Thursday, October 24, 2019

Vita Aqua Feeds: Pioneering feed block diets for cleaner fish

by Nigel Dawson, World Feeds Limited, UK

UK-based feed manufacturer, World Feeds Limited, has specialised in aquatic nutrition since it’s inception in 2004. The company have been producing unique, complete diets for captive fish in some of the largest public aquariums in the world ever since - they are the only supplier in the world that has been able to do this.

August 2019 saw them bringing their years of perfecting tailored fish feeds into aquaculture with new feed block diets targeted at cleaner fish and the control of sea lice.
 


The company operate on the simple premise of improving the way fish are fed, and it is this core ethos that has driven their global success. Their products feed hundreds of thousands of fish worldwide, whether they inhabit a 45 million-litre marine exhibit or a 30-litre goldfish tank.

With the launch of their aquaculture range, Vita Aqua Feeds (VAF), they are extending the reach of their nutritional expertise to benefit fish farms around the world. VAF provides a potent combination of high quality, highly digestible feeds and innovative feeding stations designed to deliver the nutrition in the most practical and efficient way possible.

It’s what’s inside that counts
World Feeds’ Founder and Technical Director Mark Wilson comes from a rich history in ornamental aquaculture, including conservation and breeding programmes and was involved in the development of one of the world’s first commercial clownfish hatcheries using 100 percent recirculation technology.

His research led to a situation that deeply concerned him – food available on the market at that time was not fulfilling the nutritional requirements of an increasingly diverse range of species.

“The increasing variety of species that were becoming available all had varied dietary needs, and these were not being met with the catch-all approach of the food produced at the time” explains Wilson.

He brought together a team of fish experts, nutritional scientists and engineers in order to provide a better standard of nutrition for fish in captivity. Using carefully selected, sustainably sourced dietary components, each feed is formulated specifically to target the refined dietary requirements of the species it is intended for.

 The feeds themselves are produced on bespoke machinery designed by the company’s in-house engineering team, employing cold-extrusion processes that allow the ingredients to retain their nutritional integrity.

Overcoming the limitations of existing technology, this creates unique soft, malleable feeds that can be presented in a variety of practical ways for the fish to take advantage of - benefitting both fish and user.

Read the full article, HERE.


The Aquaculturists

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