October 16, 2014

Spanish researchers discover new natural fish feed

A new feed for farmed fish made from the small marine crustacean caprellid has been produced by a team of marine researchers at the University of Sevilla in Spain.

Foundation Descubre said in a statement it was the first time caprellids have been used as fish feed supplement for possible commercial use.

A patent has been registered for the new natural product, which has a high content of protein, omega-3 and calcium, it said.

Caprellids which, according to scientists, are not hard to obtain in big quantities, measure between 2 millimetres and 2 centimetres and are the exclusive diet of cuttlefish and some other cephalopods.

The processing of the natural feed involves freezing the caprellids at a temperature ranging between minus 20 and 80 degrees centigrades. They are finally lyophilised (dried by freezing in a high vacuum) at -50 °C for 24 hours or dried in an oven for one hour.

With water removed, the tiny crustaceans resemble dried shrimp and can be kept without any preservative for several years, according to José Manuel Guerra, an American scientist who helped with the patent registration.

It is "a simple and inexpensive process," Guerra stressed. 

The lyophilized caprellid has a surprise value-added, too, said Guerra: It can be used as a dietary supplement by athletes or protein-deficient people.