Nine Key Points to Note During the Peak Growing Season for Fish Farming

1. Prevent starvation. Fish have a large food intake during the peak growing season, so more bait should be fed. In ponds mainly stocked with grass carp, crucian carp, tilapia, etc., mixed baits such as wheat bran, oilseed cake, and bean dregs, as well as fresh baits such as tender grass and plant stems and leaves, should be fed. Under normal circumstances, the daily amount of coarse feed fed should account for 10% of the total weight of the pond fish.

2. Prevent fertilizer deficiency. The amount of fertilizer applied during the peak growing season for fish should account for 80% of the total fertilizer applied for the entire period. Therefore, every 5 to 7 days, apply 60 to 100 kg of fully fermented human and livestock manure and 2 to 3 kg of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers per mu.

3. Prevent oxygen deficiency. In summer, fish consume a large amount of oxygen, and in addition, the decomposition of large amounts of fertilizer and organic matter can easily cause oxygen deficiency in the pond water, so oxygen aerators should be turned on in time to increase oxygen. In places without oxygen-increasing equipment, fresh water should be injected at a ratio of 10% of the pond water, while artificial oxygen increase should also be used.

4. Prevent floating head. Because the weather is hot and water pressure decreases, fish gather at the water surface to breathe, which is called “floating head.” Measures should be taken according to the cause and severity of floating head. If floating head is caused by a large amount of bait fed, oxygen should be increased in time and fresh water should be added, and 6 kg of quicklime or 2 kg of alum or 2 kg of salt per mu should be dissolved in water and splashed over the entire pond. Also, debris, residual grass, foam, and so on in the water should be removed completely.

5. Prevent “water reversal.” Water reversal is also called clear water disease, and it mostly occurs in sandy-bottom clear water ponds during excessively long rainy periods. The main reason is that there are many large zooplankton such as Daphnia, cladocerans, and copepods in the pond, which consume large amounts of phytoplankton, and in addition, the amount of new water in the pond during rainy days is too large, disrupting the ecological balance in the pond water. Prevention method: increase the stocking of bighead carp and tilapia to control the number of zooplankton, splash crystal trichlorfon solution over the entire pond, and then combine with artificial fertilization, and the pond water will quickly become fertile.

6. Prevent water quality aging. Due to high temperatures, pond water will change from slightly alkaline to acidic and age, seriously affecting the reproduction of natural bait, thereby inhibiting fish growth. Every 15 days, use 15 kg of quicklime per mu, mix with water, and splash evenly over the entire pond.

7. Prevent diseases. The peak growing season for fish is also a season with frequent fish diseases, especially enteritis, gill rot, and saprolegniasis, which occur relatively frequently. Bleaching powder should be splashed over the entire pond once a month, or mixed into green feed for feeding, or chives and garlic can be mashed and added in an appropriate amount to green feed for feeding, and quicklime can also be used regularly at 10 to 15 kg per mu dissolved in water and splashed.

8. Prevent blue-green algae poisoning. As water temperature rises, blue-green algae multiply in large numbers, which can affect fish growth. The toxic substances produced after blue-green algae die can also cause fish death, so quicklime and copper sulfate must be used in time to kill the algae.

9. Prevent escape. There are many storms in summer, and fresh water will make fish unusually active. When the pond water level rises or overflows, management should be strengthened to prevent fish from escaping.