When is the most suitable time to farm crayfish?

SummaryThe crayfish farming time can be determined according to the size of the shrimp fry, and shrimp fry can be stocked three times throughout the year. First stocking: carried out from late March to early April, overwintering fry can be stocked, with a stocking rate of about 4,000 tails per mu. Second stocking: carried out from late May to early June, larger shrimp fry can be stocked, with about 4,000 tails per mu. Third stocking: carried out from mid-to-late September to early October, small and medium-sized shrimp fry can be stocked, with about 5,000 tails per mu.

I. Crayfish farming models

1. Summer farming: generally in the summer from July to September, mainly stocking juvenile shrimp artificially bred in the same year, with a stocking rate of up to about 15,000-20,000 tails per mu of shrimp-raising ditch.

2. Winter farming: generally carried out in December in winter, with about 10,000-15,000 tails per mu of shrimp-raising ditch. If conditions permit, two seasons of shrimp can be farmed, farming freshwater shrimp from July to October and farming red swamp crayfish from December to May-June of the following year.

II. Crayfish farming time

1. First stocking

(1) Generally, overwintering fry are stocked from late March to early April, with a stocking rate of about 4,000 tails per mu. Before stocking the shrimp fry, plant a large amount of aquatic plants or water spinach in the pond, which should account for about 50% of the total water area.

(2) After the shrimp fry are stocked, alternately feed shrimp pellet feed and fresh chopped small trash fish. Each mu can be fed about 3 kg of fresh chopped fish or about 1.5 kg of dry feed per day. Appropriately increase the feeding amount according to the feeding situation; about every 5 days, about 0.5 kg can be added. After 30 days, each mu can be fed about 5 kg of dry feed per day. When the crayfish reach about 34-36 tails per kg, they can be harvested and sold.

2. Second stocking

(1) The second shrimp fry stocking is carried out from late May to early June. At this stage, the shrimp fry are larger, about 120-160 tails per kg, and about 4,000 tails can be stocked per mu.

(2) After the shrimp fry are stocked, about 5-7.5 kg of boiled wheat grains can be fed each day. Feeding is not suitable on rainy days. At the same time, in early June, water spinach can be planted in half the area of the pond. During the farming process, water quality management should be strengthened, new water should be regularly exchanged and replenished, and inspections should be increased to prevent escape. They can generally be harvested in early September.

3. Third stocking

(1) The third stocking is mainly carried out from mid-to-late September to early October. At this stage, the stocking amount can be appropriately increased. Small and medium-sized shrimp fry can be selected, about 200-300 tails per kg, with a stocking rate of up to about 5,000 tails per mu.

(2) After stocking, in order to promote the fattening of broodstock before winter, shrimp feed and processed fresh trash fish particles can be used for feeding. The feeding amount can be appropriately increased according to the climate and water temperature. On clear days with a water temperature above 20°C, about 2.5-4 kg can be fed per mu per day.

(3) If the water temperature drops to 20°C, the feeding amount should be halved. If the water temperature drops to 15°C, reduce the feeding amount by at least 50%. If it drops to 10°C, feeding should be stopped. If the average daily water temperature is below 10°C, measures should be taken to retain water for overwintering, increase the amount of water injected into the pond, and bring the pond to its highest water level. Wait until the pond water temperature rises again the following year before harvesting.