Is Grass Carp a Freshwater Fish or a Saltwater Fish? Read This and You Will Know

The grass carp is a freshwater fish, and together with the silver carp, bighead carp and black carp it is known as the “Four Great Domestic Fish”. Grass carp is sweet in taste, warm in nature and non-toxic; it enters the liver and stomach meridians and has the effects of warming the stomach and harmonizing the middle, calming and lowering liver yang, dispelling wind, treating impediment, benefiting the intestines and improving eyesight. So how much does grass carp cost per jin? What are the farming methods?

I. How much does grass carp cost per jin?

1. At the Hongxing Agricultural and Sideline Products Market in Changsha, Hunan, and the Mawangdui Vegetable Wholesale Market in Changsha, the price of grass carp is 12 yuan/kg;

2. The table below shows the wholesale prices of grass carp in some regions

II. What are the grass carp farming methods?

1. Selecting fry and ponds

When selecting grass carp fry, be sure to observe them carefully and choose fry with no wounds on the body surface and uniform size as much as possible, and the same batch of fry should be selected from the same location. The conditions a grass carp farming site must have are, first, an adequate water source; second, a complete power supply facility; and finally, convenient transportation. The site selected for a grass carp farm must comply with the relevant national regulations, must not waste water resources, and must not cause pollution to the environment.

2. Stocking fry

Before stocking the fry, use 150 kg of quicklime per mu to clear and disinfect the pond. After disinfection is complete, stock 300 grass carp fingerlings of 200-250 g each per mu, 300 crucian carp fingerlings of 15-20 fish/kg, 50 silver carp fingerlings and 10 bighead carp fingerlings of 5-6 fish/kg. Before stocking, soak the fingerlings in 5% salt water for disinfection for 5-10 minutes.

3. Feeding

When feeding grass carp, remember not to put in too much feed at one time, and the speed of each feeding should not be too fast; of course, the feeding of grass carp feed should not be too random either. The feed for grass carp must be guaranteed to be of good quality, so as to reduce the occurrence of grass carp diseases. When grass carp are in their growth period, small fish can be chosen as food for the grass carp, and a small amount of artificial feed can also be added.

4. Water quality management

From June to October, on sunny and windless days, turn on the aerator for 2 hours every day from 1-3 pm, and aerate at appropriate times in the early morning; on consecutive cloudy days, aeration should be started earlier. Add new water to the pond at appropriate times, and adopt the method of “small drainage and small inflow, changing the water multiple times” to gradually regulate the water quality. From June to September, add new water once every 3-5 days, adding about 10 cm each time, and every 15-20 days, apply 10-20 kg of quicklime per mu of water surface at 1 m depth, slaked into a slurry and splashed over the whole pond once.

5. Disease prevention and control

In addition to thoroughly disinfecting and cleaning the fish pond, the stocked fry must be guaranteed to be disease-free to avoid cross-infection. In addition, during the grass carp farming process, attention should be paid to preventing enteritis, red-skin disease and gill rot.