Tiger Shrimp Feed: Types, Nutritional Content, and Benefits

Hello Mister / Ms Shooters! Do you know that food is the main component needed by tiger prawns to grow quickly? In order to make the tiger prawns grow healthily and quickly, the tiger prawn feed must contain a balanced nutritional composition. In addition, the types of feed that you choose also greatly affect the growth of tiger prawns. So, what is the nutritional composition of the balanced feed and the type of feed that is good for the growth of tiger prawns? Come on, read the full article below!

The Nutrients Needed by Tiger Prawns to Grow Faster

The best tiger prawn feed is feed that contains essential nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, and fat. All these nutrients have their respective roles in supporting the growth and development of shrimp. Come on, discuss one by one the benefits of these nutrients!

1. Proteins
   A good tiger prawn feed should contain at least 30-55% protein. Protein content must indeed be more dominant than other nutritional content. Tiger prawns need protein as their main energy source because protein is easier to digest than carbohydrates.
2. Carbohydrate
   The amount of carbohydrates needed in tiger prawn feed is relatively small, which is only around 20%. This is because carbohydrates are not the main energy source for shrimp. In the growth of shrimp, carbohydrates only function as a substance forming chitin or substances that help form shrimp shells. 
3. Mineral
   In tiger prawn feed, minerals can help increase the growth of tiger prawns. Minerals can also help metabolic processes, transport oxygen, and circulate it throughout the shrimp's body.
4. Vitamin
   Tiger prawns need vitamins to help the pigmentation process, accelerate growth, and increase endurance. If the shrimp's vitamin needs are fulfilled, the shrimp will have strong resistance to disease.
5. Fat
   In addition to protein, tiger prawn feed is also recommended to contain relatively high fat. Fat serves as a source of energy, especially in helping the process of absorption of calcium and vitamins.

Types of Tiger Shrimp Feed

1. Natural Feed

Natural feed for tiger prawns is feed made from natural ingredients without chemical ingredients in it. The use of organic feed will save more on feed costs. However, shrimp that eat organic feed will grow relatively slower than shrimp that eat artificial feed. You can make your own organic feed by mixing ingredients that are rich in nutrients for tiger prawns. Come on, get to know the ingredients that are usually used as a mixture of tiger shrimp organic feed!

• Phromina Suppa
  

  

  Phronima Suppa is one of a kind micro crustacean that live naturally in certain pond waters. Phronima Suppa is rich in nutrients that are useful for building the tiger prawn immune system. Besides being beneficial for shrimp, the existence of Phromina Suppa can also improve the structure of the pond soil. Phronima Suppa is a type of natural shrimp feed containing 15.2% water, 30.26% ash, 38.74% protein, 23.58% fat and 12.22% crude fiber.

• Bran
  

  

  Bran is a type of natural feed for tiger prawns which is very good for accelerating growth because it contains 18% protein, 66% carbohydrates, and 7% fat. Bran is suitable for use as additional feed for tiger prawns when they are 3 months old. To provide more nutrition for tiger prawns, you can mix bran with snails, chopped fish, clams, crabs or snails.
  

• Mosquito Frog
  

  

  One type of food for tiger prawns to grow up fast is mosquito larvae. Although easy to obtain and cheap, mosquito larvae contain high nutrition consisting of 15.58% protein, fat, 3.46% fiber, and 1.4% ash. However, you cannot just use mosquito larvae. Before giving mosquito larvae to tiger prawns, you should sort them first and don't give mosquito larvae that have become pupae/cocoons. To get mosquito larvae, you can take them from puddles, ditches, or lakes. Mosquito larvae can also be found in feed stores or at e-commerce.
• Plankton
  

  

  Plankton is a natural food for tiger prawns that can be found in shrimp ponds. To trigger the growth of plankton in the pond, you can sprinkle TSP, manure and urea fertilizer on the shrimp pond. In tiger prawn cultivation, there are 2 types of plankton which are very beneficial for shrimp growth, namely phytoplankton and zooplankton. Phytoplankton is useful for increasing the production of dissolved oxygen (DO) in pond water. Meanwhile, zooplankton is the plankton used as natural food for tiger shrimp, especially in the early phases of tiger shrimp life.

2. Artificial Feed

Artificial feed is feed whose ingredients are not directly taken from nature. The nutrients in artificial feed have been adjusted by feed experts to support the growth of tiger prawns. Artificial feed is considered faster to grow shrimp because it contains additional ingredients and more complete nutrition than homemade feed. Artificial feed can also make it easier for you to cultivate because this type of feed is very practical to use. Come on, get to know more about the types of artificial feed that are good for tiger prawns!

• Flour
  This type of feed is usually used for tiger prawn fry that are under 15 days old because they are very delicate and contain balanced nutrition. At that age, tiger prawn fry have a small mouth shape and a digestive system that is not strong enough to digest larger foods. The provision of flour feed also aims to make the nutrient absorption process run better, so that the growth of tiger prawns can occur optimally.

• Granule/Crumble
  This feed, which is larger in shape than flour, is given to tiger prawn fry in the age range of 16-45 days. Granules are made from coagulation of flour type feed with added nutrition. Granules can also be regarded as feed produced from the process of destroying pellet type feeds to create a smaller size.

• Pellets
  Pellets are given to tiger prawn fry that are 46-120 days old or until they enter the harvest period. Pellets have a more complex nutritional content and can make tiger prawns have a better weight until harvest time arrives. As it grows, giving pellets increases to 5-6 times a day. The amount used is 50% of tiger prawn weight at the beginning of growth and decreases to 3% just before harvest.

Tiger Shrimp Feed Management

The most important thing in triggering the growth of tiger prawns is feeding properly and regularly. Tiger prawns can be given natural or artificial feed as described above. For tiger prawns that are still in the form of seeds, feed in the form of pellets can be given 4-6 times a day as much as 15-20% of body weight. As for adult tiger prawns, feed is given 2 times a day in the morning and evening as much as 5-10% of body weight. If necessary, feed can be mixed with vitamins or supplements that can help the development of shrimp.

Accelerate Tiger Shrimp Harvesting Cycle with eFeeder 5

When viewed from the nutritional content and practicality, artificial feed in the form of flour, granules and pellets is superior to natural feed which must be mixed by yourself. Artificial feed that has been formulated in such a way by nutritionists contains nutrients that can speed up the harvest cycle. To further accelerate the harvest cycle, in addition to choosing the right type of feed, the method of administration must also be considered. Therefore, eFishery offer eFeeders 5 to optimize feeding.