutrition experiments. A laboratory for such work should be provided with equipment for routine analysis of moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, and ash.

A recommended list of equipment for diet preparation and proximate analysis of fish and feed appear in Figure 1, Appendix.

4.3.3 Technical manpower

Currently the nutrition unit of the Project is manned by the counterpart staff and one laboratory technician. These staff have had little background in fish nutrition and diet making. More scientific and technical support staff will be required to carry out the programme of diet development. It is recommended that this increase in manpower be met by recruitment from local universities, agricultural research institutions, and from the feed industry if possible. Apart from graduates in fisheries science, graduates in biochemistry, animal nutrition or animal science will also be suitable for training in such work. Initially, an in-house short course conducted by an internationally recruited expert on fish nutrition and fish feed technology will be of great benefit in establishing a core of local scientists to conduct research at the Project. This expert can also help initiate some research and provide a work plan for continuance of such research. At the same time, a selected number of suitably qualified scientific personnel should be sent for specialized training in overseas institutions recognized for their leadership in the fields of fish nutrition and fish feed technology. Such staff, upon successful completion of their training, can then take on the dual responsibility of leading research and training at the Project.

4.3.4 Supply logistics

Feed ingredients for diet development work at the Project are readily available from commodity traders in the State capital situated only 25 km from Gelang Patah. Such materials are also available in smaller quantities from Gold Coin Mills located near the State capital.

4.3.5 Other activities

Tutorials were conducted by the author for counterpart staff on feed formulation and diet preparation basics. Concepts of least cost formulation of balanced diets were explained and methods for formulating diets to simultaneously satisfy multiple constraints (with respect to nutritional and ingredient specifications) were demonstrated. With their assistance, a semimoist diet was prepared using materials and equipment then available. This diet, consisting of a mixture of soybean meal, groundnut cake, rice bran, and fish meal, and balanced with respect to major nutrients but unsupplemented with vitamins and minerals, exhibited good water stability. When offered to sea bass fingerlings kept in cages in one of the ponds, the diet was readily accepted.

Other test diets formulated for sea bass, grouper and penaeid shrimp appear in the Appendix.

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Malaysia is heavily dependent on imported feed raw materials to support continuing expansion of an already large livestock industry. Despite this, the country's effort to increase aquaculture production will not be constrained by feed cost and availability. A buoyant economy plus traditional preference for fish in the national diet makes intensive culture of species such as the grouper and penaeid shrimp highly lucrative from a commercial standpoint. However, the country still lacks expertise in fish nutrition and fish feed technology. The domestic animal feed industry is technologically advanced and has shown interest in the Government's development plan for aquaculture. Commercial aquaculture in the country is limited to small cultures of grouper and shrimp. The former relies almost entirely on unpredictable supplies of trash fish and the latter on very expensive imported manufactured feed. Less expensive substitutes are needed to attract more investors into this lucrative type of farming. Development of diets based on locally available feed ingredients is desirable. Although it sees no incentive at the moment to involve itself in product development, there is little doubt that the feed industry can satisfactorily meet any future demand for compounded fish feed. In the meantime, fish diet development remains the task of Government fisheries institutions.

The Coastal Aquaculture Development Project has the basic facilities necessary and is suitably located for investigative work on fish nutrition and fish diet development. Substantial outlay for the acquisition of diet preparation and laboratory equipment listed in the Appendix is needed. Of equal urgency, however, is the recruitment of additional qualified scientific manpower to carry out such work. At least one graduate-level biologist with qualifications in biochemistry or nutrition will be required. A programme for in-house, as well as overseas, training for scientific staff is desirable. Diet development activities should be planned to meet the objectives as outlined in the Introduction of this report. Equipment recommended for purchase should be acquired at the earliest possible date so that tests can be made on diets that have been formulated. The Project should consider recruitment of an international expert to help in designing experiments and provide some in-house training for Project staff.

Appendix

Table 1. Malaysian Feedstuffs

Composition Table of Malaysian Feedstuffs¹

¹ Source: C. Devendra, MARDI, 1979. Prices obtained from feed mills visited.
² Nitrogen Free Extract
³ U.S.$1 = M.$2.35 (approx.)
⁴ No Price

Table 2. Oregon-type Moist Pellets for Sea Bass and Grouper

A. Dry mixture composition¹

B. Complete moist diet composition³

¹ The dry components of each of the two mixtures should first be finely groundand then thoroughly mixed.

² Content mg per gm premix: Thiamine-HC1, 2.0; riboflavin, 3.0; calciumpantothenate, 6.0; niacinamide, 12.0; pyridoxine-HC1, 2.0; folic acid, 0.5;choline chloride, 60.0; biotin, 0.2; vitamin B12, 0.1; ascorbic acid, 50;vitamin A, 500 IU; vitamin D₃, 25 IU; Vitamin E, 20 IU; and vitamin K, 0.5 mg

³ All components of each diet may be blended and passed through a meatgrinder. A second or third pass of the extruded pellets through thegrinder will produce a more homogenously mixed and better quality pellet.Because Oregon-type pellets do not undergo heat processing, shelf-life ofthese two diets is poor and will have to be stored under refrigeration ifheld overnight before feeding.

Table 3. Processed Moist Diets for Sea Bass and Grouper¹

¹ Ingredients marked with an asterisk (*) to be mixed with further additionof 10 parts water and cooked or steamed. The moist slurry is thenblended with the other ingredients that had been previously thoroughlymixed. The resultant dough is extruded through a meat grinder fittedwith a die of hole size of 1.0 mm for fry, 2.0 mm for fingerlings, and3.0 or 4.00 mm for big fish depending on size.

² See Footnote 2 of Table 2 for composition.

Table 4. Diets for Penaeid Shrimp¹

¹ These diets may either be prepared as dry pellets using a California-typepelleting machine, or they may be first prepared as semi-moist extrudedpellets and then dried. In the latter case, rice bran and phosphatecomponents (*) should be cooked or steamed after addition of 50 partsof water. Subsequent procedure for pellet making is as described infootnote 1 of Table 3.

² 0.7 g and up.

³ 4.0 g and up.

⁴ See footnote 2 in Table 2 for composition.

Figure 1

Recommended Equipment List for Establishment
of a Fish Nutrition Unit at Gelang Patah

Figure 2 Delineation of Floor Space in Nutrition Unit Building

(Solid lines: existing partitions)
(Broken lines: recommended partition)

Annex

Itinerary