METHODS OF FISH FEED MANUFACTURE

The basic steps in fish feed manufacture are grinding. Mixing, pelleting, cooling (or freezing); top
dressing, sacking and storing. Ingredients arrive in sacks and in bulk form. Once they arrive, they
should be examined for condition and dated. Drugs and medication should be segregated. Ingredients
must be properly stored to prevent contamination, moisture and pest damage. Each ingredient should
be used in sequence (FIFO-basis) in order to prevent deterioration associated with long storage.

Grinding: this is the first step of diet manufacture. Here ingredients are ground, reducing its particle
size, grinding increases surface area of ingredients thus facilitating mixing and pelleting and increasing
digestibility of the feedstuff. Various grinders can be used to reduce the particle size
(a) By impact e.g. hammer mill and attrition mill
(b) By crushing e.g. roller mill, rotary cutter and
(c) By cutting e.g. rotary cutter, roller mill and attrition mill
Particles are reduced to various sizes depending on the process by which the feed will be pelleted.
Generally, extrusion of semi-moist pellets requires a greater particle size reduction than do other
pelleting methods

Mixing: The second step of diet manufacture involves mixing the desired proportion of ingredients to
produce a homogenous blend. Micronutrients such as drug and carotenoid pigments are pre-mixed
separately before being mixed with other dietary ingredients. The mixing procedure should be done in
such a way that it results in a blend from which pellet can be products which contain the same
proportion of ingredients as the formulation. ingredients are generally added to the mixer in a pre-
determined sequence to ensure adequate mixing. Dry ingredients are first combined with dry premixes
added in the middle of the sequence. After sufficient mixing of the dry ingredients, liquid ingredients
are added and mixing continues. In the past, mixing is done manually with shovel on the floor with a
se number of turns per batch. Most mixing today is done mechanically by the use of batch or
continuous mixers. Types of mixer are;
• Horizontal ribbon mixer
• Vertical mixer
• Turbine mixer
For laboratory use, dough mixers are appropriate. Mixing micro-ingredients may require use of
specially designed mixer such as win-shell blenders to disperse the micro-ingredients in a carrier such
as α-cellulose. Mixing time is an important aspect of diet formulation. Under-mixing and over-mixing
are undesirable.

Pelleting: This involves converting homogenous blend of ingredients into durable particles having
physical characteristics that makes them suitable for feeding. Three types of pellets can be made;
compressed pellets, extruded dry pellets and semi-moist pellet

Production of compressed pellets

These are made by forcing the feed mixture which has been exposed to steam for about 5-25 seconds
to increase the temperature to about 850C and the moisture to about 16% through holes in a metal die
by action of a roller located inside the die. The combination of heat, moisture and pressure compresses
the mixture into a compressed pellet. Pellets’ quality is influenced by several factors such as fat level,
moisture and humidity. The fat level should be lower than 2-3% to lubricate the holes in the die and
to reduce dustiness and not higher than 8-10% to avoid excessive lubrication causing insufficient
compression of the feed mixture. Similarly, insufficient or excessive moisture in the feed mixture
reduces pellets hardiness. Pellets made with insufficient moisture are dry and crumbly while excessive
moisture results in soft pellets due to insufficient compression. Lubricating effects of fat and moisture
lower the effect of electric power required to operate a pellet mill and extend the operating life of a
die, when there is change in humidity, the pellets quality may be affected. To overcome this challenge,
the amount of steam to be added to feed must be adjusted or the amount of feed introduced into the
steam chamber must be adjusted, this will compensate for the changes in humidity. The addition of
steam improves pellet quality by wetting and softening the feed particles and therefore improving
compression and also increases the gelatinization of raw starch which helps bind the ingredients
together in the pellets.
Cooling. After manufacturing, the pellets are cooled and dried by passing them through a cooler-dryer.
Cool air is blown through the pellets which are spread thinly on a moving belt in a horizontal cooler.
A vertical cooler drops the hot pellets through a cooler tower. The pellets are hot (900C) when leaving
the pellet mill and this heat facilitate drying. Passage through the cooler dryer takes 5-15 minutes and
when the pellets leave the cooler dryer, they are a ambient temperature with 10% moisture. For
laboratory scale pelleting, cooling and drying can be achieved by spreading the pellets and blowing
air over them with a fan.

Production of extruded pellets

These are made in the same general way as compressed pellets but the use of different dies and physical
conditions results in a very different product. The temperature of the mixture is increased to 125-1500C
in a pressurized condition chambers and the moisture is increased to 20-24 %. This gelatinizes the
starch. The mixture is then worked into a dough-like consistency and forced through a die at a high
pressure. As the pellets leave the die, the reduction in pressure results in sudden expansion of water
vapour in the pellets causing air-pockets to form. After cooling and drying, the pellet density is such
that it floats or slowly sinks in water. Proper combination of ingredients to include starch and to limit
fat in the moisture produce water stable, hard pellets. In addition to modification of physical properties
of pellets, extrusion may cause both beneficial and detrimental changes in the nutritional properties of
the ingredients themselves. These changes include;
• Increasing starch digestibility
• Destroying antinutritional factors (ANFs)
• Increasing protein digestibility
• Reducing lysine digestibility
• Increasing ascorbic acid destruction
The fat level of the mixture greatly affects the pellet density so the level of fat must be reduced to
produce floating fish feed. After cooling and drying, the pellets can be top-dressed with fats without
causing them to sink in water

Production of semi-moist pellets

Soft moist pellets not requiring frozen storage because of anti-microbial agents are made either by
extrusion through a noodle machine or by compressed pelleting machine without subsequent drying
Modified noodle extruder is used to produce semi-moist pellets. By varying the moisture contents and
by a careful selection of ingredients with a binding activity, a stable moist pellet can be produced. The
mixture is not heated by steam before the extrusion rather the moist mixture is forced through a plate
with holes. The resulting noodles are cut into appropriate length by an extruder cutter as they leave
the die. After extrusion, the pellets are screened, quick frozen, sacked and stored.
Crumbling and Screening: Dry pellets are crumbled by passing the cooled dried pellets through a
corrugated roller of a crumblier. In a crumblier, one roller moves faster than the other. The objective
in crumbling is to maintain a high rate of smaller particle sizes without producing excessive number
of fines. This is controlled by adjusting the speed of a roller and the distance between them. The
crumbles are screened to appropriate feed sizes using shaking, vibrating screen

Top-dressing; This is process of spreading fat or oil or heat sensitive additives or nutrients along with
fat on to the pellet surface. Since fat level in a feed mixture must be limited to produce a satisfactory
dry pellet. About 45% fat can be sprayed in compressed pellets

Sacking & Storing: After pellets have been cooled, dried, crumbled, screened and top dressed, they
can be transferred to bins for storage or bagged. The dry pellets can be bagged or sacked and then
placed on pallets in a store not more than 10 sacks high. maximum storage time for pelleted feed
depends on many factors including types of pellets, storage conditions and the quality of dietary fat.
Generally, dry feed should be used with 90 day while moist feed must be used within 60 days. Longer
storage time could lead into nutrient loss or rancidity problems. Storage life of a feed can be reduced
by abusive condition. Dry feed should be kept in areas where temperature do no exceed 20-220C and
relative humidity below 75% for maximum storage life. At the time a stored feed is about to be used
the user must check for the presence of mould. If it is found, the feed should be discarded.

LARVAL DIET (MICROENCAPSULATED DIET)

Microparticulated diets are larval diets. They are very small and contain all the nutrients required by
larvae and have physical property to remain intact in water until being ingested. Manufacturing larval
feeds is much more difficult and time-consuming than manufacturing production feeds. This is due to
the extremely small size of the feed particles, the relatively undeveloped digestive system of the larvae,
and the needs for high palatability, water stability, and nutrient stability of the particles. The size of
larval feeds should be in the range of 5–150 μm for filter feeders and 40–700 μm for particle feeders.
These very small particles have very high surface area-to-volume ratios; hence the rate at which water-
soluble nutrients leach from the particles is rapid. A high nutrient stability, which means a slow
leaching rate, is difficult to achieve with micro-diets
There are majorly three types
Microencapsulated diet
Here colloidal or solution or suspension of dietary ingredients that have been pulverized into fine
particles are surrounded by a membrane that are non-toxic, impermeable and digestible once it enters
the gut of a larva. Microencapsulation is a process in which a material (the wall) surrounds and coats
another substance (the payload). Microencapsulated diet can be a complete diet or nutrients one wants
larvae to take such as vitamin, protein or specific fatty acids. Membrane materials used are nylon
protein, gelatin acasia. lipid, chitosan, glycopeptides and whole egg. Microcapsules can be separated
into two major categories: (1) impermeable and (2) controlled release. The Physical characteristics
important when evaluating microcapsules include (1) nutrient retention, (2) digestibility of capsule,
(3) payload capacity, and (4) survivability/durability. A primary goal of microencapsulation is to
reduce or eliminate nutrient leaching (high nutrient retention). Varying the fatty acid composition of
lipid-wall microcapsules can change the rate at which certain nutrient leach from the particle. The
molecular weight of the nutrient being carried by the microcapsule will affect the type of wall best
suited for that nutrient (Langdon 2000). The digestibility of the wall material of a microcapsule to a
particular species is important to assure nutrient availability (Hardy 1989). The wall may also be a
nutrient source as well. Some types of microcapsules, such as lipid-walled, have a very low payload
capacity, making them most valuable as micronutrient carriers (Villamar and Langdon 1993). The
survivability or durability of a microcapsule will determine which feed delivery systems can be used
and also how capsules can be used in different types of complex particles.
The double-emulsion method can also be used to produce lipid-walled microcapsules (Langdon et al.
1985). This technique involves emulsifying the aqueous payload in lipid wall material. A secondary
emulsion is then formed by placing the primary emulsion into an aqueous solution. Lipid particles that
are formed are removed and sized (Villamar and Langdon 1993). Different lipids used in the primary
emulsion will impart different characteristics to the final particles, such as nutrient stability and
particle durability.

Microbound diet
here binders such as agar gelatin, caragennan and alginates are used to hold micro-pulverized complete
diets together. All the dietary ingredients are mixed with a blender in a slurry and the slurry is dried
by free-drying or oven drying or drum drying. After drying the material is ground and screened to
appropriate particle size. Microbound feeds can be conveniently separated into two major classes:
crumbled and on-size feeds. These classes refer to the process used in the production of the feeds.
Crumbled feeds are produced by making a pellet, particle, or “cake” and then fracturing the feed into
smaller pieces that are sifted to the proper size. The on-size class of feeds does not require breaking
of feed to achieve the proper size; the particles of the correct size are produced directly. Not only does
this eliminate a production step, but also it creates different physical shapes of on-size feeds compared
to crumbled feeds.
Microcoated diet
These are made by coating microbound diets with a coating of cholesterol lecithin or modified corn
gluten or zein

Semi-purified Diets
This formulation contains all the nutrients needed to successfully raise most fish. Semi-purified diets
usually contain vitamin-free casein, gelatin, dextrin, fish oil, carbohydrate binders, a vitamin premix,
a mineral premix, and water. To make the diets, dry ingredients except gelatin are mixed and added to
the wet mix which include gelatin dissolved in hot water, choline chloride and fish oil. After further
mixing the blend is transferred o pans, cooled, cut into appropriate size lots and frozen. An alternate
method is to lower the water content to lower the water content to a level suitable for pelleting, then
pellet or extrude the mixture and dry the pellets. After drying, the pellet could be used as-is or crumbled
and screened o appropriate sizes for feeding.

Laboratory-sized compression pellet mills can also be used to pellet semi-purified diets, but care must
be taken to avoid heat generation, which causes the dies to plug. Diets suitable for conducting
requirement studies with crustacea are based on vitamin-free casein (Conklin et al. 1980) or crab
protein concentrate (Castell et al. 1989). Semi-purified diets are suitable for testing amino acid
requirement of fish or digestibility of feed ingredients.

Other protein sources have been used in place of casein and gelatin in semi-purified diet formulations,
specifically to produce amino acid-deficient diets. Whole-egg protein, wheat gluten, fish protein
concentrate, and semi-purified fish protein have specific applications in experiments in which casein
and gelatin are not appropriate protein sources.