Astaxanthin as part of feed for industrial aquaculture facilities

Modern combined feeds provide high plastic growth of fish, but their composition differs from the natural food of fish, and first – by the presence or absence of biologically active substances (BAS) of natural origin in their composition, which regulate many metabolic processes in the body. The shortage of BAS in feed, in conditions of high-intensity aquaculture and super-intensive cultivation technologies, can affect the quality of producers and their offspring. Along with vitamins and minerals, this also in-cludes carotenoids – natural pigments contained in the natural food of fish. Caratinoids are a numerous and widespread group of pigments in nature that are part of the cells of microorganisms, algae and higher plants, as well as animal and human cells. It was found that the addition of astaxanthin 20.0 and 40.0 mg/kg to the composition of production feeds allowed increasing productiv-ity by 22.0% and 39.2%, respectively, and to have a positive effect on the physiological state of fish.