What's Not Cookin? SA Hatchery Diet

In nature,  food is never cooked. 

Fish eat sushi,  raw algae or both.  

As you heat food,  compounds break down. Just a matter of time and temperature. 

Macronutrients

There are two classes of macronutrients. 

Proteins (and essential amino acids used to make proteins) and a source of calories.

If you don't give your fish enough macronutrients, they will quickly pass into the afterlife. 

Micronutrients

Micronutrients are compounds that fish require to grow, develop a strong immune system and reproduce.  Examples include ascorbic acid (vitamin C), folate (vitamin B),  minerals and metals such magnesium, iron, zinc and taurine selenium based compounds and antioxidants such as astaxanthin. 

What Happens When You Cook Your Food? 

The founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken did not get rich by selling us raw chicken and potatoes.  Toss both into fryer,  crank it up to 325 F,  add some seasoning and magic happens. 

You get your carbohydrates and most of your amino acids.  

But you don’t get astaxanthin,  ascorbic acid (Vitamin C),  folate (Vitamin B), Omega III and IV fatty acids.  

All these essential compounds start degrading at temperatures between 106 and 122 F.

Even worse,  Omega III and IV fatty acids are heated over 122 F, they get oxidized and converted into a toxin that can be harmful.

Are Commercial Hatchery Feed Cooked? 

Yes. 

Whether using quick sinking pelletized feeds, or floating/slow sinking extruded feeds,  all of our tested commercial hatchery feeds were cooked at temperatures exceeding 175 F. 

Our fish did not starve to death but many died of other causes (cancer &  infections) or had deformities or misbars or not enough yolk mass to keep them alive long enough be able to eat on their own. 

We found these feeds lack astaxanthin,  ascorbic acid (Vitamin C),  folate (Vitamin B), Omega III and IV fatty acids, taurine (an essential amino acid for larval fish development) and selenium based compounds.

What's Not Cookin?  SA Freshwater and Marine Hatchery Diet

Our base pellet comes from a cooked commercial hatchery feed that provides most of the macronutrient requirements for our fish.

At room temperature we add micronutrients back into the feed using all-natural algae and yeast derived sources.

Fish raised on our diet grow faster,  have stronger immune systems,  better color expression, higher fecundity and live longer.  

Don't get into a heated argument with Mother Nature. You will lose every time.