Composition and/or combination for aquaculture

Abstract

Disclosed embodiments concern a composition and/or combination, and a method of administering the same as a feed, or to supplement the feed of, aquatic animals, particularly for aquaculture. Disclosed composition and/or combination embodiments may comprise glucan, silica, mineral clay, mannans, yucca, quillaja , a probiotic, and/or an adhesive agent. The adhesive agent may be selected particularly to facilitate administration to aquatic species. In certain embodiments the adhesive agent comprises an oil, such as soy oil, or a syrup, such as molasses, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments the composition and/or combination may further comprise polyphenol, an antimicrobial, and/or a vaccine. Also disclosed is a method for promoting growth and/or immune function in aquatic animals.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A composition and/or combination formulated for administration to an aquatic species, comprising a feedstuff for an aquatic species, an adhesive agent, and a composition comprising:
 glucan, silica, mineral clay, and mannans;     yucca  and  quillaja ; or   glucan, silica, mineral clay, mannans,  yucca  and  quillaja;      
       the composition and/or combination having a particle size of from greater than 0 mm to 3 mm. 
     
     
         2 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 1 , comprising:
 a first composition comprising glucan, silica, mineral clay, mannans, and an endoglucanohydrolase, the first composition adhered to the feedstuff for an aquatic species by a first adhesive agent to produce a first solid material having a first particle size of from greater than 0 mm to 3 mm;   a second composition comprising  yucca  and  quillaja , the second composition adhered to the feedstuff for an aquatic species by a second adhesive agent to produce a second solid material having a second particle size of from greater than 0 mm to 3 mm; or   a composition or combination comprising the first and second compositions.   
     
     
         3 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 1 , wherein the composition and/or combination comprises from greater than zero to at least 10% adhesive agent by weight. 
     
     
         4 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive agent is an oil or a syrup. 
     
     
         5 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 4 , wherein the adhesive agent is selected from soy oil, linseed oil, tung oil, dehydrated castor oil, canola oil, olive oil, palm oil, cottonseed oil, Naskole oil, molasses, sugar syrup, sorghum, honey or a combination thereof; 
     
     
         6 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 4 , wherein the adhesive agent comprises at least 2 wt % soy oil. 
     
     
         7 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 2 , wherein the composition and/or combination comprises the first composition. 
     
     
         8 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 7 , wherein the first composition comprises between 15% and 40% silica, between 50% and 81% mineral clay, between 1.0% and 5.0% β-glucans, and between 1% and 8.0% mannans. 
     
     
         9 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 7 , wherein the first composition further comprises  yucca, quillaja , or  yucca  and  quillaja.    
     
     
         10 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 7 , wherein the first composition further comprises at least one  Bacillus  species. 
     
     
         11 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 7 , wherein the first composition consists essentially of between 15% and 40% silica, between 50% and 81% mineral clay, between 1.0% and 5.0% β-glucans, between 0.05% and 3.0% β-1,3 (4)-endoglucanohydrolase, between 1% and 8.0% mannans, and/or at least 2% of the first adhesive agent. 
     
     
         12 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 2 , wherein the composition and/or combination comprises the second composition. 
     
     
         13 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 1 , wherein the feedstuff is a feed ration, a mineral supplement, a protein supplement, a premix, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 1 , wherein the composition and/or combination is a composition. 
     
     
         15 . The composition and/or combination of  claim 1 , wherein the composition and/or combination is a composition having a particle size of from greater than 0 mm to 3 mm and comprising the feedstuff, at least 2% soy oil, and from 15% to 40% silica, from 50% to 81% mineral clay, from 1.0% to 5.0% β-glucans, from 0.05% to 3.0% β-1,3 (4)-endoglucanohydrolase, and from 1% to 8.0% mannans in amounts relative to each other. 
     
     
         16 . A method, comprising administering the composition and/or combination of  claim 1  to an aquatic animal. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the composition and/or combination is administered to the animal to promote growth, to reduce its feed conversion ratio, or both. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein administering the composition and/or combination enhances a feed conversion ratio of the aquatic animal by from 0.5% to 20%, compared to a feed conversion ratio of an aquatic animal that is not administered the composition and/or combination. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the composition and/or combination is administered to the animal to prevent, delay or ameliorate at least one deleterious symptom or sign. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the composition and/or combination is administered to the animal in an amount from 50 mg/kg of body weight per day to 250 mg/kg of body weight per day. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the composition and/or combination is used as a feedstuff. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the aquatic animal is selected from a fish, crustacean, or mollusk. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein:
 the fish is selected from salmon, trout, tilapia, sea bream, carp, cod, halibut, snapper, herring, catfish, flounder, hake, smelt, anchovy, lingcod, moi, perch, orange roughy, bass, tuna, mahi mahi, mackerel, eel, barracuda, marlin, Atlantic ocean perch, Nile perch, Arctic char, haddock, hoki, Alaskan Pollock, turbot, freshwater drum, walleye, skate, sturgeon, Dover sole, common sole, wolfish, sablefish, American shad, John Dory, grouper, monkfish, pompano, lake whitefish, tilefish, wahoo, cusk, bowfin, kingklip, opah, mako shark, swordfish, cobia, croaker, or hybrids thereof;   the crustacean is selected from shrimp, crab, lobster, crayfish, krill, copepods, barnacles, or hybrids thereof; or   the mollusk is selected from squid, octopus, clam, oyster, mussel, abalone, conch, rock snail, whelk, cockle, or hybrids thereof.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein:
 the fish is selected from Nile tilapia, blue tilapia, Mozambique tilapia, tilapiine cichlids, sheepshead, scup, yellowfin bream, gilt-head bream, Saucereye porgies, red sea bream, common carp, Asian carp, Indian carp, black carp, grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, pink salmon, chum salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, Atlantic salmon, chinook salmon, masu salmon, rainbow trout, Adriatic trout, Bonneville cutthroat trout, brook trout, steelhead trout, Atlantic northeast cod, Atlantic northwest cod, Pacific cod, Pacific halibut, Atlantic halibut, red snapper, bluefish, Atlantic herring, Pacific herring, channel catfish, walking catfish, shark catfish,  Corydoras , basa, banjo catfish, talking catfish, long-whiskered catfish, armoured suckermouth catfish, blue catfish, or hybrids thereof;   the crustacean is selected from Chinese white shrimp, pink shrimp, black tiger shrimp, freshwater shrimp, gulf shrimp, Pacific white shrimp, whiteleg shrimp, giant tiger shrimp, rock shrimp, Akiama paste shrimp, Southern rough shrimp, fleshy prawn, banana prawn, Northern prawn, blue crab, peekytoe crab, spanner crab, Jonah crab, snow crab, king crab, stone crab, Dungeness crab, soft-shell crab, Cromer crab, American lobster, spiny lobster, squat lobster, goose barnacle, picoroco barnacle, or hybrids thereof; or   the mollusk is selected from common squid, Patagonian squid, longfin inshore squid, neon flying squid, Argentine shortfin squid, Humboldt squid, Japanese flying squid, Wellington squid, common octopus, hard clam, soft-shell clam, ocean quahog, surf clam, Asari, Hamaguri, Vongola, Cozza, Tellina, Pacific oyster, rock oyster, European flat oyster, Portuguese oyster, blue mussel, freshwater mussel, green-lipped mussel, Asian green mussel, Mediterranean mussel, Baltic mussel, or hybrids thereof.