How to Raise Grass Carp? A Detailed Explanation of Key Grass Carp Farming Techniques

Grass carp is one of the fish we commonly eat. Its flesh is very tender and delicious, and its nutritional value is extremely high, so eating it regularly is good for the body. As everyone's demand for grass carp gradually increases, farming grass carp has also become a relatively popular farming project. So do you know how grass carp should actually be farmed?

How to Raise Grass Carp

1. Feed feeding: Mainly feed pelleted feed, with a feed protein content of 28-32%, supplemented with green feed. Feed feeding follows the principles of “coarse first, fine later” and “four fixed, four observe”. Generally, feed 2 times a day, and it is best if the feed is finished within 2 hours and the grass carp eats until 80% full. After continuously feeding pelleted feed for a period of time, pelleted feed should be stopped for 1 week, and during the interval, raw grain feed should be given. Usually, pay attention to appropriately adding vitamins and other medicines to the feed to avoid diseases such as hepatobiliary syndrome in grass carp that can cause massive deaths.

2. Water quality management: Correctly use aerators. From June to October, on sunny and windless days, turn on the machine every day from 1 to 3 pm to aerate for 2 hours, and aerate at appropriate times in the early morning. On consecutive cloudy days, aeration should be started earlier. Add fresh water to the pond at appropriate times, and adopt the method of “small drainage, small inflow, multiple water changes” to gradually regulate water quality. From June to September, add fresh water once every 3-5 days, about 10 cm each time, and every 15-20 days, use 10-20 kg of quicklime per mu of water surface at 1 m depth, slake it into slurry and splash it over the whole pond once.

3. Disease prevention and control: Adopt the method of “coarse first, fine later, combining fine feed and green feed” for feeding to control the occurrence of hepatobiliary syndrome in grass carp. Common diseases of grass carp include red skin disease, gill rot disease, and enteritis disease. Generally, a treatment method combining oral administration and external splashing is adopted. External splashing mainly uses disinfectants such as bleaching powder and chlorine dioxide, for 3 consecutive days. For oral administration, “Sanhuang powder” medicated bait has a relatively good effect. For every 50 kg of fish body weight, use 0.3 kg of Sanhuang powder (50% rhubarb, 30% golden cypress, 20% skullcap, ground into powder and mixed evenly) mixed with flour paste and then mixed into the feed for feeding, for 3-5 consecutive days.

Grass Carp Farming Techniques

1. Fry are stocked after Qingming Festival in April. In April, tender buds and tender grass can be seen everywhere on the land. At this time, at 9 am, tender weeds in the fields can be cut to feed the fry. The feeding amount is best if finished within 3 hours, and feeding feed at 4 pm is best if finished within 2 hours.

2. In early spring, elephant grass and other forage grasses can also be planted to increase green feed. Elephant grass is drought-tolerant and has strong growth ability, with a protein content of 16 percent.

3. By mid-May, the cassava planted by farmers can have its branches cut to feed grass carp. That is, after cassava is planted, it will grow 1 to 4 stems, and only one should be kept while the excess is cut off, which is beneficial to growth. The protein content of cassava leaves is about 20 percent. The feeding amount of cassava leaves is best if finished within 3 hours, and feeding feed at 4 pm is best if finished within 2 hours.

4. Use bamboo to make a square feeding frame to facilitate feeding. After feeding, the cassava stems should be promptly taken out to avoid rotting in the water and affecting water quality.

5. Cassava leaves and elephant grass should alternate every other day to increase the feeding of different nutrients.

6. After 8 to 9 months of careful feeding with green feed and feed, the weight of grass carp can reach between 4 and 5 jin. Grass carp raised this way has good flesh quality and can sell for more than double the price of grass carp fed only with feed.

7. Feeding should be regular and quantitative. On cloudy and rainy days, do not feed the fish or feed less. Feed should be selected from manufacturers with a good reputation.

Pond Construction for Grass Carp

A grass carp farming base should have sufficient water sources, good water quality, compliance with the “Water Quality Standard for Freshwater Aquaculture of Pollution-Free Food”, smooth water intake and drainage, no mutual connection between fish ponds, convenient transportation for transporting fish, abundant feed resources, and good ecological and environmental conditions. The pond area is preferably 10-20 mu, the water depth is 2-2.5 m, and the silt thickness should not exceed 20 cm. For every 10 mu of pond, one aerator with a power of 3 kilowatts and one automatic feeding machine should be equipped. In winter, drain the pond water and freeze and sun-dry for more than 20 days. 15 days before stocking fingerlings, add 10-20 cm of water and use 150 kg of quicklime per mu to disinfect the pond.

Ecological Habits of Grass Carp

Grass carp generally prefer to inhabit the middle and lower layers of rivers, lakes, and other waters, and areas near the shore with abundant aquatic plants. It has the habit of river-lake migration. Sexually mature individuals spawn in flowing water such as rivers and reservoirs. After spawning, the parent fish and young fish enter tributaries and lakes connected to the river, usually feeding and fattening in flooded shallow grass beaches and floodplain areas as well as affiliated water bodies of the main and tributary streams (lakes, small rivers, channels, and other areas with dense aquatic plants). In winter, they overwinter in deep water in the main stream or lakes. Grass carp are lively in temperament, swim quickly, often seek food in groups, and are gluttonous. They are typical herbivorous fish. During the fry stage, they feed on zooplankton. During the juvenile stage, they also eat insects, earthworms, algae, and duckweed. When the body length reaches more than about 10 cm, they completely feed on aquatic higher plants, especially grasses of the Poaceae family. The types of plants eaten vary according to the condition of the food base in the living environment.

Through the above content, I believe everyone has gained a certain understanding of grass carp farming techniques. As everyone knows, starting a business involves risks, and no project is guaranteed to make steady profits. In order to reduce the probability of loss, everyone must understand the farming techniques and market analysis and make complete preparations!