Minipro 4

Minipro is manufactured using a patent-pending micro-encapsulation technique. This unique process is physically very gentle, which allows for the heat and pressure sensitive dietary components to be incorporated without loss of quality or quantity.

Each micro-capsule contains about three times more energy than a similar sized live food particle. The virtually dust-free Minipro capsules contain only approved and consistent high quality feed ingredients.

The dietary formulation of Minipro has been designed to mimic the nutrient composition of a zooplankton named Calanus Sp., a predominant and abundantly available larval food source for several economically important fish species of the North Atlantic Ocean.

For preservation of the lipid fraction in particular, Minipro contains ample quantities of natural antioxidants including astaxanthin and vitamins (A, E, and C). The product is packed and sealed in air-tight non-transparent bags of 1 kg that have been stripped of all oxygen using nitrogen gas and by adding an oxygen absorbtion pad into each bag. The product is labelled with a 6 months shelf life from the manufacturing date and should be stored at <25°C, away from direct exposure to sunlight. Once opened, Minipro should be stored refrigerated between uses. A zip-lock aids in re-sealing the package.

The Minipro micro-capsules are red-brownish in colour. Due to light reflection and despite containing the exact same nutritional composition, bigger pellet sizes look darker in appearance than smaller ones. The small differences in moist content between batches may produce slight variations in colour and smell.

The Minipro micro-capsules swell almost spontaneously by approx. 25% when exposed to water. Minipro does not float on the surface if quickly pre-exposed to water prior to feeding.

Unlike live feed particles, Minipro micro-capsules will gradually sink to the bottom of a larval rearing tank, making frequent feeding necessary to assure adequate levels of ingestion. The larvae should ideally be fed Minipro as frequently is possible an no less than once every 30 minutes during normal feeding hours. Setting up simple feed-in-water distribution systems help making frequent feeding less laborious while securing a uniform spreading of the micro-capsules throughout the larval rearing tank.

Feeding behaviour of fish larvae is guided by visual stimuli and olfactory sensors (smell) detecting water soluble components. To optimise palatability, the Minipro micro-capsules are compacted and bound in a manner that allows for minited leakage of water soluble amino acids (smell) into the water column.

Cleaning of the larval rearing tanks should be performed atleast once a day. There will always be some level of overfeeding when using Minipro. Consequently, the tanks may need to be cleaned more than once per day. Note, that the Minipro micro-capsules are quite stable and do not disintegrate. If excessive amounts of Minipro feed particles accumulate at the bottom of the tank, increasing the feeding frequency and/or reducing the weight of each meal should be considered. If concerned about water quality, increasing water flow should be taken into consideration.

	Live Feed	Minipro	Weaning Diet
F e e d %
	Days post hatch

This graph illustrates a Minipro live feed replacement regime for seabream and sea brass based on documentation to date. Some variations to this feeding regime are to be expected between different species and hatcheries.

Minipro has been documented to offer extended live feed replacement during intensive larval rearing of Gilthead seabream (S. aurata), sea brass (D. labrax) and Atlantic cod (G. morhua).