Key Technical Points for High-Yield Carp Pond Culture
I think everyone is very familiar with crucian carp. Crucian carp is eaten quite a lot in daily life. Crucian carp has many bones, but because its price is relatively cheap and it is also plentiful in the market, it is deeply loved by the public. The requirements and threshold for crucian carp farming are very low, so there are now many people raising crucian carp in rural areas.
How to farm carp in ponds to achieve high yield
1. Pond conditions
The area of the fish pond is generally required not to be too large; 5-10 mu is best, with a water depth of about 2 m, convenient water sources, and 0.3-0.5 kW of aerator capacity per mu of water surface.
2. Stocking of fingerlings
1. Stocking time: after autumn of the previous year or in spring of the current year, when the water temperature is 8-10C.
2. Stocking species and quantity: 800-1,300 carp fingerlings per mu, and 300-600 silver carp fingerlings.
3. Pond clearing and fertilization before stocking: dry method pond clearing with quicklime, 100-150 kg per mu; apply base fertilizer (preferably fermented chicken manure or cow manure) at 150-400 kg per mu, and no further fertilization is needed throughout the entire culture process.
3. Feed
1. Raw materials and processing: During feeding, carp are all fed artificial compound feed, mainly based on local rural products such as oilseed cakes and brans, with an appropriate amount of animal protein feed such as fishmeal added. The crude protein content is required to be about 30-35%, with amino acids basically balanced, and the feed conversion ratio is generally about 1.7-2. The raw materials are crushed, then proportionally mixed, and processed into pellet feed with a particle size of 3 mm for later use.
2. Here is a carp feed formula for reference: fishmeal 5%, soybean cake 10%, cottonseed cake 20%, wheat bran 35%, peanut cake 10%, cornmeal 5%, yeast powder 2%, minerals and multivitamins 2.5%, salt 0.5%. This formula has a crude protein content of 30%.
4. Feeding management
1. Pay attention to pond patrols: take timely measures when abnormal phenomena are found, and prevent pond turnover during high temperatures and rainy weather. Run the aerator appropriately, and inject new water when necessary.
2. Feeding technique: Set one feeding point every 5-10 mu. After the fingerlings are stocked, combine feeding with sound to train the fish to gather and compete for food. Adhere to the four fixed principles in feeding: fixed time, fixed place, fixed quality, and fixed quantity. Feed small amounts multiple times, using manual broadcasting or automatic feeder machines, with each feeding lasting about 30 minutes.
3. Fish disease prevention and control: Give priority to prevention. In high-temperature seasons, insist on splashing quicklime at 10-15 kg per mu mixed with water over the whole pond every half month, and splash trichlorfon crystals at 0.25 ppm or bleaching powder at 1 ppm over the whole pond once a month.
4. Sample and measure fish growth once a month, and keep a pond diary.
Carp farming techniques
1. Morphological characteristics
The fish body is spindle-shaped and slightly flattened, with a grayish-black back, a pale white or light gray belly, and golden yellow below the lateral line and near the caudal peduncle (body color also varies by variety, including golden yellow, orange-red, pink, etc.). The mouth is terminal and horseshoe-shaped, with 2 pairs of barbels; the maxillary barbels are about 2 times as long as the rostral barbels. Scales are relatively large. The individual is relatively large; commonly 0.5-2.5 kg, with a maximum of more than 15 kg.
2. Feeding habits and growth
Carp is an omnivorous bottom-dwelling fish. Fry with a body length below 3 cm mainly feed on rotifers and small cladocerans; those above 3 cm mainly feed on cladocerans, copepods, chironomid larvae, and other insect larvae; those with a body length above 20 cm mainly feed on chironomid worms and ciliates; those over one year old feed on benthic organisms such as insects, snails, clams, and fragments of aquatic vascular plants, while other items such as algae are also often found in the intestines. Because of its omnivorous diet, wide food range, low requirements for living conditions, and fast growth, it generally reaches market size at two years old; if fed compound feed, it can reach market size at one year old.
3. Living habits
Carp likes to live in the lower layer of water bodies. The most suitable growth water temperature is 25-32°C; growth slows noticeably above 32°C or below 15°C, and feeding stops below 10°C. The suitable dissolved oxygen level is above 4.5 mg/l; below 2 mg/l it eats less, and at 1 mg/l it stops eating and surfaces to gasp for air.
4. Reproductive characteristics
Generally sexually mature at two years old, and some individuals can also mature at one year old. The spawning season varies by region; spawning can occur from March to August (with April to June as the peak period), and it is a batch-spawning type. Spawning grounds are mostly in shallow lake bays or river bends with dense aquatic vegetation. The eggs are strongly adhesive and firmly attach to aquatic plants after being laid. Fecundity varies with age and individual size, ranging from 150,000 to 800,000 eggs. After the eggs are laid, they can hatch into fry after 4-6 days at a water temperature of 15-20°C.
The living habits of carp
Carp belongs to the bottom-dwelling omnivorous fish group and eats both meat and plants. Its bait spectrum is broad, its rostral bone is well developed, and it often roots in mud to feed. Carp is also a lower poikilothermic animal; its body temperature changes with water temperature and it does not need to consume energy to maintain a constant body temperature, so the total amount of bait it needs to eat is not large. At the same time, like most freshwater fish, carp is a stomachless species with a short and thin intestine and a fast metabolism, so its feeding habit is to eat small amounts frequently. The digestive function of carp is greatly related to water temperature, and its feeding is strongly seasonal.
In winter (especially under ice) it is basically in a semi-dormant state and stops feeding. Body fat is consumed almost completely over the winter, and as soon as spring arrives it is eager to feed on high-protein food to replenish. In late autumn, as winter approaches, in order to accumulate fat, there will also be a “feeding rush” peak, and it is also mainly based on high-protein bait. Therefore, when fishing for carp in early spring and late autumn, animal-based baits such as earthworms and river shrimp should be used as the main bait.
After spring, as the temperature rises, the fish's food intake increases, the quality of the bait is no longer primary, and quantity becomes the first priority. Therefore, in the rather long period of late spring, the entire summer, and early autumn, carp mainly feeds on plant-based food. When fishing at this time, dough bait, fermented grain bait, and the like should be used.
Carp feed formulas
1. Wheat bran 45%, soybean cake 40%, barley 10%, fishmeal 5%, with appropriate amounts of multivitamins, inorganic salts, lysine, and methionine added. The feed conversion ratio is 2. This formula was provided by the Beijing Fisheries Research Institute.
2. Wheat bran 45%, fishmeal 30%, soybean cake 15%, barley 10%, with the same additives as (1). The feed conversion ratio is 2. This formula was provided by the Beijing Fisheries Research Institute.
3. Soybean cake 50%, fishmeal 15%, wheat bran 15%, rice bran 15%, multivitamins 1%, inorganic salts and antibiotic processing scraps 1% each, binder 2%. The feed conversion ratio is 2.7. This formula was provided by the Shanghai Fisheries Research Institute.
Farming crucian carp also involves certain techniques and skills. Even when both are farming fish, some people achieve high crucian carp yields while others achieve low yields. Why is this? Everyone's farming techniques are different, so one should learn successful farming experience from other successful farmers.