Development of formulated diets for snakehead (Channa striata and Channa micropeltes): Can phytase and taurine supplementation increase use of soybean meal to replace fish meal?

Aquaculture is growing rapidly in Vietnam and has the potential to do the same in Cambodia. Production of pangasiid catfish in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam alone exceeded 1 million metric tons in 2008. While some of the food provided to these fish, especially at the larger commercial farms, is formulated feed from commercial feed mills, many small farmers still use “trash fish” from the Mekong in preparing feed by hand at the farm. As aquaculture expands in Vietnam and Cambodia, the fish called snakehead is becoming popular to culture because of its high value in the market. Two species are cultured, the snakehead murrel, C. striata, and the giant snakehead, C. micropeltes. While culture of these is growing in Vietnam, it is prohibited in Cambodia (except for some experimental work) due to its dependence on small fish in the diet. Catfish culture has available commercial pellet diets, so getting farmers to switch from small fish to pellets is a socioeconomic issue, since small-scale catfish farmers often rely on traditional methods and the local availability of small fish. On the other hand, formulated diets do not yet exist for snakehead in Vietnam and Cambodia.