A Detailed Guide to the Breeding Techniques and Management Methods for Spiny Loach

The body of the spiny loach is streamlined, with about 16 spines growing on its dorsal fin. Because the spines are hard and the fish resembles a thin, long small knife, it is called "spiny loach" or "knife loach". Its taste is fragrant and crisp, with an endless aftertaste, and it is a delicacy that many people enjoy. So, what are the artificial breeding techniques for spiny loach?

1. Breeding site

Abandoned ponds, low-lying land and the like can be directly used for renovation. The pond requires fresh water quality and convenient water filling and drainage. Feeding platforms must be set up in the pond, and fish collection areas should be set up in the middle of the pond and near the drainage outlet to facilitate catching. The inlet and outlet openings of the pit must be covered with wire mesh to prevent escape, and the pond should be cleared and disinfected before stocking.

2. Stocking requirements

The loach fry to be stocked must be uniform in size, robust in constitution, free of disease and injury, and bright in body color. The stocking density should be determined according to pond conditions, feed sources and management level. Before stocking, they can be soaked in salt water for disinfection for 15 to 25 minutes. Other fish can be polycultured in the pond, such as silver carp, bighead carp, common carp, grass carp, bream and so on, so that there is no need to specially feed the loach a large amount of bait, because the loach can eat the bait left uneaten by the fish and the feces they excrete.

3. Pond water management

At the beginning, the pond water depth should be kept between 10 and 20 cm, and the water level should be gradually deepened afterward. Normally it should be shallower, and it can be deepened during hot high temperatures. The water color of the pond should preferably be yellow-green, with a transparency of 20 to 25 cm, and a pH of neutral or weakly acidic. New water should be added frequently to maintain a good water environment, and during stuffy and hot weather, new water should be added or oxygen should be increased in a timely manner. Field snails and microbial preparations should be used in a timely manner to improve the water body, and bleaching powder should be used regularly for disinfection.

4. Bait feeding

Loach has omnivorous feeding habits. Water fleas, earthworms, fly maggots and the like are natural baits. In artificial breeding, fish meal, pig blood meal, rice bran, wheat bran, rapeseed cake and so on can be fed. The bait fed must be fresh and must be placed on the feeding platform. Before feeding, the feeding situation of the previous time should be checked. If it is found that the feed has not been finished, the amount fed should be reduced, and residual bait should be removed in a timely manner. For rice field breeding, a certain amount of artificial bait can be fed every day or every other day. For pit pond breeding, generally only organic fertilizers such as pig and chicken manure and leftover household scraps need to be added.

5. Disease prevention and control

Water should be changed regularly to keep the water quality fresh. The bottom substrate should be improved regularly to reduce the gas content in the water body. Quicklime and bleaching powder should be splashed over the whole pond regularly to improve water quality and prevent the occurrence of fish diseases. Harmful organisms such as water snakes and water rats in the loach pond should be removed in a timely manner.

6. Harvesting

Loach harvesting can adopt methods such as cage catching, net catching, fragrant bait trapping, drug driving, and draining the pond to catch them. Cage catching is mostly used for catching wild loach. Net catching is difficult to complete in one attempt. Fragrant bait trapping and drug driving are mostly suitable for rice field breeding, while ponds generally adopt the method of draining the pond to catch them.

The method of breeding spiny loach is the same as that for ordinary loach. I hope the above content can help everyone.