Impact of Fish Feed Formulated with Microalgae Biomass in Experimental Tanks with (Oreochromis Niloticus) Tilapia Culture

Research Article

Austin Biol 2024; 4(1): 1029.

Impact of Fish Feed Formulated with Microalgae Biomass in Experimental Tanks with (Oreochromis Niloticus) Tilapia Culture

Amira Jacqueline Maldonado Ortiz¹; Sanghamitra Khandual¹*; Felipe de Jesús Bonilla Ahumada¹; Jorge Alberto García Fajardo¹; Rosa Maria Camacho Ruiz¹; Antia Ivett Alvarez Bernabe²

1The Center for Research and Assistance in Technology and Design of the State of Jalisco, AC (CIATEJ), México

2Instituto Tecnológico Superior De Misantla, Tecnológico Nacional de México-Campus Misantla, Veracruz, México

*Corresponding author: Sanghamitra Khandual The Center for Research and Assistance in Technology and Design of the State of Jalisco, AC (CIATEJ), Av. Normalities 800, Colinas de La Normal, 44270 Guadalajara, Jal., México. Email: mita@ciatej.mx

Received: February 23, 2024 Accepted: March 29, 2024 Published: April 05, 2024

Abstract

This project aims to evaluate a fish feed developed in CIATEJ with little modification, which included algal biomass and vegetal protein. This product was tested at the laboratory scale and the pilot-scale upscaling was needed for use with impact assessment studies in real ambient conditions. This food has antioxidant capacity due to the inclusion of microalgae. Additionally, it is nutritionally balanced with plant-based protein sources, partially replacing fishmeal. The feed, compared to commercial feed, has a higher protein content (5%) and lower fat content (3%). Evaluating this feed was of great importance to corroborate its consumption, which can reduce oxidative stress, reduce water contamination, and improve the growth rate and quality of the meat in fish.

FCR values of almost 1 were reported here, indicating the more efficient utilization of formulated feed by Oreochromis niloticus. The main component of tilapia meat was moisture 74.31%, followed by protein 14.44%, lipids 6.24%, carbohydrates 0.10%, fibre 1.39%, and ash 3.62%. in experimental feed. In our results in fish filate, we found a 12% increase in protein percentage and a 29% decrease in fat percentage compared to the commercial feed, as expected from the higher protein and lower fat formulated feed. The amount of protein increment in fish filet we achieved in 2 months, the experimental diets significantly influenced the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids at 2.4% while saturated fatty acids were 1.3%. Omega 6 and Omega 9 were 2.33% and 1.73% respectively. The polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid ratio was also higher.

Keywords: Fish-feed; Formulation; Tilapia; Microalgae; Extrusion.

Introduction

As aquaculture is the fastest-growing sector of the food industry in 2019, it was expected to be valued at US$ 31.94 billion (https:// www.marketwatch.com) with a growth rate of more than 7.1% between 2020 and 2027. Increased human consumption and health safety factors are now driving forces of the growth of the aquaculture industry. Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), is the second-largest farmed fish in the world. Fish meals are commonly used as a source of nutrients for fish and shrimp in aquaculture systems [1]. However, demand and supply are a problem now due to high volatility in the global market for fish meals and also security in the aquaculture sector [2,3]. This fact, combined with the scarcity and high market price of fishmeal, has encouraged research to replace fish meal with alternative vegetable protein sources [4]. Aquafeed accounts for at least 75–90% of aquaculture’s operating costs. Microalgae based aquafeed is not only environmentally friendly, but it can also be cost-effective with proper optimization of the wastewater use from the same aquaculture industry. Another problem is the water stability of the fish feed, which generates large amounts of waste with high nitrogen content and, when not properly processed, can be deposited in the environment, generating pollutants. This nutrient-rich water can be used for microalgae culture for biomass generation for sustainable aquaculture practices, new protein source generation and increasing water stability in fish feed another important research criteria to avoid this contamination problem. Several previous studies demonstrated that microalgae-based feeds can enhance fish growth and nutritional quality [5] Some algal species like Nannochloropsis sp. and Isochrysis sp. were reported to be used to substitute fish meals in the diet of Oncorhynchus mykiss, and Isochrysis sp. was found efficient for crude proteins, amino acids, lipids, and fatty acids enhancement [6]. Supplementing animal feed with algae enriches livestock products with bioactive components with growth and weight gain, decreases feed consumption, increases immunological response, resistance to illness, and antibacterial and antiviral activity which is more important like less pathogenic attacks and less water contamination [7]. The rapid growth of the algal biotechnology and algal biomass-producing industries at a global scale has driven significant advances in the algal bio-economy and turned algae into an efficient ‘cell factory’ for food production [7].

However, there are very few complete fish feed formulations with microalgae biomass in the market available yet, although some formulations for feed supplements for ornamental fish is available as commercial products. The cost of microalgal feed remains a key factor for this and is higher than that of conventional feed. Here we tried to evaluate a fish feed formulated with a lower percentage of microalgae biomass inclusion, like 3% which will not contribute towards much cost increment and impact assessment done for 60 days with Oreochromis niloticus (TILAPIA) in true experimental conditions. Oreochromis Niloticus (tilapia) is a widely cultivated and highly demanded commercial species in Mexico and its impact at small-scale algal protein use will enhance future industrial-scale use in Mexico. Apart from that, this composition has better water stability properties which can reduce water contamination problems at large-scale use.

Methodology

Feed Processing by Extrusion

The formulation of feed was done according to the previous method [8] with 40% humidity, and the conditions of the extrusion were fixed with temperatures 60-80°C (inlet-outlet) at the University of Michoacan. First, we mix the powders with a mixer (Figure 1A), then an extrusion (Figure 1B), with nozzle output of 1.8 millimeters and 2mm cuts to have pellets size 2- 3 mm in size (Figure 1C.). We collected the products and used an oven to dry the products at 65 degrees centigrade for 4 hours and then at 40 degrees for 12 hours to dry maximum moisture from the samples (Figure 1D). Then we carried out a physicochemical analysis and nutritional and microbiological analysis of the feed.