AquaPro F was developed for top dressing onto or incorporation into feed.  AquaPro F contains the same Bacillus species (and a few others) found in our other products in addition to a prebiotic and several enzymes.   The heat from the milling process may kill some of the spores, although they are quite resistant to heat.   One kg of AquaPro F contains no less than 4 trillion (1012) Bacillus spores.    These do not germinate when they are milled into the feed.   In shrimp, where the gut is short and the time from ingestion to defecation is measured in minutes, the spores pass through the gut untouched and are deposited into the sediment in the feces.   This is where they germinate, directly in the material that they need to degrade.   For fish species, where the retention time is longer than 12 hours or so, the spores will germinate in the gut where the vegetative cells can act before being passed out in the feces. 

 

Where possible, in general, inclusion of AquaPro F into feed is a smart idea.  It does not harm the shrimp in any way and by allowing for the delivery of high levels of spores into the pond sediment on a regular basis it augments the use of our other targeted products (Pro 4000X). Each kg of AquaPro F per MT of feed adds a minimum of 2 million spores per gram of feed, assuming 100% survival.  If only 1% survived (lab tests suggest that the spores are largely unaffected by the milling process so you can expect a much higher survival), then there would be 20,000 CFU per gram of feed.  This is a relatively large dose of sludge degrading bacteria.