Tilapia Diets Tilapia has been regarded in the past as a fish that is particularly suited for extensive aquaculture in third world countries, since it effectively consumes low quality feeds and animal manure. This image of tilapia is changing quickly and is now intensively produced for first world markets on an increasing scale. AQUANUTRO acknowledged this shift through the development of a complete range of optimally balanced high quality diets for the different life stages and production conditions of tilapia aquaculture

• Pre-starter
• Starter
• Grower
  • Grower (intensive)
  • Grower (semi-intensive)

	• Crude Protein, not less than 450 g/kg • Crude Fat, not less than 80 g/kg • Crude Fibre, not more than 40 g/kg • Calcium, not more than 30 g/kg • Phosphorous, not less than 7 g/kg

Tilapia pre-starter
Highly digestible hatchery crumbles that supports maximum growth rates of tilapia fry. Sieved to fit specific sizes of fry, allowing more feed to be consumed while maintaining water quality and reducing loss by dust fouling and leaching of expensive water-soluble nutrients.
 

	• Crude Protein, not less than 400 g/kg • Crude Fat, not less than 80 g/kg • Crude Fibre, not more than 40 g/kg • Calcium, not more than 30 g/kg • Phosphorous, not less than 7 g/kg

Tilapia Starter
After weaning fry from the hatchery to a grow-out system, feed conversion efficiency determines the economic viability of tilapia aquaculture – this continue with growing strong, healthy fingerlings on AQUANUTRO’s TILAPIA STARTER diet.
 

Tilapia Grower
Maximum growth of tilapia requires optimum amino acid concentration and balance of the feed. However, due to the high cost of these protein components in the diet, the optimum level of dietary protein does not necessarily lead to the most economical production of tilapia. The optimum diet for practical feeding of tilapia depends upon the culture system and level of production intensity. AQUANUTRO has developed grower diets suitable for both intensive, and semi-intensive culture systems:

	• Crude Protein, not less than 320 g/kg • Crude Fat, not less than 80 g/kg • Crude Fibre, not more than 50 g/kg • Calcium, not more than 30 g/kg • Phosphorous, not less than 7 g/kg

Grower (intensive)
Economic viability of tilapia production in the intensive arena depends on a high yield per unit water consumption, rapid growth rate and good feed conversion ratio. Because raceways cage-systems and closed recirculating systems do not contain natural sources of nutrients, AQUANUTRO developed GROWER (INTENSIVE) as a nutritionally complete, diet. It applies in ponds with production densities of more than 10 000 kg of tilapia/ hectare. Tilapia fed good quality commercial feeds will have appreciably more body fat than tilapia grown in naturally occurring nutrient sources. Therefore we took special care in balancing the ME:P ratio for optimum economic dress-out.

	• Crude Protein, not less than 250 g/kg • Crude Fat, not less than 40 g/kg • Crude Fibre, not more than 70 g/kg • Calcium, not more than 30 g/kg • Phosphorous, not less than 7 g/kg

Grower (semi-intensive)
Pond raised tilapia are very efficient consumers of naturally occurring nutrient-rich zoo- and phytoplankton in fertilized grow-out ponds. For these conditions AQUANUTRO’s GROWER (SEMI-INTENSIVE) is the choice. It contains more energy relative to protein than grower diets for intensive conditions - we have reduced the protein concentration to 25% for optimum economic efficiency.