A good start for fish larvae is not only crucial to health and development — it also impacts producer profitability.

Weaning on dry feeds with an unbalanced diet can result in deformities and high mortality rates. High-quality starter diets are therefore essential. Providing nutritional solutions for the specific needs of larvae in their most critical life stage benefits the fish during their entire lifecycle. Supporting the healthy development of all organs, including the skeleton, for an ideal start begins with optimal nutrition.

Extensive studies at the Alltech Coppens Aqua Centre have revealed the essentials for a weaning diet, which will significantly minimize deformations in sensitive fish species. This allows us to wean fish larvae with confidence knowing that the vast majority will fully develop into healthy fry without any abnormalities.

Three things producers look for in starter feeds:
High survival rate and minimal deformities
Optimal skeleton development as a foundation for future growth
High digestibility for optimal performance and water quality

Benefits for hatcheries and farms
By delivering nutrients in a way that can be handled easily by the maturing digestive tract of fresh water larvae, we can offer hatcheries more security when weaning freshwater larvae from Artemia onto a dry diet. Deformities can be scaled back to a minimum with a more even growth rate, thereby resulting in less frequent grading. The end results are healthy larvae and fry, more revenue, more efficiency and less work.

A new generation of starter diets
Alltech and Coppens International are working closely together to bring a new generation of fish feed to the marketplace. Coppens’ Essence, designed with Alltech’s Total Replacement Technology™ and gut health technologies containing Bioplex® and Bio-Mos®, reflects this approach.

Through highly bioavailable, organically bound trace elements, we can ensure optimal skeleton development with a special larval diet that can largely replace live Artemia. Essence also promotes optimal tissue development which reduces factors associated with deformity and low fry survival rates, making this feed truly unique. Due to its high digestibility and excellent performance, this starter diet is ideal for recirculation aquaculture system farming conditions.

Essence is tailored to the specific needs of the early life stage of many freshwater fish, such as cyprinids, pikeperch, catfish, tilapia and koi, which are characterized by many as living jewels.

For more information, please contact aquasolutions@Alltech.com or info@coppens.com