500-600 KG/h fish feed Making machine
As the core of small-scale fish feed production, this 0.5–0.6T/H feed pelletizer not only performs independent pelletizing, but also flexibly integrates with crushing, mixing and drying processes, helping you build a complete and efficient feed production system.
Capable of processing various fish and shrimp feed pellets, ideal for clients with a daily feed consumption of ≥4,000kg.
Overview of 500-600 KG/H Fish Feed Making Machine
Designed specifically for small and medium-sized aquaculture farms and feed processing plants, it serves as the core equipment for manufacturing floating fish feed. Additionally, through simple process adjustments, it can also produce sinking and slow-sinking feeds.
Unlike ordinary ring die pellet mills, the extruder utilizes high temperature and high pressure to instantly expand and shape the material. The resulting feed features superior stability in water, higher digestibility, and is resistant to disintegration.
These characteristics make it particularly suitable for specialty aquaculture species with high demands on feed quality, such as California Sea Bass, Yellow Catfish, and Shrimp.
Technical Specifications
- Capacity: 0.5-0.6 T/H (500-600 kg/h)
- Model: DSP-90B
- Power: 37 kW
- Screw Diameter: Φ90 mm
- Dimensions: 2600 × 1600 × 1900 mm
- Equipment Type: Single Screw Extruder
- Cutter Speed: Variable frequency control for precise pellet length adjustment.
Materials & Output
- Applicable Ingredients: Supports plant proteins (soybean/peanut meal), animal proteins (fish/meat & bone meal), energy sources (corn/wheat/rice bran), and additives (premix, oil, binders, vitamins).
- Product Forms: Produces both floating and sinking pellets.
- Pellet Size: Interchangeable dies allow for various size specifications.
Power, Installation & Components
- Power Supply: 380V, 3-Phase Industrial Voltage.
- Installation: Compact design with a small footprint; no complex civil engineering required.
- Core Parts: Screw, Barrel, Die, and Cutter Assembly.
- Heating: Steam heating system.
Working Principle
- Extrusion Process: High temperature and pressure cause instant extrusion, followed by pressure release, resulting in volume expansion.
- Forming Method: The material is extruded through the die and cut into uniform pellets by a rotating cutter.
Core Components of a Fish Feed Production Machine
The main design challenge for compact fish feed extruders is balancing limited space and cost without compromising expansion quality or pellet performance.
The solution offered by this 500-600kg/h single screw extruder is to focus on core processes and optimize key details. It breaks down the transformation from powder to puffed pellets into essential stages. Each stage corresponds to a dedicated module, ensuring a compact connection that makes operation and maintenance easy.
01
Feeding System
The variable frequency-controlled screw feeder is responsible for uniformly and steadily conveying the ground and mixed powder raw materials into the conditioner. The feeding speed can be adjusted in real-time based on production capacity requirements, ensuring a continuous and uninterrupted supply of materials.
02
Conditioner
This is the key unit for the pre-treatment of materials through heating and humidification. By injecting steam and water, the conditioner fully gelatinizes starch and denatures proteins, preparing the materials for the subsequent extrusion process.
03
Extrusion Host
As the core component of the entire equipment, the extrusion host consists of the barrel, screws, and screw shafts. Driven by the screws, the materials undergo conveying, shearing, and kneading. Under conditions of high temperature and high pressure, they are extruded and cooked, and finally forced through the die plate. The sudden pressure drop causes the material to expand, forming the puffed pellets.
04
Cutting Device
Installed at the discharge end of the die plate, this device consists of cutting knives and a drive motor. The cutting speed is adjustable, allowing the continuous extruded strands to be cut into uniform pellets of the required length.
05
Electrical Control System
This centralized electrical system controls the entire machine’s operation, including main motor control, variable frequency feeding adjustment, cutting speed regulation, and temperature monitoring. The control panel features a user-friendly design, facilitating daily operation and parameter adjustments.
06
Bearing Box and Transmission System
This system provides support for the main shaft and transmits power from the motor to the extrusion mechanism. The bearing box is equipped with a lubrication system, ensuring the smooth operation of the main shaft even under high loads.
Application Scenarios of a 500-600 KG/H Fish Feed Machine
Determining whether a machine fits your specific production needs is sometimes more critical than just reviewing its technical specifications.
Below, we analyze the equipment from two key dimensions—target users and typical application scenarios—to help you evaluate if this model aligns with your operational requirements.
Target Customers
Medium-Scale Aquaculture Farms
For farms requiring over 4,000 kg of feed daily, feed costs are the main expense. If you have an established management team, you are ready to produce your own feed. Adding an extruder reduces purchasing costs, allows flexible formula adjustments, and frees you from the limitations of commercial feed.
Special Aquaculture Farmers
For high-value species like California Sea Bass, Snakehead, Yellow Catfish, Shrimp, and Frogs, water stability and extrusion quality are critical. Commercial specialized feed is often expensive with limited options. With your own extruder, you can design custom formulas and processes to produce feed perfectly suited to your specific needs.
Small-Scale Feed Processing Plants
Providing toll processing services in farming hubs is a proven business model. Our equipment features moderate capacity. You can either purchase raw materials or accept customer materials for processing, charging by output, and expand your equipment later.
Farming Cooperatives
Multiple farmers can pool funds to purchase equipment, buy raw materials in bulk, produce centrally, and distribute as needed. This reduces individual investment and procurement costs, ensures consistent feed quality, and makes management and traceability easier.
Feed Processing Startups
Ideal for entrepreneurs with limited capital. This equipment offers controllable investment and capacity that fits initial demands, allowing for future expansion. Compared to large production lines, it offers lower risk and higher flexibility.
Existing Ring Die Pelletizer Users
If you already have a ring die machine for sinking pellets but lack the capacity for floating extruded feed, adding an extruder is the perfect solution. The two systems complement each other. By sharing the front-end mixing and back-end cooling/packaging equipment, you can expand your product range without duplicate investment.
Application scenarios
Self-Production to Replace Outsourcing & Cut Costs
When market feed prices are high or rising, producing your own feed allows you to take control of costs. By sourcing raw materials directly, your unit cost is often significantly lower, even with the same formula. All you need are sourcing channels and basic formula knowledge; equipment operation is easy to master after short-term training.
Solving Shortages of Specialty Feed
In many regions, only standard feed is available, while specialty extruded feed for species like California Sea Bass, Snakehead, and Shrimp is scarce. Installing an extruder solves this supply issue at the source. You control the raw materials and formula, ensuring better quality stability and full traceability.
Ensuring Consistent Feed Quality
Outsourced feed often varies between batches in terms of raw materials and processing, leading to fluctuations in color, smell, hardness, and water stability. This can negatively impact breeding results. With self-production, you maintain full control over the process to ensure every batch is consistent, making farm management easier.
Flexible Adjustments for Different Growth Stages
Fish require different pellet sizes and nutrition levels at different stages. Commercial feed comes in fixed specifications that cannot be easily changed. With self-production, you can quickly change the die to adjust pellet size or modify the formula for precise nutrition, enabling precise feeding.
Optimizing Costs with Local Ingredients
Different regions have low-cost local resources like cottonseed meal, rapeseed meal, rice bran, and distillers’ grains. You can use these materials to design custom formulas and produce feed tailored to local species using the extruder, further reducing raw material costs. The machine is highly adaptable to various ingredient combinations.
Generating Income through Contract Processing
In farming hubs, the equipment can be used not only for your own needs but also to process feed for neighboring farmers. You can accept customer-supplied materials or purchase ingredients yourself, charging a processing fee based on output. This increases equipment utilization, lowers fixed costs, and generates extra revenue. You can expand production or add auxiliary equipment as your business grows.
Feed Types This Machine Can Produce
Using single-screw extrusion, this machine enables you to create various feed shapes and sizes. Through parameter adjustments and die changes, you can perfectly match the feed to any species and their specific growth stages.
When producing different types of feed with the same machine, the key process parameters to adjust include:
– Raw Material Formula: Starch, protein, and fat content.
– Conditioning Parameters: Steam addition, moisture level, and conditioning temperature.
– Extrusion Parameters: Screw speed, barrel temperature, and die opening rate.
– Cutting Parameters: Cutter speed determines pellet length.
1. Feed Classification: Water Stability
Floating Feed
• Structure: Porous and low-density due to high-pressure extrusion.
• Behavior: Floats on the surface.
• Advantages: Facilitates feeding observation, reduces waste, and prevents water contamination.
• Application: Upper-water species (Tilapia, California Sea Bass, Snakehead, Frogs, etc.).
Sinking Feed
• Structure: High-density.
• Behavior: Sinks rapidly to the bottom.
• Application: Bottom-feeding species (Shrimp, Crabs, Benthic fish).
• Production Note: Achieved by adjusting raw material formula, conditioning, and extrusion pressure without changing equipment.
Slow-Sinking Feed
• Structure: Neutral density.
• Behavior: Suspends in the mid-lower water, then sinks slowly.
• Application: Specialized stages like shrimp larvae or fish acclimation phases.
2. Categorized by Pellet Specifications
It can produces various pellet sizes simply by switching the extrusion die. We cover everything from micro-particles for fry to large pellets for adult fish, perfectly matching the species’ mouth size and feeding habits.
Efficient production of small pellets:
For tiny sizes like shrimp starter feed or fish crumbles, we use a smart three-step process: extrude large pellets → crush → grade.
This approach ensures higher efficiency than using tiny dies directly and effectively prevents die blockage.
3. Categorized by Feed Formula
Our machine features excellent adaptability, capable of processing a wide range of feed ingredient combinations.
• Plant Protein: Based on soybean, rapeseed, cottonseed, and peanut meals. Ideal for omnivorous and herbivorous fish (e.g., Grass Carp, Carp).
• Animal Protein: Rich in fish meal, meat and bone meal, and blood meal. Designed for carnivorous species (e.g., California Sea Bass, Yellow Catfish, Shrimp).
• Mixed Protein: A balanced blend of plant and animal proteins, perfect for most omnivorous species.
4. Wide Range of Applicable Species
This machine is versatile enough to produce feed for a wide variety of aquaculture species, including:
Fish: Tilapia, Grass Carp, Carp, Crucian Carp, Bream, California Sea Bass, Yellow Catfish, Snakehead, Channel Catfish, Rainbow Trout, and more.
Shrimp & Crabs: White Shrimp, Tiger Shrimp, Crayfish, River Crab, etc.
Others: Bullfrog, Softshell Turtle, Eel, etc.
Upstream and Downstream Equipment for Fish Feed Machine
While the fish feed making machine turns powder into expanded pellets, it only covers the extrusion stage. For a complete feed production line from start to finish, you need to configure auxiliary equipment before and after the extruder.
1
Front-End Equipment: Raw Material Pre-processing
The extruder has strict requirements for incoming material—raw ingredients must meet specific fineness and uniformity standards. Otherwise, the expansion effect and pellet quality will be compromised.
– Grinder: Crushes granular raw materials (such as soybean meal, corn, and wheat) into fine powder. For fish feed, the raw material fineness usually needs to be over 40 mesh. Insufficient fineness leads to rough pellet surfaces and unstable expansion.
– Mixer: Thoroughly blends various ingredients (e.g., plant protein, animal protein, premixes, and additives).
The mixing uniformity ensures that every pellet contains consistent nutrition. Horizontal ribbon mixers or double-shaft paddle mixers are commonly used to meet these requirements.
2
The Fish Feed Extruder Machine
This is the core machine, responsible for conditioning, extruding, expanding, and shaping the material. Users can configure a single-layer or double-layer conditioner based on production needs. The double-layer conditioner offers better cooking effects and is ideal for producing floating feed that requires high expansion.
3
Back-End Equipment: Pellet Processing
Pellets fresh from the extruder are hot (usually 80-100°C) and have high moisture content. They cannot be packaged or fed directly and require post-processing.
– Cooler: Lowers the temperature of hot pellets to room temperature and removes excess moisture. Cooled pellets are harder, more durable, and resistant to mold. The counter-flow cooler is a common choice due to its even cooling and low energy consumption.
– Crumbler: Breaks large diameter pellets into smaller ones. This is used when producing small-sized feed (like shrimp post-larvae feed or fish fry starter). The process involves extruding large strands, then crushing and screening them to get uniform small particles. This is an optional configuration based on actual needs.
– Screener: Removes fine powder and debris from the finished pellets. It also separates oversized or undersized particles to ensure the neatness and quality of the final product. For commercial feed intended for market sale, this equipment is highly recommended.
4
Auxiliary Equipment (Optional Configuration)
– Steam System: If your conditioner requires steam, a boiler or steam generator is needed. Some small-scale models feature electric heating for conditioning, eliminating the need for steam.
– Conveying System: Transfers materials between machines (e.g., bucket elevators, screw conveyors). This reduces manual labor and enhances continuous operation efficiency.
5
Key Considerations
Grinding fineness and mixing uniformity directly affect the extruder’s capacity and pellet quality. We advise against over-saving on the front-end equipment.
The cooling step cannot be omitted. Insufficiently cooled pellets are prone to overheating and molding after packaging, resulting in the loss of the entire batch.
If you already have a ring die pelletizer for sinking feed, this extruder can serve as a supplementary unit for producing floating extruded feed. Both can share the same front-end grinding and mixing equipment.
Core Equipment Configuration of Small-Scale Fish Feed Production Line
Once the overall production line structure is clear, the next step is to understand the specific role of each key machine.
A stable small-scale fish feed production line relies on the seamless cooperation of multiple functional modules. From raw material processing to the final output, every stage directly impacts pellet quality and production efficiency.
Below, we explain the core components of the small-scale fish feed line from an equipment perspective. This will help you clearly understand the system and choose the right equipment combination based on your raw materials and capacity needs.
Cylindrical primary cleaning screen
Production: 1-25 tons/hour
Power: 30-160 kW
Removes large impurities like stones, ropes, and debris.
Hammer mill
Grinding fineness：0.5-20mm
Rotational speed ：2980 rpm
Uses high-speed rotating hammers to crush raw materials into the desired particle size.
Paddle mixer
Effective volume ：0.5-4 m3
Mixing amount per batch ：250-2000 kg/P
Thoroughly mixes multiple raw materials and additives according to the formula.
Belt dryer
Pellet Size ：6-8mm
Mesh belt width ：0.8-1.6 m
Uses continuous conveying to evenly dry formed materials, reducing moisture content.
Vacuum spraying machine
Matching production capacity:1- 15 t/h
Batch working time: 6 min
Uniformly sprays oil or functional liquids onto pellet surfaces under vacuum conditions.
Cooler
Drying area：13-58m2
Mesh belt width ：0.8-1.6 m
Uses counter-flow cold air to cool hot pellets.
Screener
Output: 2-50 tons/hour
Screen angle ：19°
Separates qualified pellets from powder, oversized, or undersized particles.
Packaging machine
Package range ：10-50kg/bag ( adjustable )
Packaging speed ：2-8 packs/minute
Automatically weighs, fills, and seals finished feed products.
RICHI’s Completed Aquaculture Feed Plant Projects
With years of deep expertise in the R&D and manufacturing of fish feed equipment, RICHI has successfully completed numerous delivery projects worldwide.
From single-machine solutions for small-scale production to large-scale automated factories, we consistently build highly stable and cost-effective production systems for our clients, adhering to the standards of a professional fish feed machinery manufacturer.
Below are some of our project cases that have been commissioned and are operating stably long-term, helping you to more intuitively understand our capabilities and delivery capacity.
DRC Fish Feed Plant
Capacity: 1 t/h
Region: DRC, Africa
Application: Feed production for Tilapia and Catfish.
Pellet Size: 1.5-6 mm fish feed pellets.
Iranian Fish & Shrimp Extruded Feed Production Line
Capacity: 2 t/h
Region: Iran, Asia
Application: Feed production for fish and shrimp.
Pellet Size: 1-8 mm feed pellets
Indonesian Shrimp Feed Pellet Production Line
Capacity: 2 t/h
Region: Indonesia, Asia
Application: Feed production for shrimp
Pellet Size: 0.6-8 mm
Malaysia Animal Feed Processing Plant
Capacity: 1-3 t/h
Region: Malaysia, Asia
Application: Feed production for Tilapia, Catfish, Grouper, Shrimp, as well as Chicken and Duck.
Pellet Size: 1-8 mm for fish/shrimp; 2-5 mm for chicken/duck.
Vietnam Aquatic Feed Processing Plant
Capacity: 4 t/h
Region: Vietnam, Asia
Application: Feed production for Tilapia, Catfish, and White Shrimp.
Pellet Size: 0.8-5 mm for fish; 0.8-2 mm for shrimp.
Turkish pet food and floating fish feed production line
Capacity: 1 t/h
Region: Turkey, Asia
Application: Feed production for trout, bass, and snapper; pet food pellets
Pellet Size: 5-8 mm fish feed; 2-6 mm cat, dog food pellets.
FAQ About Fish Feed Machine
If you have any questions about extruders or feed production, you can first take a look at these answers.
1. Can this machine produce both floating and sinking feed? Do we need to change any parts?
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Yes, absolutely. By adjusting process parameters such as the formula, conditioning temperature, and screw speed, the same machine can switch between floating and sinking pellets. Floating feed requires a higher expansion rate, which is achieved by adjusting the steam input and screw configuration—no major parts need to be replaced. However, for frequent switching, we recommend having different dies (ring molds) to ensure the best forming quality.
2. What is the pellet size range achievable by changing the die?
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By changing the die with different hole diameters, our fish feed machine can produce pellets ranging from 0.8mm to 14mm.
The 0.8mm to 1.5mm size is suitable for fry and shrimp starter feed; the 1.5mm to 4.0mm size applies to Tilapia and Shrimp; the 4.0mm to 8.0mm size is ideal for adult fish and frogs; and the 8.0mm to 14.0mm size is suitable for cat and dog pet food. One single fish feed machine covers a wide range of applications, from small-scale aquaculture to pet food production.
3. Can this fish feed pellet machine be used alone, or does it require other equipment?
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The machine can operate independently. You can feed the pre-mixed powder directly into the extruder to produce expanded pellets.
However, if you want to produce shelf-stable finished feed, you need to add drying and cooling equipment. If you are processing from raw ingredients, you will also need a grinder and mixer. We offer complete turnkey solutions, providing all equipment—grinding, mixing, extruding, drying, cooling, and packaging—to help you build a full production line from raw material to finished product.
4. Is professional training required to operate this machine?
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No. The machine features a variable frequency feeding system and an intuitive control panel. Key parameters (temperature, speed, cutter position) are clearly marked. An ordinary worker can master daily operations like starting, production, and stopping after just 1-2 days of video training. We provide detailed English manuals and operation videos. We also offer online support for overseas customers.
Aquatic Feed Pelleting Machine by Capacity
Begin production at 0.3T/H, starting from just $7,500. Versatile in handling multiple formulations and ingredients, it delivers uninterrupted
manufacturing of aquatic feed, pet food, and animal feed pellets – all with reliable, consistent quality control.
Company Profile
Founded in 1995, RICHI Machinery Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer of feed machinery processing equipment and complete plant engineering, primarily focused on the feed machinery industry. We specialize in animal feed pellet mills, aquatic feed pellet mills, wood chip pellet mills, grain storage systems, and steel structure buildings. The research and development and production of aquatic feed pellet mills are a crucial component of our business.
In the aquaculture field, we offer complete production lines including fish/shrimp/crab feed pellet machines, feed extruders, crushers, mixers, dryers, coating systems, coolers, sieving equipment, and fully automatic packaging systems. We can customize efficient and energy-saving feed production solutions for customers according to the needs of various aquatic animals and pets.
300+
We have helped build hundreds of shrimp/fish feed production lines from scratch.
140+
Our feed pelletizing equipment has been sold to 140+ of the 200+ countries and regions in the world.
1000+
We now offer our related services to so many feed producers worldwide.
International Certification
All our equipment has passed ISO9001:2008, CE, CU-TR and other certifications.
We are a top maker and supplier of machines for shrimp/crab/fish feed and pet food.
For many yearsour shrimp/fish feed equipment have reached the USA, Canada, Russia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, lran, Indonesia, Romania, Angola, Pakistan, Ethiopia, the UK, etc.
