How to Build a Crayfish Farming Pond? Detailed Guide to Pond Construction Methods
In recent years, crayfish have sold very well on the market. First, this is because more and more people like to have crayfish with ice-cold beer on hot summer evenings; second, crayfish are increasingly appearing on everyone's home menus. Below, let's take a look at the pond construction techniques for raising crayfish!
How to build a pond for raising crayfish?
Reasonable pond construction is one of the key factors determining the success and high yield of crayfish farming, and it is also the first step in raising crayfish.
The bottom soil of the crayfish pond is required to be loam, the soil on the pond slope should be relatively hard, the pond should have good water retention, and the water level should be easy to regulate; any water body or pond suitable for raising fish can be used for farming, but sandy soil, which cannot be burrowed into, cannot be used for farming.
At present, crayfish farming is mainly based on two models: intensive farming and rice-crayfish farming. However, the infrastructure for these two types of ponds has stumped many people, so how exactly should they be built?
1. Choosing a pond
The water source must have fresh water quality, sufficient dissolved oxygen, and no pollution. Loamy clay is preferable, the pond ridge should be more than 3 m wide, the slope should be 1:2.5, the water depth should be 0.8-1.5 m, the pH value should be 7.5-8.5, and the pond area should not be too large, generally 3-8 mu is suitable, rectangular, oriented east-west. When adding new water to the pond, it must be filtered through 20-40 mesh gauze to prevent wild fish and fish eggs from entering the pond with the water flow. According to the layout of high irrigation and low drainage, build the inlet and drainage channels well, so that water can be irrigated in and drained out. Crayfish have a strong ability to escape, so escape prevention facilities must be built well. Usually, plastic film, mesh, calcium plastic boards, or cement boards are erected around the pond ridge as escape prevention facilities to prevent harmful organisms from entering and crayfish from escaping.
2. Pond clearing and disinfection
Pond clearing and disinfection can effectively kill harmful organisms in the pond (catfish, loach, snakehead, snakes, rats, etc.), wild and miscellaneous fish that compete for food (carp, crucian carp, etc.), and pathogens. Quicklime and bleaching powder can be used, which are economical, affordable, and safe. The specific operation methods are: 1. Quicklime disinfection. Dry method disinfection: use 70 kg of quicklime per mu, dissolve in water and splash over the whole pond; if conditions permit, rake it over with a rake, and after drying the pond for one week, add new water; disinfection with water: calculate per mu of water surface at a water depth of 1 m, use 130 kg of quicklime dissolved in water, then splash evenly over the whole pond. 2. Bleaching powder disinfection. After completely dissolving bleaching powder containing 30% effective chlorine, splash it evenly over the whole pond, with a dosage of 25 kg per mu.
3. Planting aquatic plants
"Whether crayfish are good depends on whether there is grass in the pond. Whether crayfish are big depends on the grass in the pond." Aquatic plants occupy a pivotal position in crayfish farming. First, aquatic plants can make up for insufficient food intake by crayfish and supplement a large amount of vitamins; second, they can prevent wind and waves, absorb some harmful substances in the water body, purify water quality, and balance the water environment; third, they can provide hiding and perching places for young shrimp and molting shrimp, reducing the strong bullying the weak. Generally, the area planted with aquatic plants should be half of the total pond area. Varieties can be selected: low-stem reed, wild rice stem, Elodea, Hydrilla, etc. If conditions permit, some empty cans, bamboo tubes, tree roots, and other waste materials can also be placed at the bottom of the water body; these are all the favorite perching places of crayfish.
4. Fertilizing the crayfish pond
What are the methods for raising crayfish? Some people think it does not matter whether the pond for raising crayfish is fertilized or not. In fact, before stocking crayfish, applying an appropriate amount of organic fertilizer to the crayfish pond to cultivate food organisms can directly provide natural food after the shrimp enter the pond. Choose fermented organic fertilizer at 400 kg/mu to maintain the corresponding fertility of the pond water. During the rearing process, as the water level gradually deepens, apply decomposed organic fertilizer as a top dressing. The amount and timing should be chosen according to whether the water is fertile or lean, and generally no more than 80 kg each time is suitable. Keep the pond water transparency at about 35 cm.
Construction of escape prevention facilities for crayfish farming ponds
Crayfish have the ability to climb and escape, so when farming crayfish in ponds, escape prevention facilities must be complete.
1. Brick wall escape prevention: build a brick wall on the inner side of the pond ridge, with a wall thickness of 11 cm, a height of 20-30 cm, and a foundation depth of about 10 cm. The cement joints inside the wall should preferably be smoothed with cement, and a brick should be laid horizontally on top of the wall, extending inward about 5 cm to form an overhang. This escape prevention method is sturdy and durable and can be used for 10-15 years.
2. Plastic film escape prevention: insert bamboo strips 30-40 cm high on the inner side of the pond ridge, with bamboo strips spaced 40-50 cm apart, attach thick plastic film to the inner side of the lower part of the bamboo strips, 20-30 cm high, then insert additional bamboo strips inside the film, with spacing corresponding to the outer bamboo strips, and clamp them firmly with rope. At the same time, add soil to the firmly clamped plastic film and tamp it down together to prevent crayfish from escaping. This escape prevention method is not durable and generally can only be used for 1 year.
3. Fiberglass reinforced plastic escape prevention: fiberglass reinforced plastic mostly refers to polyethylene plastic panels, generally about 1 mm thick. Use flat fiberglass reinforced plastic 30-40 cm high, insert it at 1/3 of the inner side of the pond ridge, penetrate 15-20 cm into the soil layer, and reinforce both the inner and outer sides with wooden stakes, with a stake spacing of 70-80 cm. This escape prevention method can be used for 6-8 years.
4. Asbestos tile escape prevention: cut asbestos tiles 1.2 m or 1.8 m high into 2-3 sections, insert them at 1/3 of the inner side of the pond ridge, with a soil penetration depth of 10-15 cm. Note that the tiles should interlock with overlapping teeth, with no gaps visible. Fix the inner and outer sides of the tiles firmly with wooden stakes or bamboo stakes, with a stake spacing of 0.8-1 m. This escape prevention method can be used for 3-5 years.
What factors need to be considered in crayfish farming?
1. Water source. No floods, no drought, and good water quality. Poor water quality will make crayfish sick or even die. In addition, as aquaculture, water usage is large, so the water source must be sufficient.
2. Transportation and electricity. Crayfish farming often requires shipping goods and bringing in feed, etc. Especially for large-scale farmers, transportation issues must be considered, and truck access must be ensured. In addition, because water often needs to be let in and drained out, the availability of electricity must be considered, and a certain load must be met, with reasonable electricity fees.
3. Rent. Rent is a relatively large expense item in crayfish farming. For high-density farming, the rent per mu should preferably not exceed 800 yuan. For low-density farming, consider abandoned ditches, abandoned ponds, swamps, and low-lying fields more to save input costs.
4. Site selection. What everyone considers more is the natural environment. Site selection should be as far away as possible from villages and main traffic roads to prevent theft and human damage. Investigate the local customs, maintain good relations with the local area, and consider the terms of land lease in detail.
5. Farming conditions. Ditches, paddy fields, swamps, and ponds are more suitable for high-density crayfish farming, while large water surfaces such as lakes and reservoirs are not suitable for intensive crayfish farming. Of course, if there are large amounts of aquatic plants in them, they can also be used for farming, but it is not convenient for feeding and harvesting. Swamps and low-lying fields are relatively cheap and suitable for large-area farming. Sandy land has loose soil, poor water retention, is not easy to grow grass, has lean water, and is not suitable for farming. In sandy soil, crayfish are more likely to burrow, so escape prevention measures must be built well. Cement ponds can be used for farming or temporary holding, but more artificial hiding objects should be added, aquatic plants should be fed, and water should be changed frequently. Because crayfish cannot burrow in cement ponds, cement ponds are not suitable for breeding unless special measures are taken.
The above introduced the pond construction plan for crayfish and the surrounding factors that need to be considered in crayfish farming. Crayfish have sold very well in recent years, but risks should also be noted, because good sales will lead to more people farming them, so before preparing for any farming, the market must be carefully investigated.