For the first time in Zimbabwe, fish farmers now have properly designed and manufactured fish feeds that guarantee proper growth and development of their fish!
Enter Aquafeeds Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company with Profeeds, the proven high performance feed specialists! Aquafeeds also offers free technical training and assistance to fish farmers, so help is always close by!
As the practice of aquaculture grows and evolves in Southern Africa, Aquafeeds was conceived to provide the missing link – supply of quality and performing fish feeds.
Aquafeeds is a specialist producer of premium quality feeds for fish and is based in Zimbabwe. The Aquafeeds fish feeds are available to the market via the extensive Profeeds branch network throughout Zimbabwe and for export regionally. As of this moment, Aquafeeds produces Tilapia (Bream) and Trout feeds.
The Aquafeeds Tilapia feeding program is designed to match the nutrient requirements of the fish at each of the different growth stages. The Aquafeeds tilapia feeds provide all the nutrients required by the fish for survival and optimal growth like amino acids, energy, fibre, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. Omega 3 fatty acids are an absolute requirement of the fish for good health but they are rare in nature. Naturally growing fish obtain their Omega 3 fatty acid requirement from the planktons that are abundant in the natural water bodies. All Aquafeeds Tilapia feeds are fortified with the appropriate Omega 3 fatty acids.
Tilapia are unable to digest the starch in maize that is why the feed undergoes an extrusion process under high temperature and pressure to aid their digestion process. Another important result of this process is that the feed expands and can now float on water. Tilapia feed throughout the water column so they are comfortable to come up during feeding. Floating pellets provide a good management tool to the farmer who can visualise when the fish are full during feeding to prevent wastage. When the fish are satiated they will stop feeding and the floating pellets will remain on the surface unlike sinking pellets which sink to the bottom and get washed away.
When used correctly under the ideal conditions of temperature, dissolved oxygen and water quality the Aquafeeds Tilapia feeding program is intended to grow the fish from start to harvest in approximately 6 months to an average weight of about 300g. The target Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) of the Aquafeeds Tilapia feeding program is 1.5 and below. The frequency of feeding is very important in aquaculture, the smaller the fish the higher the number of times of feeding in a day. Fingerlings are fed at least 8 times a day and mature fish at least 3 times a day.
An important point to remember is that the fish are only moved to the next stage of feeding after they have attained the threshold size to be able to swallow the bigger crumble/pellet. If the fish are seen nibbling on pellets, then they are not ready for that size of pellet.
To print a size guide for you Tilapia fish, please click on the link below:
Tilapia Fish Size Guide
More details on the feeds are available in store.
The Aquafeeds Tilapia Feed range includes
Starter 45%,
-
Juvenile1
-
Juvenile2, 36%
-
Grower 32%
-
Broodstock, 36%
-
Pond, 18%.
The feeds are packed in 10kg and 25kg bags.
Written by Raymond P. Murombedzi, +263 772 407 820, Profeeds Technical Field Officer, raymond@profeeds.co.zw.