Pakan merupakan sumber nutrisi yang penting bagi biota akuatik. Salah satu permasalahan pakan yang dihadapi adalah mudah terdegradasi karena faktor lingkungan. Kerusakan ini berpengaruh terhadap kualitas nutrisi pakan. Solusi terhadap permasalahan tersebut adalah teknologi enkapsulasi. Keunggulan enkapsulasi adalah terdapat lapisan dinding polimer sehingga nutrisi pakan didalam dapat terjaga dan bertahan dalam waktu lama. Enkapsulasi dibuat dengan metode koaservasi dan dikeringkan untuk membuat pakan memadat. Tujuan penelitian untuk menguji karakteristik kualitas fisik dan kimia pakan terenkapsulasi dengan variasi waktu pengeringan. Penelitian dilakukan di Laboratorium nutisi pakan Fakultas perikanan dan Ilmu Kelautan dan Laboratorium LSIH Universitas Borneo Tarakan. Penelitian terdiri dari perlakuan waktu pengeringan yaitu 5, 10, 15 dan 20 jam. Parameter pengukuran yaitu stabilitas air, kadar air, abu, rendemen, protein, karbohidrat dan lemak secara duplo. Analisis data secara deskriptif kuantitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa stabilitas air yang sesuai dengan SNI yaitu perlakuan 10, 15 dan 20 jam minimal 85 menit. Kadar air semua perlakuan sesuai SNI maksimal 12%. Kadar abu yang sesuai SNI (maksimal 13%) yaitu perlakuan 5 dan 10 jam sebesar 13 %. Rendemen yang tertinggi yaitu perlakuan 5 jam sebesar 51,31%. Kadar protein semua perlakuan sesuai SNI (maksimal 35%) dengan kadar protein tertinggi pada perlakuan 10 jam sebesar 36,8%. Kadar karbohidrat semua perlakuan sesuai dengan standar pakan yaitu 10-50%. Kadar lemak yang sesuai SNI (minimal 5%) yaitu perlakuan 10 jam sebesar 5,5% dan perlakuan 15 jam sebesar 5%. Berdasarkan hasil dapat disimpulkan lama pengeringan mempengaruhi kualitas karakteristik pakan, dengan perlakuan terbaik dari semua parameter adalah pengeringan pakan 10 jam.

Kata Kunci: Kadar Air, Lemak, Protein, Rendemen, Stabilitas Air

Feed is an important source of nutrition for aquatic biota. One of the problems of feed is that it easily degrades due to environmental factors. This degradation affects the nutritional quality of the feed. A solution to this problem is encapsulation technology. The advantage of encapsulation is that there is a polymer wall layer that helps to preserve the nutrients inside the feed for a longer period. Encapsulation is created using the coacervation method and is dried to solidify the feed. The aim of this research is to test the characteristic of the physical and chemical quality of encapsulated feed with variations in drying time. The research was conducted at the Feed Nutrition Laboratory of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences and the LSIH Laboratory at the University of Borneo Tarakan. The research consisted of drying time treatments of 5, 10, 15, and 20 hours. The measurement parameters included water stability. Moisture content, ash content, yield, protein, carbohydrates, and fat, all measured in duplicate. Data analysis was performed descriptively and quantitatively. The results showed that the water stability in accordance with SNI was achieved with treatments of 10, 15, and 20 hours, with a minimum of 85 minutes. The moisture content of all treatments complied with SNI, with a maximum of 12%. The ash content that complied with SNI (maximum 13%) was found in the 5 and 10-hour treatments at 13%. The highest yield was observed in the 5-hour treatment, which was 51.31%. The protein content of all treatments complied with SNI (maximum 35%), with the highest protein content in the 10-hours treatment at 36.8%. The carbohydrate content of all treatment met the feed standard of 10-5-%. The fat content that complied with SNI (minimum 5%) was found in the 10-hour treatment at 5.5% and the 15-hour treatment at 5%. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the drying duration affects the quality of feed characteristics, with the best treatment from all parameters being the drying of feed for 10 hours. Keywords: Moisture Content, Fat, Protein, Yield, water Stability