Brine shrimp (Artemia salina), belonging to the order Anostraca, is a small halophilic crustacean inhabiting hypersaline lakes. Its dormant cysts are hatched to produce live nauplii, which serve as the premier universal live feed in fish and prawn hatcheries worldwide.

In aquaculture feed manufacturing:
Dry feed: Contains < 10%–13% moisture (stable storage life).
Semi-moist feed: Contains 18%–35% moisture.
Wet / Moist feed: Formulated from fresh trash fish, slaughterhouse wastes, and wet by-products, containing 45% to 70% moisture.

Catla (Catla catla) and Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) are natural surface and upper-column pelagic feeders that actively consume floating extruded pellets at the water surface. In contrast, Mrigal, Common carp, shrimps, and crabs are strict benthic/demersal bottom foragers that require sinking pellets.

Feed binders are substances added to aquaculture feed formulations to improve pellet integrity, mechanical durability, and water stability (preventing disintegration before ingestion). Sodium alginate (a seaweed hydrocolloid) and tapioca starch (gelatinized carbohydrate binder) are outstanding natural feed binders.