How to Raise Sand Worms? A Detailed Guide to Pond Culture Techniques for Sea Ginseng

The sand worm, also known as sea ginseng or the square-grid peanut worm, is a delicacy from the sea and is very sensitive to environmental quality, so farming it requires great care. So, what pond culture techniques are there for sand worms?

1. Pond Conditions

Sand worm culture ponds are generally preferably 3-5 mu in area, rectangular or square in shape, with a water depth of 80-120 cm. The bottom should preferably be muddy-sandy, with a sand content of more than 70%, and it should be loose and coarse. The pond embankments should be sturdy and durable, the pond should have good water retention, and the pond water should be able to drain naturally. The pond must have an adequate water source and good water quality, with no industrial or domestic sewage flowing in nearby. These are the basic conditions for sand worm culture.

2. Pond Disinfection

1. Pond cleaning

After harvesting the worms, close the sluice gates and dry the pond, repair the embankments, and clear the pond bottom. Dig a ring ditch around the inside of the pond, 50 cm wide. Divide the pond into blocks, each 200-250 cm wide, with a 50 cm wide ditch left between blocks for drainage and operations. After the culture block surfaces are divided, turn and harrow the soil, then use wooden boards to press and smooth the block surfaces, pressing from both sides of each block toward the center into a “road shape” so that no water accumulates on the block surfaces.

2. Disinfection and fertilizing the water

For the leveled pond, chemical clearing should be carried out 10 days before stocking. Bleaching powder can be made into an emulsion and splashed over the whole pond at a rate of 8-10 kg per mu. After the fertilizer-water efficacy period has passed, store water to cultivate basic feed. The water inlet should be filtered with an 80-mesh silk screen bag. Let in water to 40-50 cm. For fertilizing the water, fermented farmyard manure can be used at 200 kg per mu, spread on the culture block surfaces, or apply 3 kg of nitrogen fertilizer and 1 kg of phosphorus fertilizer per mu.

3. Culture Management

1. Stocking time

The stocking time for sand worms is around Qingming Festival, with 50 kg of seedlings put in per mu, at a size of more than 400 worms per kg. The seedlings should be individually intact and uninjured, and dark brown in color. Stocking should preferably be done on sunny days, with the pond seawater salinity at around 25‰. The difference between the culture water and the seedling water salinity should not exceed 5‰. The stocking density is preferably 30 worms per square meter. Evenly scatter the seedlings over the culture block surfaces and let them naturally burrow into the mud and sand.

2. Pond management

2-3 days after the sand worm seedlings are stocked, go down to the pond to check the survival rate of the stocked seedlings. If a low survival rate is found, reseed immediately. After that, go down to the pond to check every week. The ditches and embankments should be maintained regularly. In summer, dredge the ditches in time and level the block surfaces into a “road shape” so that no water accumulates on the block surfaces, making the block surfaces firm and forming a stable living environment that is convenient for the growth of sand worms.

3. Water level adjustment

During the sand worm grow-out period, pay attention to adjusting the water level according to climate changes. In spring and autumn, when the weather is warm, store shallow water; in summer when it is hot and in winter when it is severely cold, deepen the water level. Generally change the water once a week, and dry the pond for 2-3 days each month. Take advantage of drying the pond to go down and remove harmful organisms such as fish, shrimp, crabs and Enteromorpha, ensuring the pond stays clean. During the sand worm culture period, depending on the pond conditions, appropriately fertilize to grow algae or feed some artificial bait as a supplementary feed.

The above are the pond culture techniques for sand worms. I hope they can help all you farmers!