Spirulina - Fortunate thing for aqua feed

Spirulina Arthrospira is a planktonic blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria) found in warm water alkaline volcanic lakes and is rich in raw protein and seven major vitamins: A1, B1, B2, B6, B12 (one of the best natural sources for B12, although the bioavailability its B12 is in dispute by many researchers), C and E. It naturally contains beta-carotene, color enhancing pigments, and whole range of minerals. In addition, Spirulina has a 62% amino acid content and contains all essential fatty acids and eight amino acids required for complete nutrition.

Evidence as recent as 2007 shows even more proof as to the profound antioxidant properties of Spirulina. The primary species of Spirulina are Arthrospira platensis and Arthrospira maxima. Another species is Spirulina fusiformis; it is a freshwater alga as opposed to Marine/Saltwater species of the commonly harvested/aquacultured species noted earlier. It used to be classified as Spirulina platensis.

As noted, Spirulina has a soft cell wall made of complex sugars and protein, and is different from most other algae in that it is more easily digested.

In vitro studies suggest the unique polysaccharides of Spirulina enhance cell nucleus enzyme activity and DNA repair synthesis. This may be why several scientific studies, observing experimental cancers in animals, report high levels of suppression of several important types of cancer.

Ingredients for Spirulina enriched feed, Spirulina powder, Soy Flour, Whole Wheat flour, Brewers dried yeast, Corn Starch, Moringa powder, Omega 369 from veg source, vegetable oils and herbal extracts.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:

Min. Crude Protein- 55%

Min. Crude Fat- 4%

Max Crude Fiber- 3%

Max Moisture- 8%

1. Feeding spirulina will increase and give a more uniform growth rate for your fish.

2. Spirulina will improve the digestion of your fish; more nutrition is also extracted from the food as there are no indigestible components.

3. Spirulina will boost the immune system of the fish, it will also aid in the prevention of swollen abdomens due to blocked intestinal passages.

4. Spirulina will enhance the production of special enzymes that break down digested fats into energy rather than letting them build up in the fish's body.

5. It has been proven that spirulina will bring out the coloration of your fish better; this is due to the carotene pigments that are found in the Spirulina.

6. Increases and promotes more uniform growth rates when fed at the recommended .5-2.0% inclusion rate.

Spirulina improves the intestinal flora in fish by the breakdown of otherwise indigestible feed components, thereby extracting more nutrition from the feed. The same beneficial flora or bacteria produce vitamins and displace harmful which is why fish fed Spirulina have less intestinal compaction, a slimmer abdomen, and are more resistant to infection.

7. Stimulates the production of enzymes that transport fats within the fish's body. The fish utilized the fat to power growth instead of just storing it and becoming flabby.

8. Enhances color. The 5 ppt carotenoid pigments that are concentrated in Spirulina algae improve and intensify the coloration in fish. This is especially important for koi and goldfish for commanding a higher price in the marketplace. Chlorophyll and phycocyanin also enhance the skin colors.

9. Increases survival rates. Studies in Japan on marine yellowtail showed that fingerlings fed a ration of 0.5% (5 ppt) spirulina resulted in a significant gain in survival over the non-Spirulina fed group. Similar results were obtained from professional Discus fish breeders whom incorporate Spirulina powder into the diet for newborn Discus fry.

10. Lessens the usage of medication. Fish farmers have found that including Spirulina in the diet reduced the amount of medication or therapeutics that is normally required to treat sick fish. Spirulina also reduced toxicity of medications and may it have anti-viral properties. Most disease treatments on the market are "water baths" in which the fish must absorb the drug from the aquarium water. Unfortunately, the treatment water is often discharged down the drain into our environment and waterways.

We are producing high quality Spirulina and Our Spirulina production unit is at Marakkanam, TamilNadu, India. We had a plan of producing animal feed using Spirulina to improve the growth rate shrimp. We tried a research in our unit as we have more shrimp farms nearby our unit. During this study, we have taken three ponds as follows:

1. Pond A – with normal fish feed

2. Pond B - with fish feed + Spirulina Wet mass

3. Pond C - with fish feed + formulated with Spirulina dried powder

We provided the following resources equally for all three ponds. They are

• uniform aeration,

• consistent depth of the pond,

• uniform light source and

• water

The research was carried out with qualified persons and monitored the shrimp growth and population on regular intervals. The results are tabulated as follow:

 

Generally, Shrimp survivals and the growth rate is measured based on the dimension of the pond, stocking density, water quality and feedstocks. From the above-tabulated results.

The survival percentage of shrimp is better when we use spirulina wet mass than normal feed. But we have some drawbacks of using wet mass.ie., Wet mass can be used within one hour and cannot be stored for more than 2 hours. So, it can be used only in integrated ponds of spirulina and shrimp.

Moreover, it is crystal clear that the growth rate of shrimps are raised in pond C ie., spirulina formulated dried powder. We can find better results in color as well as the size of the shrimps due to the presence of Protein, Carbohydrate, Pigments, Vitamins, Minerals, Fats and SOD enzyme in Spirulina and also it is a cost effective one.