Growout feed composition

[Fishy Something]

Hi All,

My supplier of bulk growout feed has just decided that they will not supply to me any longer, claiming that they have only ever dealt on a wholesale level and the past five years have just been a mistake... :mad2:

Anyway, I have hunted down another supplier whose products are targetted the commercial fisheries, but will supply me & he got technical re the fat content of the various feeds he has on offer. Protein content is the same in each (about 40%), but fat content is significantly different, with one being 4% (a shrimp feed) & the other 10% (principal audience is barramundi...)!

Which is more apporpriate for my clowns?

Thanks

James

 

[StephenH]

I'm anxious to hear responses to this as well. To me, a key is to provide a variety of feeds, including some live/fresh stuff. At least once each day my clowns in growout get cyclopeze, live plankton, fish eggs or something exotic. However, its nice to be able to give them something which is inexpensive, easy-to-use, and locally available the rest of the day. Two of my staples are Nelson Silver Cup Salmon Starter (#1 size) and the standard Tetramin flake. I can pick these up at the local farm-and-feed store. The salmon starter is heavy-duty stuff with 54% protein and 15% fat. The cost is about $0.80/pound. The standard Tetramin is lighter fare with 46% protein and 8% fat. In the big bucket it's about $17/pound.

I believe that, in general, it is safer to feed young fish with a high-fat diet than adults. In food-fish aquaculture, they usually feed excessive amounts of fat to maximize growth and, in some cases, to make the product taste better. They are not too concerned with the long term health impacts as the fish are usually butchered before they reach adulthood. If your clowns start developing visceral fat deposits, then you know it is too much. I am particularly shy about giving broodstock too much fat so they see very little of the salmon food.

-steve hopkins

 

[Fishy Something]

Thanks StephenH,

Any other thoughts from anyone?

Cheers

James