Fish Nutrition and Feed Technology (2+1)

Unit 11 - Different forms of feed

11.1.Different forms of feeds

There are two forms of feeds

• Dry feeds
• Non-dry feeds

Dry feeds
Dry feeds are generally made from dry ingredients or from mixtures of dry and moist ingredients. Generally dry feeds carry 10-12 % moisture depending on the environmental conditions.

The dry feed is classified in to two groups (1) Mashes/ Meals and (2) Pellets. The mashes/ meals refer to simple mixtures of dry ingredients. While the pellets refers to ingredients being compacted to give defined shape by a mechanical means. Depending on the formulation and compacting techniques they may be defined as floating and non-floating (sinking) pellets.

Non-dry feeds
The non-dry feeds are composed of two types (1) wet feeds and (2) moist feeds. The wet feeds are generally made from trash fish, slaughter house wastes etc. which contain 45-70% moisture. The moist feeds on the other hand are made from mixtures of wet and dry raw materials or from dry ingredients to which water is added. The moisture content ranges from 18-40%.