Catfish Feed Ingredients

Catfish feed is comprised of a mixture of feedstuffs, because no single feed ingredient can provide all of the necessary nutrients for optimal growth and development. Essential nutrients for catfish include protein, lipids, energy, vitamins and minerals. The combination of ingredients in catfish feed maximizes the dietary significance of multiple feed components to meet nutritional needs. Additionally, the feed must be digestible and palatable.

  1. Protein

    • Meat and bone meal for catfish feed is made from rendered pork.

      Catfish need protein for tissue, muscle, enzyme, sperm, egg and hormone development. Fish meal is produced from dried, ground-up tissues of marine fish or fish cuttings from herring, white fish or menhaden. Fish meal has a protein content of 60 to 80 percent. Meat and bone meal is produced from rendered pork or beef tissues and contains roughly 50 percent crude protein. Blood meal is contrived from fresh, clean animal blood, contains 80 to 86 percent crude protein and is an exceptional source of lysine. A blend of meat, bone and blood meal supplies 60 to 65 percent protein and often replaces fish meal. Cottonseed meal has a protein content of 41 percent, but has deficient amounts of lysine. De-hulled soybean flakes are ground to produce soybean meal with a protein content of 48 percent. Poultry meal is produced by grinding up rendered poultry carcasses and contains 65 percent protein.

    Lipids

    • Poultry fat is used in catfish feed as a source of lipids.

      Catfish require lipids, which are fats, for cell membranes, tissue function and structure of the brain and eggs. Lipid sources are animal and plant oils and fats. Animal fat is a high source of energy and fundamental fatty acids. Beef tallow, poultry fat, catfish offal oil and menhaden fish oil is used in catfish feed as a source of fat. Plant oils are seldom used due to the expense.

    Energy

    • Corn is added to cafish feed as a source of energy.

      Energy supplements that contain less than 20 percent crude protein such as animal fat, fish oil, corn, corn screenings, rice bran, milo, wheat grain and middlings are generally added to catfish feed. Corn and corn screenings are mutually used as a source of energy. Rice bran is high in fiber and fat and only a limited amount is added. Milo is occasionally included as a substitute for corn because the energy value is similar. Wheat grain is used in moderation because of its pellet-binding property. Wheat middlings are sometimes utilized in place of corn, depending on the cost.

    Vitamins

    • Catfish require fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins to meet nutritional requirements. Fat-soluble vitamins regulate metabolism and water-soluble vitamins are responsible for energy transfer and generating energy from food. Vitamin supplements added to catfish feed include vitamins A, D, E, K, thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, nicotinic acid, biotin, folic acid, B-12, choline, inositol and ascorbic acid.

    Minerals

    • Macrominerals are needed for the structure of hard tissues, osmoregulation, acid-base balance and enzyme co-factors. Trace minerals help with thyroid function, cytochromes, antioxidant and enzyme co-factors. When four or five percent of animal protein is included in catfish feed, trace minerals are not compulsory. Most catfish feed contains a low amount of protein, so added minerals are required. Mineral supplements include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, sulfur, cobalt, iodine, zinc, selenium, manganese, iron and copper.