The loach is hailed as the "ginseng of the water." What are its breeding techniques?

The loach is a small-sized aquatic animal of the family Cobitidae, also known as fish loach, loach fish, and so on. Its whole body is dark bluish-black and covered with mucus. The loach is edible and also has high medicinal value. So, what breeding techniques are there for loach? Let's learn about them together!

1. Site selection and pond construction

For pond construction, choose a place that is sheltered from the wind and faces the sun, with a reliable water source, a clean environment, and convenient management. The size of the pond can vary according to specific circumstances. The pond depth is about 1 m, and the water depth is about 0.5 m. The pond bottom should be covered with 0.2 m-0.3 m of fertile mud to provide the loach with a place to burrow and rest. The pond walls are built with stone blocks or bricks, and the surface is plastered with cement. The loach pond also needs specially built water inlet and outlet openings, and wire mesh should be installed at the inlet and outlet to prevent them from escaping and to make water changes convenient.

2. Pond clearing and disinfection

Dry pond method: Drain or pump out all the pond water, use 250 g of quicklime per sq m of pond bottom for disinfection, let it stand for one day, then wash and fill with water.

Method with water present: Use 250 g of quicklime per cubic meter of pond water. Slake the quicklime into a slurry and splash it evenly over the whole pond while it is still hot. After the toxicity of the quicklime has dissipated (about 24 hours), introduce the loach.

3. Stocking loach fry

Both artificially bred and wild loach fry can be raised. Choose uninjured, disease-free, robust, and lively loach fry. Before stocking, soak the loach fry in a 3%-4% salt solution for about 10 minutes. Stocking is best done on a sunny spring day. Stock 40-50 loach fry about 3 cm long per sq m. After about 5 months of rearing, when the loach has grown to 10 cm-15 cm long, they can be sold.

4. Rational feeding

The loach is an omnivorous fish. During the rearing process, appropriate amounts of feed such as river snails,

earthworms, silkworm pupa powder, and animal viscera can be fed, and appropriate amounts of baits such as soybean cake, distillers' grains, green vegetables, and seeds can also be fed. The diversity of the feed can help the loach grow better. Feeding should adhere to the "four fixeds": fixed location, set up a feeding platform in the pond and place the feed on the feeding platform; fixed time, feed at around 9 a.m. every day; fixed quality, the feed should be fresh, hygienic, palatable, and free of rot or mold; fixed quantity, it is best if the feed is finished within 2 hours-3 hours after feeding. If there is still leftover feed after 3 hours, the loach may die from overeating and bloating.

5. Timely water changes

During the rearing process, pay attention to observing changes in the pond water quality. Generally, the water quality is yellow or tea-brown. If the loach is seen darting out of the water surface or floating on the water surface for a long time, it indicates that the water is lacking oxygen, and the water should be changed immediately. In muggy summer or thunderstorm weather, install an aerator in time to increase oxygen to prevent the loach from dying of oxygen deprivation.

6. Disease prevention and control

Common diseases include water mold disease and fin rot disease. Diseased loach can be soaked in a 10 mg-15 mg/ml antibiotic solution for 10 minutes, or the whole pond can be splashed with 1 mg/L bleaching powder. Common parasites of loach include trichodinids, epistylis, and gyrodactylus. If parasitic infestation occurs, it will cause loach death. At this time, the body surface mucus of the diseased fish should be promptly examined microscopically. If about 50 trichodinids or epistylis are observed under a low-power microscope field, the whole pond can be splashed with 0.7 mg/L copper sulfate; if there are only 3-5 gyrodactylus, the whole pond can be splashed with 0.5 mg/L crystallized trichlorfon.

The above is the loach breeding method summarized for you by Tuliu.com. Those who have the conditions may consider investing!