The Easiest Economic Crop to Raise - Farming Techniques for the Golden Apple Snail

The golden apple snail, also known as the channeled apple snail or apple snail, originated in the Amazon River basin of South America and is a large edible snail species. Golden apple snails have thin shells and abundant meat, with the edible portion accounting for 46%-48% of the snail's body weight. Golden apple snail meat has relatively high medicinal value and can also serve as a high-protein feed for fish. The feeding and management techniques for golden apple snails are described below

I. Farming Conditions

Golden apple snails prefer shade and moisture and are afraid of light. They are suitable for growing in ditches, shallow low-lying land, fish ponds, farmland, canals and artificially constructed cement ponds. Generally, a water depth of 50 to 100 cm is appropriate. They can also be raised at high density in net cages in large and small water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs and rivers; for small-scale household rearing, water vats, troughs and basins can be used. The banks and dams of water bodies used for raising golden apple snails should be more than 30 cm above the water surface, to prevent the snails from crawling out when laying eggs or omnivorous fish from nearby fish ponds getting in and eating the young snails. Wire mesh, polyethylene cloth or bamboo fencing and other blocking equipment should be installed at the inlet and outlet to prevent them from crawling out when water is drained. Snail ponds close to farmhouses must have bamboo fences and other blocking facilities set up around them to prevent livestock and poultry from entering.

II. Stocking Brood Snails

Select healthy, active brood snails with undamaged shells and a body weight of 30 to 50 grams, grown in the current year, for stocking. Generally, stock 60 to 80 brood snails per sq m, with a female-to-male stocking ratio of 5:1. In ponds where brood snails are stocked, insert some bamboo poles, wooden sticks and other fixed objects for them to attach their eggs to

III. Feeding and Management

1. The golden apple snail is an omnivorous plant-eating snail species that mainly feeds on plant-based feed and also consumes a small amount of concentrated feed. This increases the nutrition of the brood snails and raises their egg production and hatching rate.

2. First, change the water once every 5 days, then watch out for pesticides and other toxic substances contaminating the water source. Third, pay attention to changes in water temperature. The most suitable growth temperature for golden apple snails is between 24C-30C. When the water temperature is below 10C or above 40C, insulation and cooling measures should be taken promptly where conditions permit, to prevent the growth and development of the golden apple snails from being inhibited.

IV. Artificial Breeding

Golden apple snails are dioecious and egg-laying. Generally, young snails raised for about 100 days can lay eggs and reproduce.

Sexually mature female snails lay eggs once every 5 to 10 days. At natural temperatures, the reproduction period of golden apple snails is 6 to 9 months. Fertilized eggs can hatch into young snails in 15 days. However, during the incubation period, harm from natural enemies such as ants, spiders and cockroaches must be prevented. To increase the reproduction rate, artificial incubation can also be used: place 10 cm of water in a water vat, place a window-screen tray with 5 mm mesh openings on the water surface, scrape off the fertilized egg clusters laid by the golden apple snails on the pond walls with a knife and place them in the tray, and maintain a water temperature of 28C; after 12 days the young snails will hatch.

V. Overwintering of Brood Snails

Golden apple snails generally stop feeding and growing below 10C and enter a dormant state. Around 5C is the critical lethal temperature. Insulation methods should suit local conditions: use hot spring or power plant hot water for warmth; use plastic greenhouses or deep wells for insulation; or use indoor heating for insulation. The insulation temperature should be kept above 6C.