How to Raise Bighead Carp? A Detailed Explanation of Key Breeding Techniques

Bighead carp is widely favored for its large head and delicious taste, and its fish head is also the top choice material for the famous dish chopped chili fish head, giving it very promising market prospects. Bighead carp is a kind of aquatic fish, very suitable for breeding in freshwater, and can bring good economic benefits to breeders. What are the breeding methods for bighead carp? Many people are not very familiar with this, so follow the editor to learn about it.

How to Raise Bighead Carp

1. Preparation work: The water area required for stocking fry is 4-8 mu, with a water depth of 1.5-2M. Before stocking, an appropriate amount of organic fertilizer should be applied to increase the nutrients in the water.

2. Fry stocking time and breeding method: Generally May-June, avoiding the peak period of wheel rotifers when putting into the pond. The stocking method generally adopts mixed culture, which can fully give play to the utilization rate of the water body and the more economical use of feed. A small number of silver carp and common carp can be mixed in.

3. Daily observation: Patrol the pond once a day to observe the water color and fish activity; remove weeds and decaying debris in the water, clean the feeding platform and disinfect the feeding platform and food.

4. Preventive measures: Keep the stocking pond sanitary; regularly pull nets to check the growth and disease conditions of the fish, so as to reasonably establish the feeding amount and fish disease prevention and control methods, and do a good job in preventing escape, theft, fish diseases, and enemy harm.

5. Feeding requirements: Bighead carp fry mainly feed on plankton, and the pond water is required to be fertile with a large amount of plankton. In addition to applying base fertilizer before stocking, green manure and decomposed manure should also be applied after summer stocking, and new water should be regularly added to keep the water nutrition balanced. Artificial feeding should pay attention to timing, location, quality, and quantity.

Bighead Carp Breeding Techniques

1. Establish a fish pond

To breed bighead carp in large quantities, a suitable fish pond must be established. This fish requires a relatively large pond area, preferably between 4 and 8 mu, with a water depth of more than two meters, and before stocking fry, organic fertilizer must be applied for cultivation. The organic fertilizer can be decomposed animal manure or cake fertilizer, but the fertilizer should be applied in an appropriate amount and not in excessive concentration.

2. Stock fry

Bighead carp breeding should be carried out every summer. Stocking can be divided into single culture or mixed culture. Huiyang, that is, when putting in bighead carp fry, also put in other types of fry. This can maintain the ecological balance in the pond, benefit the growth of various fish, and also create higher economic benefits. Bighead carp is most suitable for breeding together with common carp, silver carp, and other fish.

3. Daily management

Bighead carp usually feeds mainly on plankton in the pond, so during breeding, the pond water must be kept fertile with a large number of plankton, so as to provide sufficient food for bighead carp. In addition, during bighead carp breeding, when artificially adding feed, the principles of fixed timing, fixed location, fixed quality, and fixed quantity must be maintained. Only in this way can the utilization rate of feed be improved.

4. Overwintering management

In late autumn and early winter, the temperature drops significantly, and at this time the activity of bighead carp decreases. When the temperature drops below ten degrees, bighead carp will almost stop eating. At this time, the bighead carp in the pond must be taken out and concentrated for breeding in relatively deep fish ponds. If conditions do not allow, all bighead carp need to be cleared out and sold, and fry should be restocked after the weather warms up the following year.

Differences Between Bighead Carp and Silver Carp

1. Water level difference

Silver carp: Silver carp inhabits the upper layer of the water area and feeds on phytoplankton such as diatoms and green algae.

Bighead carp: Bighead carp inhabits the middle and upper layers of the water area and feeds on zooplankton such as water fleas.

2. Fish head difference

Silver carp: The fish head of silver carp is relatively smaller than that of bighead carp.

Bighead carp: The fish head of bighead carp can account for 1/2 of the body or even more.

3. Body color difference

Bighead carp: Bighead carp has light black spots on its body.

Silver carp: Silver carp has all-white scales on its body, with no black spots.

4. Belly difference

Silver carp: Silver carp has a ridge on its belly, that is, there is a very obvious crease in the center of the belly.

Bighead carp: Bighead carp has a smooth belly with no crease.

5. Meat quality difference

Silver carp: Silver carp meat is slightly loose, its umami taste is not as good as bighead carp, and it has more small bones, making it inconvenient to eat.

Bighead carp: Bighead carp meat is delicate, and the fish head is rich in collagen protein, most suitable for making chopped chili fish head, garlic-flavored fish head, and so on.

What Food Do Silver Carp Eat

1. Silver carp is a typical filter-feeding fish. It relies on the special structure of its gills to filter plankton from the water. It feeds on plankton throughout its life. At the fry stage, it mainly eats zooplankton. When it grows to more than 1.5 cm, it gradually switches to eating phytoplankton, and it likes to eat grass carp feces and applied chicken and cow manure. It also eats soybean milk, soybean residue powder, wheat bran, and rice bran, and even more likes artificial micro-pellet compound feed.

2. Silver carp is very interested in sour food and also has a good appetite for distiller's grains feed. Silver carp likes to eat rotting food and is often raised together with grass carp because silver carp eats grass carp feces, hence the saying that one grass carp supports three silver carp.

3. The bait of silver carp has obvious seasonality. In spring and autumn, in addition to plankton, it also eats a large amount of detritus bait. In summer, the lower the water level, the greater its food intake. In winter, it eats less and moves less during overwintering.

At present, bighead carp breeding still has very promising market prospects. Experienced breeders may consider it, and perhaps it can bring relatively substantial economic benefits. However, the breeding industry does carry certain risks after all, so everyone must think it through clearly before breeding.