Where Is It Suitable to Raise Loach? Different Locations Require Different Farming Methods
AbstractLoach can be raised in ponds, rice paddies, pits and ponds, and cages. Pond farming: a common farming method that allows mixed culture with grass carp, silver carp, etc. Rice paddy farming: mutually beneficial, but care must be taken to raise the field ridges to prevent the loach from escaping. Pit and pond farming: use low-lying land near houses for farming, saving feed and site costs. Cage farming: must be far from industrial areas, and water quality is crucial.
1. Pond farming
Raising loach in ponds is a relatively common farming method. First choose a good site, such as a pond or cement ground. The pond depth is about two meters, and the water depth is about 55 cm. Before stocking the loach, first disinfect with quicklime or bleaching powder, then add some organic fertilizer to cultivate the water quality, and stock about 200-250 kg of fry per mu. After that, feed some artificial bait every day, such as rice bran, fish meal, fly maggots, etc., and they can be sold after about four months of farming.
Pond polyculture means raising loach together with other aquatic products, such as grass carp, silver carp, etc. This kind of farming does not require feeding bait to the loach; as long as a certain amount of bait is fed to the fish, the leftovers from the fish and the fish feces can become food for the loach. This can save costs and is a good farming method.
2. Rice paddy farming
Rice paddies are somewhat weakly acidic and have little mud and sand. Using rice paddies for farming can save costs and water surface area, but when using rice paddies to raise loach, the field ridges around the rice paddy must all be raised to prevent the loach from escaping. The rice paddy model allows one field to be used for two purposes, and during rearing the loach can feed on insects and aquatic plants in the rice paddy, which can help protect against pests, while the loach's excrement can also serve as fertilizer for the rice. In this way, both the rice and the loach benefit each other.
3. Pit and pond farming
Pit and pond farming means using abandoned ponds or low-lying land near houses as farming sites. This kind of farming site does not need to be very large, and the number of loach raised will not be very high either. Although the environment of this kind of pit and pond is not very good and has relatively more organic matter, the loach has special respiratory organs, so it can survive very well in this kind of pit and pond. Moreover, this farming method generally only requires feeding fertilizers such as pig manure and chicken manure, which saves both feed and site costs.
4. Cage farming
Cage farming is a farming method that is relatively convenient to manage. Although the loach has strong vitality, for the sake of yield it is still necessary to choose a site with a relatively good environment. The site should preferably have good water quality and a water source far from industrial areas, such as sunny, wind-sheltered lakes, running-water ponds and reservoirs, all of which are relatively good farming sites.
In addition, the cage also needs a certain height to prevent the loach from escaping, and cage farming is generally mainly based on feeding artificial feed.