Improves daily weight gains, enhances meat quality, strengthens native immunity ! Growfeed
Evaluation of the improved growth and survival rates through the addition of Growfeed Aqua to formula feed.
Weight gain, feed efficiency, protein efficiency ratio, specific growth rate, hepatic somatic index (except for the experiment on shrimps), survival rate
- Initial weight : 1 ± 0.01g
- Water temperature : 26 ± 1℃
- Oxygen > 5mg/L
- 5 experimental groups (3 repetitions) - Diet 1 (control, 0% of Growfeed Aqua), Diet 2 (0.3% of Growfeed Aqua), Diet 3 (0.6% of Growfeed Aqua), Diet 4 (1.2% of Growfeed Aqua), Diet 5 (2.4% of Growfeed Aqua)
- Experimental period : eight weeks
Table 1. Composition of the experimental diets (%)
| Ingredients | Diet 1 | Diet 2 | Diet 3 | Diet 4 | Diet 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish meal, Dehulled soybean meal, Wheat flour, Soybean oil, Fish oil, Vitamin premix, Mineral premix | |||||
| Cellulose | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0 |
| Growfeed Aqua | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.4 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
- Initial weight : 1 ± 0.01g
- Water temperature : 26 ± 1℃
- Oxygen > 5mg/L
- Salt : 33 ± 1ppt
- 5 experimental groups (3 repetitions) - Diet 1 (control, 0% of Growfeed Aqua), Diet 2 (0.3% of Growfeed Aqua), Diet 3 (0.6% of Growfeed Aqua), Diet 4 (1.2% of Growfeed Aqua), Diet 5 (2.4% of Growfeed Aqua)
- Experimental period : eight weeks
Table 2. Composition of the experimental diets (%)
| Ingredients | Diet 1 | Diet 2 | Diet 3 | Diet 4 | Diet 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish meal, Dehulled soybean meal, Squid liver powder wheat gluten meal, Wheat flour, Soybean oil, Fish oil, Vitamin premix, Mineral premix | |||||
| Cellulose | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0 |
| Growfeed Aqua | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.4 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Experiment 1 / tilapia
| Treatment | WG | FE | SGR | PER | Survival | RBC | Hb | HCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (0%) | 549.2b | 79.5c | 0.101b | 3.34c | 100 | 1.80ab | 6.46ab | 24.7ab |
| 2 (0.3%) | 582.8ab | 85.0ab | 0.101ab | 3.53ab | 100 | 1.81ab | 6.70ab | 24.2ab |
| 3 (0.6%) | 589.2ab | 84.4ab | 0.102ab | 3.58ab | 100 | 2.36a | 8.40a | 31.4a |
| 4 (1.2%) | 608.3a | 86.4a | 0.102a | 3.70a | 97.3 | 1.91ab | 6.83ab | 25.8ab |
| 5 (2.4%) | 586.3ab | 82.8bc | 0.102ab | 3.56bc | 98.7 | 1.51b | 5.30b | 21.0b |
| Pooled SEM | 11.7 | 1.04 | 0.004 | 0.07 | 0.42 | 0.11 | 0.42 | 1.46 |
Experiment 2 / whiteleg shrimp
| Treatment | WG | FE | SGR | PER | Survival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (0%) | 413.7c | 30.1b | 2.37c | 0.67b | 76.7 |
| 2 (0.3%) | 424.2bc | 32.3b | 2.38bc | 0.72b | 86.7 |
| 3 (0.6%) | 494.3ab | 30.2b | 2.53ab | 0.68b | 76.7 |
| 4 (1.2%) | 611.8a | 39.5a | 2.84a | 0.88a | 83.3 |
| 5 (2.4%) | 628.2a | 37.8a | 2.84a | 0.84a | 71.6 |
| Pooled SEM | 28.0 | 1.0 | 0.06 | 0.02 | 2.6 |
Experiment 1 / tilapia
Experiment 2 / whiteleg shrimp
Experiment of survival ratio by water improvement
Added 0.25g/L of Growfeed Aqua
Added 0.5g/L of Growfeed Aqua
Ammonia removing effect inside the water
Effect of reducing the ammonia accumulation
Fig. 1 Change in dissolved oxygen in the halibut feeding tank
The improvement effect is distinct as it was the highest in the experiment groups
Fig. 2 Change in phosphate in the halibut feeding tank
The effect is verified as the phosphate reduction effect was the highest in the experiment groups
Fig. 3 Change in ammonia concentration in the halibut feeding tank
It was clearly reduced in the experimental groups than in the group where calcium carbonate was added
Fig. 4 Turbidity in the halibut feeding tank
The turbidity was the highest in the group where calcium carbonate was added and it was clearly improved in the experimental groups
Fig. 5 RBC count of halibut after 8 weeks (n=10)
It was high in the experimental group where 1% of Growfeed Aqua was added
Fig. 6 WBC count of halibut after 8 weeks (n=10)
It was high in the experimental group where 1% of Growfeed Aqua was added
Fig. 7 Lysozyme activity in the blood of halibut after 8 weeks
It was high in the experimental group where 1% of Growfeed Aqua was added
Fig. 8 Chemical luminance (CL) reaction in halibut after 8 weeks
CL pask size appeared with lysozyme stimulus is used for the data. The immunity power of Growfeed Aqua is activated in the CL reaction which is the index for immunity
The experiment results for the white blood cells and lysozyme activity which are indicators of fish immunity system, showed significent differences in every species except for the whiteleg shrimps (for which blood analysis is impossible). The effects were better when the feed was placed in the water tank. However, the use of only calcium carbonate showed peculiar results : the immunity effect was decreased even through the nitrous acid reduction effect was observed.
The ammonia and phosphate reduction effects were observed in every species. The effects were increased when the feed was placed in the water tank. In particular, the halibuts and whiteleg shrimps showed the excellent effects when Growfeed Aqua was used alone which is a encouraging result.
The quantity of dissolved oxygen is increased remarkably for seawater fish such as halibut and whiteleg shrimp. Therefore, the effects will be greater with seawater fish and it would be appropriate to use Growfeed Aqua for medicinal purpose.
When calcium carbonate was used, the turbidity was generally increased so much that it was difficult to see what was happening inside the water tank. On the other hand, Growfeed Aqua created a clean environment in the water tank by absorbing the suspended solids and made it possible to see what was happening inside the water tank even if the water tank was darkened as needed.
The feed efficiency of the formula feed for fish was improved as the environment in the water tank was improved, the stress of fish was reduced, and a comfortable environment for fish was created by Growfeed Aqua. The weight gain effect can be better demonstrated through tests in a fish farm rather than through a feeding experiment.
Growfeed Aqua is useful for feeding fish in healthy and clean ways as it improves the water quality and enhances the immunity for various species of farmed fish. Differences of the effects among the species appears to be influenced by the amount of bodily waste and the feeding environment. Future studies are needed to investigate the effects of the unique immunity improvement of Growfeed Aqua on fish diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms.
