Nutrition and Feeding of Fish

Aquaculture is more than a science in its infancy; it is now recognized as a viable and profitable enterprise worldwide. It will continue to grow and supply an increasingly larger percentage of fishery products consumed because the oceans are inadequately managed and their yield is unpredictable. Supply, price, and quality can be controlled more effectively when fish are cultured under managed conditions, like corn in a field. As aquaculture technology has evolved, there has been a trend toward higher yields and faster growth which has necessitated enhancing or replacing natural foods with prepared diets. In many aquaculture operations today, feed accounts for over half of the vari able operating cost. Feeding fish in their aqueous environment takes on dimensions beyond those considered in fee ding land animals; the nutrient requirements, feeding practices, and feeding environment are unique for fish. Knowledge on nutrition and practical feeding of fish is essential to successful aquaculture. This book is intended to be helpful to students, scientists, practic ing nutritionists, and aquaculturists. It covers the known nutrient requirements and deficiency effects for various fishes. It discusses nu trient sources and preparation of research and practical feeds. It gives direction for designing and conducting fish nutrition and feeding ex periments. Feeding practices for several commercially important fishes representing diverse culture systems (coldwater fish, warm water fish, crustaceans, pond cultures, and highly artificial cultures) are presented. One book, of course, cannot be all-encompassing in the area of fish nutrition and feeding.

1 The Concept of Feeding Fish.- Evolution of Aquaculture.- Necessity of Feeding Fish.- Comparison of Feeding Fish and Land Animals.- Fish Versus Farm Animals as Animal Protein in Human Diets.- Levels of Fish Culture.- 2 The Nutrients.- Energy Requirements and Sources.- Proteins and Amino Acids.- Vitamins.- Essential Lipids.- Minerals.- 3 Digestion and Metabolism.- Digestion.- Measuring Nutrient Digestibility in Fish.- Metabolism.- Rate of Metabolism (Oxygen Consumption) in Fish.- 4 Nonnutrient Diet Components.- Toxins and Antimetabolites.- Diet Additives.- Accidental Contaminants.- 5 Feed Formulation and Processing.- Formulating Fish Feeds.- Practical Feed Ingredients.- Processing Fish Feeds.- 6 Fish Feeding Experiments.- Controlled Environment Studies.- Practical Environment Studies.- 7 Practical Feeding - Channel Catfish.- Feeding Practices.- Nutritional Requirements of Channel Catfish.- Importance of Natural Foods in Catfish Ponds.- Effect of Fish Size on Feeding Responses.- Compensatory Growth in Channel Catfish.- Effects of Feed on Sensory Qualities of Processed Catfish.- Feeding Brood Fish.- 8 Practical Feeding-Tilapias.- Culture Practices.- Nutrient Requirements.- Feeds and Feeding.- 9 Practical Feeding-Salmon and Trout.- Types of Salmonid Culture.- Production of Seedstock.- General Culture Methods.- Nutrient Requirements.- Feed Formulation.- Feeding Practices.- 10 Practical Feeding-Penaeid Shrimps.- Culture Practices.- Nutrient Requirements.- Feeds and Feeding.- Practical Feeds.- 11 Practical Feeding-Eels.- Culture Methods.- Nutritional Requirements.- Feed Preparation.- Feeding Practices.- Daily Feeding Rate.- Research Needs.- 12 Practical Feeding-Crawfish.- Culture.- Feeding Behavior.- Providing Natural Foods for Crawfish.- Supplemental Feeding.- Nutrient Requirements.- Appendix A Composition of Feed Ingredients.- Appendix B Common and Scientific Names of Species.