5T/H Tilapia Feed Production Line Installation Progress in Indonesia

RICHI MACHINERY is overseeing installation of a 5-ton-per-hour tilapia feed production line in West Java, Indonesia, supporting one of the country's most important aquaculture sectors with nutritionally optimized floating feed.

Market Context

Indonesia ranks among the largest tilapia producers in Southeast Asia, with production concentrated in freshwater ponds and reservoirs across Java and Sumatra. Floating feed has become standard practice in commercial operations because it allows farmers to monitor consumption directly—uneaten feed sinks and becomes visible, enabling immediate adjustment of feeding rates.

This visibility reduces waste, improves water quality, and delivers better growth rates than sinking feeds where consumption cannot be directly observed.

Raw Materials and Formulation

The feed formulation reflects local ingredient availability while meeting tilapia nutritional requirements:

• Fishmeal and soybean meal provide the protein base, with fishmeal inclusion adjusted based on market prices and availability
• Corn and wheat supply energy through digestible carbohydrates
• Vegetable oils contribute essential fatty acids and improve palatability
• Vitamin and mineral premixes ensure complete nutrition for fast growth and disease resistance

Pellets are extruded to float on water for extended periods—target is minimum 12 hours buoyancy—while maintaining nutritional integrity through the drying and coating stages.

Process Design and Equipment

The fish feed production line incorporates several key elements:

• Micro-batching system for precise inclusion of vitamins, minerals, and additives
• Fine grinding units achieving particle sizes appropriate for juvenile tilapia feeds
• Twin-screw extruder with configurable screw profiles for different pellet sizes
• Multi-layer drying for gentle moisture removal without surface cracking
• Oil coating system for post-extrusion fat application
• Cooling, screening, and packaging for finished product handling

The extrusion parameters have been calibrated specifically for tilapia feeds, which require different expansion ratios than shrimp or marine fish formulations. Pellet density is controlled to achieve neutral buoyancy—pellets remain in the water column rather than floating on the surface or sinking rapidly.

Installation Progress

Mechanical assembly is nearing completion at the customer's site in West Java. The main fish feed extruder and belt dryer have been set and aligned, with ancillary equipment now being connected. Electrical integration and control system programming are in progress, with commissioning scheduled for March 2026.

RICHI's Indonesian service team is coordinating with local contractors handling power supply, compressed air, and building modifications—ensuring that all site conditions are ready before process commissioning begins.

Industry Impact

Once operational, the facility will supply high-quality feed to independent fish farmers throughout West Java, replacing imported feed that carries logistics costs and supply uncertainty. Local production enables rapid formulation adjustments based on ingredient availability and fish prices—flexibility that prebagged imports cannot match.

For RICHI Machinery, the fish feed mill project reinforces the company's position in Southeast Asian aquaculture feed equipment, a sector where regional knowledge and application-specific engineering matter as much as equipment specifications.