How to Raise Topmouth Gudgeon: Breeding Techniques and Fish Precautions
Fish are a very common aquatic animal in our lives, and there are many kinds of fish, of which the topmouth gudgeon is one. The topmouth gudgeon has extremely high economic value; it can not only be used as bait, but also as food. So do you know how to raise topmouth gudgeon properly? Below, let's learn about the breeding techniques for topmouth gudgeon together with the editor!
How to Raise Topmouth Gudgeon
1. Daily Management
Starting in late March, flush with water once every 5d, each time for 34h, to promote gonadal development. When the water temperature reaches 1015℃, check the maturity of the topmouth gudgeon fry. Under normal conditions, there is little difference in body shape between male and female fish, but during the breeding season they show obvious differences: mature male fish are larger and darker in color, with obvious secondary sexual characteristics appearing on the snout, cheeks, and other parts, namely white keratinous “pearl organs”, which feel rough to the touch, and milky white semen can be squeezed from the male fish; females are smaller and lighter in color, usually with a black longitudinal stripe on the side of the body, the ovipositor protrudes slightly, the abdomen is enlarged with an obvious ovarian outline, the abdomen is soft, and the genital pore is slightly red.
2. Induced Spawning
For topmouth gudgeon breeding, the spawning pond area is 5060m2, with a water depth of 0.60.8m. Beforehand, use 75100kg of disinfectant per mu dissolved in water and splash it over the whole pond for disinfection; the spawning-inducing drug is fish ovulation-promoting hormone No. 2, with a dose of 1.52ug/g for female fish and 11.5ug/g for male fish. When male fish are observed beginning to chase female fish, artificial insemination can be carried out.
3. Artificial Insemination
Observation shows that the effect time for induced spawning of topmouth gudgeon is within 12 hours. After injecting the drug for 12 hours, catch the topmouth gudgeon fry, collect eggs by the abdominal extrusion method, collect sperm by the dissection and crushing method, and use the semi-dry fertilization method. Then add aerated water, stir gently with a feather for 23 minutes, let stand for 2530 seconds, suck out excess testicular tissue and other debris, and place the fertilized eggs into the hatching pond for running-water incubation.
4. Hatching
For topmouth gudgeon breeding, the hatching pond is a circular cement pond with a radius of 33.5m, disinfected beforehand with potassium permanganate, with a ring of nano-microporous pipeline aeration equipment laid around the bottom of the pond, a water depth of 5060cm, and hatching water being ecologically purified pond water filtered through 100150-mesh silk gauze. After moving the eggs in, carry out running-water incubation at a temperature of 2025℃, with dissolved oxygen in the pond not lower than 6mg/L, changing 1/2 of the water daily, and regularly using drugs for disinfection.
Topmouth Gudgeon Breeding Techniques and Fish Precautions
1. Hatching Techniques
For topmouth gudgeon breeding, the hatching pond is a circular cement pond with a radius of 33.5 meters, disinfected beforehand with potassium permanganate, with a ring of nano-microporous pipeline aeration equipment laid around the bottom of the pond, a water depth of 50-60 cm, and hatching water being ecologically purified pond water filtered through 100-150-mesh silk gauze. After moving the eggs in, carry out running-water incubation at a temperature of 20-25℃, with dissolved oxygen in the pond not lower than 6 mg/L, changing 1/2 of the water daily, and regularly using drugs for disinfection.
2. Fry Stocking
7-10 days before stocking topmouth gudgeon, use quicklime to thoroughly clear and disinfect the pond, then apply biological fertilizer to cultivate rotifers, keeping the pond water transparency at 20-25 cm. Stock 8-10 ten thousand summer fry of topmouth gudgeon per mu, feed oil bran, and feed according to season, temperature, and growth conditions, generally 1-3 times a day. After 3-5 months of feeding, they can reach commercial size, at 120-160 fish per kilogram.
3. Feed Feeding
The topmouth gudgeon is an omnivorous fish that mainly feeds on zooplankton. During breeding, it can be fed oil bran or self-made compound feed. The feed formula is domestic fish meal 38%, rapeseed meal 21%, corn flour 12%, and wheat flour 29%. Adhere to the “four fixed and four look” principle. Under normal conditions, generally feed 2 times a day, with the feeding amount at about 5% of the fish body weight in the pond.
4. Precautions
Due to heavy feeding, the pond water tends to become enriched. At this time, water quality can be improved through reasonable water injection and fertilization, and if necessary, continuous circulating micro-flow water can be adopted, generally changing water once every 5 days or so, with each water change amounting to 1/5 of the pond water, and applying microbial preparations once every 10-15 days.
Selection of Topmouth Gudgeon Varieties
In some areas, topmouth gudgeon is bred as an economic fish. Selection of topmouth gudgeon can refer to foreign grading standards. Generally, those with darker body color, only 1-2 spots, and a longer body can only be listed as Grade C (third grade); taking the middle of the body as the boundary, those whose rear spots do not extend beyond the middle, but whose body surface is relatively bright, with some shiny star points distributed on the scales, can be listed as Grade B (second grade); those whose spot arrangement extends past the middle and approaches the head, with a reddish trend on the lower body surface behind the gills, and with widely distributed shiny star points on the body surface and clear markings, should be listed as Grade A (first grade); those with more unusual characteristics, such as character spots, peculiar colors, distinctive star points, and brilliant features, are all eligible to be listed as special grade.
Distribution Range of Topmouth Gudgeon
The topmouth gudgeon is extremely widely distributed, and its traces can be found in almost all freshwater waters. Specifically, however, there are more topmouth gudgeon in still-water areas and waters with low transparency, while there are few in waters with faster flow and greater depth. There are even more topmouth gudgeon in ponds with abundant aquatic plants, because it consumes large amounts of various fish eggs attached to aquatic plants.
It is distributed in freshwater waters across the East Asian mainland, Japan, and various parts of Taiwan, China. In eastern China it is a native species. Because of its characteristics such as eating mosquito larvae, many countries have introduced it to eliminate mosquitoes, but due to the lack of natural enemies, there is a hidden danger of it becoming an invasive alien species. In the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau region it has become an invasive alien species, and it is one of the culprits in the extinction of native species in lakes such as Dianchi Lake.
Through the above content, I believe everyone has gained a deeper understanding of the breeding techniques and precautions for topmouth gudgeon. As more and more people learn about the benefits of topmouth gudgeon, the demand for topmouth gudgeon has also greatly increased, so breeding topmouth gudgeon is also a relatively good breeding project!