World Feeds, a UK manufacturer of animal feeds, has entered the aquaculture marketplace with new diets for lumpfish and wrasse.

The company that has been producing feeds for ornamental fish, steps into the aquaculture scene with Vita Aqua Feeds (VAF). VAF diets are targeted at one of salmon farming’s biggest issues, the control of sea lice. The company produces feed blocks that are produced using bespoke machinery, designed in-house. Cold-extrusion process is employed producing soft and malleable blocks that are highly digestible and attractive to the cleaner fish. Crucially, as the blocks maintain integrity in water for up to 24 hours, they encourage and facilitate natural grazing behavior, allowing the larger fish to satiate before the smaller fish take their turn. This subsequently leads to reduced aggression during feeding. The blocks are complete diets and require no refrigeration or mixing and have a two-year shelf life, massively reducing storage costs and preparation time.

The company has performed several trials in Scotland (Loch Duart) and Norway (GIFAS) that shows the effectiveness and benefits of the feed blocks when compared to other commercially available feeds. It was found that fish fed with VAF blocks maintained stable and controlled growth rates, negating the symptoms of artificially high growth rates. Improved efficacy is also achieved by reductions in cataract development. At the end of the trial period, there was a 77% reduction in cataract prevalence in lumpfish when compared with those fed with a pelleted diet. Studies also recorded improvements to general health and welfare.

The feeds can be employed in sea pens, flow through and recirculation systems and the company can also create tailored broodstock and larval diets for use in hatcheries. Feeding systems, manual and automatic feeding stations, are also available combining feed products with specially engineered delivery apparatus.

More information here.