Developing a natural remedy for disease and algae in fish farming
How is kaolin mitigating a major threat to the aquaculture industry?
Challenges and solutions for the fish farming industry
Fish farming is the world’s fastest-growing industry within animal food production, but infectious diseases and algae outbreaks are having a significant impact on fish health and welfare, as well as causing huge product loss. Made from the mineral kaolin, Imerys’ AkuaPro™ is an affordable, antibiotic-free solution for fish farmers looking to combat this threat.
Recently, there has been a growing need from the aquaculture industry for a natural, eco-friendly treatment to prevent or reduce bacterial diseases and address algae outbreaks in fish farms.
Currently, the typical treatments for such diseases contain antibiotics – a solution that not only escalates production costs and is less sustainable and environmentally friendly, but also has serious potential consequences in regard to antibiotic resistance.
Algae, which competes for oxygen uptake, is often addressed with copper sulphate technology. Not only is the copper toxic to fish, but, as algae die, it can release toxic chemicals and also kill fish.
In response to these dilemmas, Imerys has developed AkuaPro™ – an antibiotic-free and eco- and fish-friendly water treatment that protects fish from bacterial diseases and can address algae outbreaks, while mitigating the risk of potential toxin release. Simple, safe and effective to use, AkuaPro™ is made using kaolin, a natural clay mineral powder with a long history of medicinal use. Kaolin’s ability to disperse in water makes it ideal for use in aquaculture.
AkuaPro™ contains no copper salts, which are toxic to fish because their accumulation kills the beneficial bacteria that grow in pond sedimentation.
Using AkuaPro™ to treat and mitigate the impact of major bacterial diseases and algal blooms
Imerys’ studies have shown that the application of AkuaPro™ provides a significant improvement in the survival rate of fish compared to receiving no treatment. It reduces the bacterial attachment to fish tissues and scales, reduces the occurrence of diseases caused by bacteria, and it has no negative impact on fish health.
It works best as a natural preventative treatment and can be easily added to fish farm vats before or after the onset of columnaris disease and Aeromonas hydrophila.
AkuaPro™ safely addresses the technical needs of the fish farming market. The product is multifunctional and flexible – it can be used in hatcheries or commercial ponds. It is a natural solution to deliver safe seafood to the world.
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