Floating Tilapia Finisher

Commercial tilapia feeds are generally available in three or four types with different nutrient specifications depending on life stage or fish size, i.e., pre-starter, starter, grower and finisher feeds.  For the Charoen Pokphand Group which is one of the largest industrial animal feeds manufacturer in the world, their tilapia feeds (used in many Asian countries) contains 35-40 percent protein for fish less than 10 g and 20-28 percent protein for fish >300 g (Table 19).  Least-cost programming is widely used for feed formulation and is dependent upon available ingredients and the nutritional requirements of the fish. For tilapia feeds in Asia, the carbohydrate/energy source is largely dependent on locally available feedstuffs.  Feed formulators should also consider formulating tilapia diets based on a digestible/available nutrient basis as more data from research becomes available for Nile tilapia.