Chapter 3
FEED FORMULATION FOR PENAEID SHRIMP, SEA BASS, GROUPER AND RABBITIFSH CULTURE IN MALAYSIA

by

Akio Kanazawa Consultant

1. INTRODUCTION

The Coastal Aquaculture Development Project was established at Gelang Patah, Johore Bahru, Malaysia by the Government of Malaysia and FAO/UNDP.

As part of the project operations FAO assigned Dr A. Kanazawa as consultant from 16 April to 15 May 1982 with the following terms of reference:

1. Advise on feed formulation for penaeid shrimp, sea bass, grouper and rabbitfish.

2. Recommend equipment required to make experimental diets.

3. Formulate a programme of research designed to develop the best diet possible for the local species.

4. Teach the national staff about nutrition through on-the-job training.

Mr Ismail bin Abu Hassa, chemist attached to the project of Coastal Aquaculture Development, was nominated as counterpart to the consultant.

2. SUGGESTION ON FEED FORMULATION FOR PENAEID SHRIMP, SEA BASS, GROUPER AND RABBITFISH

A number of feed milling industries for livestock have been established in Malaysia. Despite this, the evidence of feed milling commercially prepared diets for aquaculture is extremely limited. A high rate of imported feed ingredients into Malaysia, for fish culture, leads to a high price of feed. Also, the quality of feed products is not always good.

Five species of shrimp and fish, penaeid shrimp (Penaeus merguiensis and Penaeus monodon), sea bass (Lates calcarifer), grouper (Epinephelus tauvina), snapper (Lutianus johni) and rabbitfish (Siganus canaliculatus and Siganus javus), in the coastal waters of Malaysia were selected by the coastal Aquaculture Development Project for study with respect to their feeding requirements under intensive culture conditions. As precise knowledge on the nutrition of the five species is limited, the knowledge of research on nutritional requirements of milkfish and Tilapia is applied to develop substitute diets based on more readily available and less expensive feed ingredients that can be obtained locally. Diets formulated for penaeid shrimp, sea bass, grouper and rabbitfish are indicated in Tables 1–8 and Figure 1. Additional ingredients such as cholesterol, soybean lecithin, pollack liver oil, vitamin mixture, for preparing crustacean and fish diets were imported from Japan. Manufacturing processes suitable for preparing dry, moist or semimoist pelleted diets appear in Figure 2.

It is necessary to store raw feed materials and the compounded fish and shrimp feed at -5°C, to prevent fungal and insectal contamination. It is also desirable that the raw feed materials and compounded feeds are protected from light. Furthermore, the compounded feeds should be stored no longer than 2–3 months.

Supplement: Cholesterol, 0.5; Soybean lecithin, 3; Corn or soybean oil, 4; Pollack liver oil, 4

Pellet size: 2 × 10 mm

Water: 30%

# It is better to substitute wheat gluten M for Tapioca
(   ): % on formula diet and M$/Kg of formula diet
*
** See Tables 2 and 3

Pellet size: Young, 2 mm (d.m.); Adult, 5 mm (d.m.)
Water: 30%

** It is better to substitute wheat gluten M for Tapioca.
(    ): % on formula diet and M$/Kg of formula diet
* : See Table 5

* Table 5. Composition of Vitamin and Mineral Mixtures (Rabbitfish)

# : International Unit

# Table 6. Composition of Formula Diet for Grouper, Epinephelus tauvina, Snapper, Lutianus johni and Sea Bass, Lates calcarifer

* : See Table 7

# : International Unit

1. Trash fish (minced)

2. Trash fish + 0.2–0.5% Stanguard*

   May substitute 10–15% wheat gluten A for Stanguard

   + Stanguard
   Method A:Trash fish ---→ Mixture ---→ Mince ---→ Feeding

   + Stanguard
   Method B:Trash fish ---→ Mince ---→ Mixture ---→ Feeding

3. Moist pellet of formula diet#

   (55% moisture, sausage type) Keep in refrigerator
   Feed after cutting into 5–10 mm cubes of diet every day.
   It is better to substitute wheat gluten M for Tapioca.

4. Dry pellet of formula diet#

   (10% moisture)
   It is better to substitute wheat gluten M for Tapioca.

5. Formula diet# + Feeding stimulus (Amino acid mixture##)

Fig. 1. Type of Diet and Feeding Method for Sea Bass, Grouper and Snapper

If, at first, artificial pelleted diets are not acceptable to these species, it is necessary to slowly accustom the fish, from the trash fish feed, to the pelleted diet as shown in steps 1 ---→ 5 above.

* Stanguard: M$ 30/Kg; Taito-Fizer Co. Ltd., 2-1-1 Nishishinjuku,Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
# : See Table 6
## : See Table 8

Powdering of ingredients
↓
Mixing of powdered ingredients
↓
Mashing with water
↓
Pelleting
↓
Drying at 40–50°C
↓
Cooling
↓
Storage in refrigerator

Fig. 2. Manufacturing Process of Diets

Appendix 1

SPECIAL LECTURE ON FISH NUTRITION IN AN AQUACULTURE
COURSE AT THE BRACKISHWATER AQUACULTURE RESEARCH CENTRE

The consultant gave a lecture on fish nutrition in an Aquaculture Course at the Brackishwater Aquaculture Research Centre, the outline of which is as follows:

Fishes require from dietary sources some nutrients which are not synthesized from lower units in the body as well as in mammals and other animals. A deficiency of even a single essential nutrient may result in deficiency diseases, retardation of growth and high mortality. The lecture dealt with a review of the nutritional aspects on the essential amino acids, fatty acids, phospholipids and vitamins in fish.

Since a rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis, was found to be suitable live food for larvae of fish, the rearing technique of larval fish in the seed-production stage has made rapid progress. The mass culture of rotifer seemed to be successfully achieved by use of baker's yeast instead of Chlorella as a diet. However, the rotifers cultured with baker's yeast resulted in poor growth and high mortality of larval fish.

Recently, the nutritional value of live organisms for larval fish has been studied, but no notable differences were observed between the mineral, vitamin and protein qualities of yeast-rotifers and Chlorella-rotifers. It was concluded that the dietary value of yeast-rotifers for larval fish was inferior to that of Chlorella-rotifers mainly due to their lower level of w3 highly unsaturated fatty acids. This was especially so in the case of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5w3) which is one of the essential fatty acids for marine fish and shellfish. It was also demonstrated that w3 highly unsaturated fatty acids are required for the formation of the air bladder just after hatching. A deficiency of w3 highly unsaturated fatty acids at the larval stage leads to a malformation of the fish and consequently high larval mortality.

Appendix 2

PROGRAMME OF RESEARCH DESIGNED TO DEVELOP THE DIET
FOR THE LOCAL SPECIES

The knowledge on the nutrition of penaeid shrimp, sea bass, grouper and rabbitfish in Malaysia is limited. Therefore, much research is needed in the following areas to develop more efficient diets from locally available feed ingredients.

1. Amino acid, fatty acid and vitamin compositions on Malaysian feedstuffs.

2. Changes in the composition of feed and feedstuffs during storage.

3. Utilization of different kinds of diets (dry, moist and semi-moist) by penaeid shrimp, sea bass, grouper and rabbitfish.

4. Effect of different binders on the stability and leaching of nutrients in the aquatic diets which are made from local materials.

5. Effect of processing on the nutritive value of food for fishes and crustaceans.

6. Effect of feeding levels and stocking density on the growth, feed efficiency and survival of fingerling and adult fishes or juvenile and adult penaeid species.

7. Determination of gastric evacuation time and satiation meals for local species.

8. Digestion and absorption of local ingredients by juvenile or adult crustaceans, fingerling or adult fishes.

9. Use of antibiotics in fish and crustacean feeding trials.

10. Use of antioxidants in feeds.

11. Studies on the nutritional requirements of penaeid shrimp, sea bass, groupers and rabbitfish for proteins, amino acids, fatty acids, sterols, phospholipids, vitamins and minerals.

Appendix 3

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR DIET DEVELOPMENT

1. Drying oven

   Yamato Scientific Co. Ltd.
   Form DG-81
   US $ 1,000

2. Mixer

   Yanagiya Machinery Works Ltd.
   Type 30-K Standard H
   US $ 3,520

3. Pellet mill

   California Pellet Mill Co.
   Model CL Pellet Mill
   US $ 14,500

4. Pellet mill

   Hiraga Co. Ltd.
   Type Royal 22HR-1500
   US $ 1,000

5. Meat mincer : for raw trash fish

   Yanagiya Machinery Works Ltd.
   Type NHY-60
   US $ 7,600

6. Mashing Machine

   Yanagiya Machinery Works Ltd.
   Type 12-C
   US $ 5,000

7. Balances

8. Incubators

9. Muffle furnace

10. Kjeltec system: for protein analysis

11. Soxtec system: for lipid analysis

12. Fibertec system

13. Homogenizer

14. Mechanical stirrer

15. Rotary vaccum evaporator

16. Demineralizor: ion exchange water

17. Triple distilled water

18. Freeze dryer

19. Grinder

20. Blender

21. Sieves and sieve shakers

22. High speed mixer

Appendix 4

PROPOSALS FOR (A) ADDITIONAL TRAINING-STUDY TOUR
AND (B) COLLABORATION IN NUTRITION RESEARCH

(A) Programmes of overseas training (2–3 months) and study tours (2–3 weeks) for scientific staff on feed formulation and nutrition of fish and crustaceans in Malaysia are desirable.

Experts and laboratories dealing with feed formulation and nutrition of fish and crustaceans recommended for Malaysian scientists are as follows:

1. Dr C.B. Cowey
   Institute of Marine Biochemistry, N.E.R.C.
   St. Fittick's Road, Aberdeen, AB1 3EA
   UK

2. Dr H.J. Ceccaldi
   Station Marine d'Endoume et Centre d'Océanographie
   Université d'Aix-Marseille
   Rue de la Batterie-des-Lions, 13007 Marseille
   France

3. Dr D.E. Conklin
   Bodega Marine Laboratory
   P.O. Box 247, Bodega Bay, California 94923
   USA

4. Dr J.D. Castell
   Fisheries and Marine Service, Department of Environment
   Halifax Laboratory
   P.O. Box 429, Halifax, Nova Scotia
   Canada

5. Dr Takeshi Watanabe
   Tokyo University of Fisheries
   4–5–7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo
   Japan

(B) There is little knowledge concerning the nutrition of local Malaysian species, such as Penaeus merguiensis, sea bass, grouper and rabbitfish. Nutrition research for local crustaceans and fish is required in order to develop more efficient diets from locally available feedstuffs. To ensure the successful development of nutritional research in Malaysia, the collaboration of international nutrition experts is desirable. Recently, the project of collaboration between Faculty of Fisheries, University of Kagoshima, Japan and Coastal Aquaculture Development Project, Malaysia, on the nutritional requirements of Penaeus merguiensis for protein, fatty acids, sterols, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins has been established with the financial support of FAO/UNDP. It is to be hoped that this project will soon be put into operation.

Appendix 5

ITINERARY