What are the key points of golden apple snail farming technology?
The scientific name of the golden apple snail is Pomacea canaliculata; it resembles an apple in appearance, so it is also called the apple snail. It originated in the Amazon River basin of South America and was introduced to Guangdong Province in China for farming in the early 1980s. The golden apple snail is a delicious delicacy on family and restaurant tables. The key points of golden apple snail farming are introduced below.
1. Farming site Indoors, cement ponds can be built, or containers such as vats, barrels and basins can be used for farming. For outdoor farming, choose a place with abundant water, shelter from wind, no pollution, easy irrigation and drainage, and no natural enemies such as water rats, waterfowl and rice field eels.
2. Egg laying and hatching The snails can grow when the temperature is above 8°C, and their growth and reproductive capacity are especially strong at 20°C-30°C. Young snails after hatching lay eggs and reproduce after 3-4 months of farming. One female snail can lay eggs continuously for 2 years, and the eggs are laid in dry places above the water surface. During the egg-laying period, bamboo branches about 3 cm in diameter that rise above the water surface can be placed in the water, or aquatic plants can be moved in, for the female snails to lay eggs. The snail eggs are arranged in clusters; they are initially red and gradually turn brown after 4-5 days, and young snails hatch out after 8-12 days. Hatching is faster and the hatching rate is also high when the temperature is above 30°C. Therefore, except in summer, when natural hatching can be carried out outdoors, in the other seasons the egg clusters can be collected and hatched in a greenhouse.
3. Farming The optimal water depth for growth differs among snails of different sizes. A water layer 3 cm-10 cm deep is suitable for raising young snails weighing 0.5 g-1 g, and 20 cm-30 cm is better; for large snails weighing more than 10 g, a water depth of 50 cm-100 cm is needed. Therefore, three-stage farming should be used in production. Generally, newly hatched young snails can be placed in wooden basins indoors for 10-15 days, then transferred to a second-stage pond for rearing. The second-stage pond can use rice fields or another cement pond can be built, with a pond depth of 60 cm-80 cm; when the young snails reach 10 g, they are moved into a third-stage pond maintained at the appropriate water depth.
4. Stocking density In the first-stage pond (wooden basin), stock 4,000-6,000 young snails per sq m of water surface; in the second-stage pond, stock about 200 small snails per sq m of water surface; in the third-stage pond, stock 20 large snails per sq m of water surface, and if the water depth is more than 1 m, 40 can be stocked per sq m.
5. Feeding The golden apple snail mainly feeds on the stems and leaves of plants such as fresh green vegetables, aquatic plants and duckweed, but snails of different ages should have different choices: for young snails below 10 g, the feed is mainly red duckweed and tender green vegetable leaves, with some fine rice bran and other concentrated feed added appropriately; snails above 10 g can be fed vegetable leaves, aquatic plants, melon rinds, etc. The amount put in should be just enough for the snails to have feed to eat, and overfeeding at one time must be strictly prevented, as it can cause rotting and affect water quality. Feeding cannot use the fixed-point feeding method; instead, it should be distributed so that the feed is evenly scattered in the water, generally once in the morning and once in the evening.
6. Water quality The golden apple snail has a large appetite and produces a lot of excrement, which easily pollutes the water quality, so the water should be changed once every 3-5 days, or running-water farming should be used, to keep the water quality fresh. In addition, pollution of the pond water by pesticides, petroleum, lime and other substances must be strictly prevented.