Paprika in fish food

[Ron Sower]

I'm thinking I will try feeding paprika to my serpaes and newly acquired intense triple Apistogramma cacacuoides.  Has anyone worked with it with either of these red fish?

[BillT]

I use paprika in my Moina culture mix:
item                               parts
spirulina                         1.5
paprika                          4
pea flour                        1
soy flour                        1
garbanzo bean flour        1
brewers yeast                 1

The theory is that the nutrients flow through the prey items to the predators higher up the food chain.

[Mugwump]

I've used astaxanthin in the yeast for micro worms and found some success with Angel Koi fry...it allows them to get the nutrients needed to color up at an earlier stage....but results were mixed reflecting the genetics of the pairs used....of course, the genes with the best melanin coloring potential did best....but the difference was pretty nice...

[BillT]

Astaxanthin is also supposed to increase fry survival for some unknown reason.

[Jdmcfast]

Astaxanthin is also supposed to increase fry survival for some unknown reason.

Really? I have never heard that

[Mugwump]

I've used astaxanthin in the yeast for micro worms and found some success with Angel Koi fry...it allows them to get the nutrients needed to color up at an earlier stage....but results were mixed reflecting the genetics of the pairs used....of course, the genes with the best melanin coloring potential did best....but the difference was pretty nice...

I probably should have phrased it.....of course, the genes with the best melanin, and carotenoid pigment coloring potential did best

[BillT]

Really? I have never heard that

I have heard this at many aquaculture meetings.
There is to my knowledge, no know mechanism for this but it has been observed.
May only pertain to certain species.

[BillT]

Here is a reference on shrimp I was able to find quickly about astaxanthin:
http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/astaxanthin-in-shrimp-culturing-c85.html

Mostly it is about color, but here is a part of it:

It has been demonstrated that there is a significant decrease in mortality of adult shrimp fed a carotenoid-enriched diet in comparison with individuals receiving carotenoid-free diets. A survival rate of 91% was observed with individuals fed a diet supplemented with 100 ppm astaxanthin compared to 57% in the control group without astaxanthin after 4-8 weeks of growth (Yamada et al., 1990).

Chien and Jeng (1992) studied the effects of various regimes of carotenoid-supplemented diets in P. japonicus using astaxanthin and (-carotene. They found that after one month astaxanthin at 100 mg/100g diet was the most effective pigment for optimal coloration of prawns resulting in deposition of 107, 46 and 74 mg/kg of tissue in the heads, flesh and shells, respectively. In contrast, (-carotene at 100 mg/100g diet resulted in deposition of 12, 4, and 6 mg/kg of tissue in the head, flesh and shells, respectively. Survival was higher in prawns fed the astaxanthin diet, and a positive correlation between survival and pigment concentration of tissues suggested that the carotenoids functioned as an intracellular oxygen reserve. This permitted the crustaceans to survive under hypoxic conditions common in pond cultures. Shrimp fed astaxanthin at 100 mg/kg diet had an average survival rate of 77% in contrast to shrimp supplemented with (-carotene which averaged 40% (Chien 1996).