Overview :
The mineral supplementation has been a major concern in low saline shrimp farms as many farmers are not aware of applying the actual quantity of mineral supplements to the pond waters and also there is no information on the actual release of minerals from commercial mineral supplements into the water phase.
Low saline waters require supplementation of minerals to achieve desired productivity. Minerals maintain acid–base balance and are important in osmoregulation. Among major minerals, calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) are considered to be very important for moulting and new shell formation. Mineral requirements for shrimp farming In addition to basic water quality parameters, the mineral profile of water is important in P.vannamei culture. Actual mineral requirement is difficult to quantify due to the variability in the ionic profiles of pond waters. The bioavailability of minerals will be a function of their concentration in water. In general, levels of minerals in pond water has to be more or less similar to the levels in seawater diluted to the same salinity. Improper ratios of minerals in water lead to osmotic stress which has a cascading effect on growth and survival of shrimp.
Read More
Both macro and micro minerals are essential for aquatic species, fish and shrimp. Shrimp requires water with a specific concentration range of the major anions (bicarbonate, carbonate, sulphate and chloride) and major cations calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and sodium (Na) to perform the metabolic and physiological activities. Minerals are essential components of bones, teeth and exoskeleton. Mineral supplementation through water in order to maintain optimum concentration of minerals and ionic balance by modifications in mineral supplementation through water and diets is possible. Essential micronutrients in a specified form for sustainable aquaculture with a complex mixture of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, pH regulators, growth promoters and essential amino acids leads to:
- Balance the ration of essential minerals in pond water
- Regularize the osmoregulation process
- Maximize production and optimize food conversion ratio (FCR)
- Helps to grow planktons and useful microelements for fish and shrimps
- Develops immunity to fight against the harmful pathogen of shrimps and fishes
- Better digestion and regulates the blood pH for higher enzymatic activity
Chelated Minerals are produced byhighly effective technology for the protection of inorganic minerals, and currently is a widespread practice in animal nutrition. It allows essential minerals to be managed more rationally, increasing their bio-availability.
This also helps avoid excretion into the environment due to lack of absorption and contributes positively to reduce environ-mental pollution. Minerals, by default or excess of absorption may be harmful to health. The interaction between chelated minerals is much lower than the one that occurs when minerals are presented on inorganic form. In turn, inorganic minerals act on B vitamins, enabling oxidation. Therefore, chelation becomes a very useful process for optimizing diets, according to the needs, either in isolation or in a chelated mineral complex, specifically formulated for a target species.
The bioavailability and tissue storage of trace minerals are of primary importance in their nutritional performance. Minerals chelated to organic molecules have higher bioavailability than their corresponding inorganic forms and interact less with each other in the digestive tract. Amino acid chelates of cobalt, manganese and zinc are more readily available than their inorganic salts The organic chelate zinc methionine has been estimated as three times more potent than the inorganic sulphate. The organic forms can greatly enhance the absorption of an element by either releasing the element or being absorbed as an intact chelate. Chelated minerals are less sensitive to the inhibitory action of other compounds because of their reduced solubility in water. The increasing bioavailability and effectiveness of organic micro elements forms can dramatically reduce the required inputs and decrease waste discharges to the environment.
