What do river shrimp eat, and how much profit per mu can be made from farming them

River shrimp are a type of freshwater shrimp with relatively high nutritional value and a delicious taste; after being dried, they are well loved by everyone when used in cooking. As the saying goes, big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp, so have you ever thought about what river shrimp eat? Nowadays some farmers are engaged in river shrimp farming, so what is the profit per mu from farming?

1. What do river shrimp usually eat?

River shrimp are omnivorous animals. At the juvenile stage they feed on plankton. In natural waters, adult shrimp mainly feed on various small benthic invertebrates, carcasses of aquatic animals, attached algae, various filamentous algae, organic debris, plant fragments, and so on. Farmed river shrimp can consume various commercial feeds, such as distillers' grains, tofu residue, soybean cake, silkworm pupae, clam meat, wheat flour, fish meal, cooked rice, and river snails, and they especially like to eat maggots. When feed is insufficient, they will even eat each other. They are negatively phototactic to light, mostly hiding in dark places during the day and coming out at night to feed and move about. Therefore, feed is mostly put in after dark.

2. What is the profit per mu from river shrimp farming?

1. Pond conditions and clearing

It is advisable to choose a freshwater pond or shrimp pond with an area of 3 to 5 mu, a water depth of 1.5 to 2.5 m, abundant freshwater sources, no pollution, and a sandy bottom.

2. Fertilizing to cultivate feed

One week before stocking shrimp fry, filter the water with a 60 to 80 mesh silk screen, fill with water to 30 cm, and apply 50 kg of base fertilizer (fermented livestock manure) or 5 kg of urea per mu to cultivate basic feed.

3. Stocking shrimp fry

Generally, when the water temperature stabilizes at 18 to 20°C in late May, shrimp fry can be stocked. The shrimp fry need to undergo desalination treatment for more than one week, and can be stocked only when the specific gravity is below 1.003. Generally, 30,000 to 40,000 shrimp fry of 0.7 to 1.0 cm are stocked per mu, and fry below 0.7 cm need to be temporarily cultured. The shrimp pond can be polycultured with 80 to 150 fingerlings of silver carp and bighead carp of 10 to 20 cm.

4. Feed feeding

Within 1 month after the shrimp fry are put into the pond, there is basically no need to feed compound feed, as they mainly rely on plankton in the pond for food. After 1 month, feed compound feed, supplemented with fresh fish, shellfish meat, and so on. The feeding rate is generally 3% to 5% of the shrimp body weight. From July to September, the feeding amount can be appropriately increased, with the principle of leaving no leftover feed. The feeding frequency is 2 to 3 times a day, with the daytime amount accounting for 1/3 and the evening amount accounting for 2/3.

5. Regulating water and preventing disease

Ten days after stocking the shrimp fry, begin gradually adding water, adding 10 to 15 cm each week. In hot seasons, change the water by 20 to 30 cm every 2 to 3 days. About every half month, apply 5 to 10 kg of quicklime per mu, slaked into slurry and splashed over the whole pond, which both improves water quality and bottom quality and sterilizes and promotes molting and growth. At the same time, at 15 to 20 days, a medicated bait with 1‰ to 3‰ garlic should be mixed and fed continuously for 3 to 5 days.

6. Harvesting

Generally, after 80 to 100 days of farming, when the shrimp body reaches 7 to 10 cm, they can be caught and sold according to market conditions. They can be caught with nets or by draining the water. For dry live transport out of water for 36 hours, the survival rate can reach 90%.