CONTRACT RESEARCH

SPAROS offers contract-research services to industrial customers by developing new products or conducting research in aquafeeds.

Since the creation of SPAROS, we have been associated with the development of multiple feed additives, novel feed ingredients, and feeds for fish and shrimp.

Main activity areas

Feed additives | Emerging raw materials | Novel feed formulations

Species

NUTRITION TRIALS

SPAROS conducts nutrition trials on several fish and shrimp species and develops targeted analytical solutions for each customer.

Nutrition trials evaluate a wide range of zootechnical, physiological, and immunological criteria, such as growth, feed conversion, digestibility, palatability, and immune modulation response.

Facilities Digestibility Sampling & Analytics

Facilities

Marine species

› Recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) with adjustable photoperiod
Tanks: 15L, 80L, 100L, 300L and 500L

› Open system with adjustable photoperiod
Tanks: 12L and 50L

› Open system subject to natural photoperiod
Tanks: 1000L

Freshwater species

› Open system subject to natural photoperiod
Tanks: 100L, 200L, 300L, 500L and 1000L

› Shrimp trials
System with 50 x 500L tanks and automated monitoring and control of water quality to rear Whiteleg shrimp from post-larvae to commercial size.

Digestibility

Digestibility measurements of the entire diet or of a specific ingredient, with incorporation of inert markers.

Methodologies for faeces collection

Stripping
Decantation column (Guelph system)
Outlet water filtration (INRA system)

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Sampling & Analytics

Customised solutions for addressing your research hypothesis:

Biochemical analysis of nutritional composition
Physiological plasma metabolites
Digestive and metabolic enzymes
Non-specific immune response
Molecular markers of immune and nutritional status

Gut dysbiosis
Organ histology
Protein and lipid turnover using stable isotopes
X-ray microradiography and fluorescent staining for skeletal growth
Flesh quality criteria and sensorial tests with trained consumer panel
Others

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CUSTOMISED DIETS

SPAROS produces tailor-made feeds for fish and shrimp in our pilot feed mill dedicated to your R&D projects.

We provide product development services that take advantage of our expertise in aquafeed formulation,
a wide range of raw materials in stock, and a customised technology that allows production at small scales
(batches from 10 to 500 kg).

Our solutions Technology Pellet Quality

Our solutions

Development of feed prototypes to test the inclusion of target ingredients
Formulation of novel aquafeeds for emerging species
Addition of enzymes, feed additives and heat-labile compounds
Assessment of the influence of ingredients in the productive process

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Technology

Our technological solutions include:

Twin-screw extrusion
Low-shear extrusion
Vacuum coating of oils and heat sensitive additives
Milling, mixing, fluid bed drying, crumbling, mechanical sieving
Microencapsulation

Learn more about our technology.

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Pellet Quality

Pellet quality is customised to match the feeding behaviour of a target species and the successful application of new products at the industrial level.