This experimental study describes the preparation of a veterinary medicated premix containing tetracycline hydrochloride for oral administration to aquatic animals. For the manufacture of the premix, commercially produced animal feed is used, which is intended for consumption in the form of pellets that were coated with a mixture of chlortetracycline hydrochloride and other excipients. Feed pellets were combined with a mixture of an active substance and excipients with a large specific surface (colloidal silica - Aerosil® 200) allowing an easy adhesion to the surface of the pellets, and a solid polymer with a low glass transition point (Eudragit® E) which ensures the formation of a hard coat. A mixture of these substances has been applied to the surface of the pellets either A) in the solid state simply by dry adhesion; B) by coating the pellets with the mixture and additional impregnation with ethanol; or C) the polymer was subsequently applied in solution. In the final stage, the pellets were heated in order to achieve the glass transition point of the polymer to create a solid and mechanically resistant coating. Coated pellets prepared by three methods described above are almost identical in their physical properties. With this technology it is possible to produce a feed mixture with a very low content of the active substance in situ without the need for a complex technological equipment.

Development and evaluation of a fish feed mixture containing the probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum prepared using an innovative pellet coating method

Effects of trichothecene mycotoxin T-2 toxin on haematological and immunological parameters of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)