Which tastes better, the "carnivorous" snakehead or the grass carp? What do they eat to grow, and which grows fast?

The snakehead is fierce by nature and highly prolific; it can glide on land, migrate to other waters in search of food, and can live out of water for as long as 3 days. So which tastes better, it or the grass carp? What do they eat to grow, and which grows fast? From snakehead farmer Master Wang we learned that the snakehead is a fierce carnivorous fish and rather greedy, and its prey varies with the size of its body: fry under 3 cm in body length mainly eat copepods, cladocerans and chironomid larvae; fry under 3-8 cm in body length feed on aquatic insect larvae, tadpoles, small shrimp and fry of other fish; and adults over 20 cm in body length prey on various small fish (crucian carp, sharpbelly, barbel chub, loach and the young of various fish) and frogs.

Which tastes better, the snakehead or the grass carp?

Grass carp meat is more tender than snakehead meat.

1. Grass carp is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which are good for blood circulation, making it a good food for people with cardiovascular disease;

2. Grass carp is rich in the element selenium; eaten regularly it has anti-aging and beauty benefits, and it also has a certain preventive and therapeutic effect on tumors;

3. For people who are thin and weak with a poor appetite, grass carp meat is tender without being greasy, and can stimulate the appetite and nourish the body.

But the snakehead is delicious and very nutritious, and eating snakehead also helps reduce inflammation in wounds.

1. Snakehead meat contains protein, fat, 18 kinds of amino acids, etc., and also contains the calcium, phosphorus, iron and various vitamins essential to the human body.

2. It is suitable for people who are weak, have hypoproteinemia, spleen-stomach qi deficiency, malnutrition or anemia; in the Guangxi area, folk tradition often regards the snakehead as a precious tonic, used to promote lactation and enrich the blood;

3. The snakehead has the effects of dispelling wind and treating malnutrition, tonifying the spleen and boosting qi, and promoting diuresis and reducing swelling; therefore in the Three Northeast Provinces region, postpartum women, patients with rheumatism and children with malnutrition often seek out snakehead to eat as a supplementary dietary therapy.

The growing environment of the snakehead

1. A bottom-dwelling fish: the snakehead is a bottom-dwelling fish, usually inhabiting still or gently flowing water with dense aquatic plants and soft bottom mud; it is found throughout lakes, rivers, reservoirs, ponds and other waters, often lurking in the bottom layer and swaying its pectoral fins to maintain body balance.

2. Strong adaptability: the snakehead adapts strongly to changes in environmental factors in the water, especially having a strong ability to adapt to hypoxia, water temperature and poor water quality. When the water is hypoxic, it can put its head out of the water; the rear part is laterally compressed. The head is long, slightly flat and broad at the front and somewhat raised at the rear; with the help of the suprabranchial organ formed in the gill cavity by bony plates extending from the upper branchial bone on the dorsal side of the first gill arch and the hyomandibular bone, it directly breathes oxygen from the air. Therefore, even in damp areas with little or no water, it can survive for quite a long time; when the temperature range is 10°C to 15°C for the snakehead, it can leave the water for up to 3 to 4 days.

3. Temperature environment: the snakehead's survival water temperature is 0-41°C, and the most suitable water temperature is 16-30°C. When the water temperature rises above 8°C in spring, it often moves in the middle and upper layers of the water; in summer it moves in the upper layer of the water; when the water temperature drops below 6°C in autumn, it swims slowly and often lurks in deep water; and when the water temperature approaches 0°C in winter, it lies dormant in the bottom mud, stopping feeding and staying still.

4. Jumping ability: the snakehead has a very strong jumping ability. When the weather is muggy or rain raises the water level, it often leaps out of the water and escapes along the pond embankment; when struck by flowing water it will also leap and flee. If the pond where it lives has insufficient food, it will also move to another pond, and when moving its body resembles a snake, slowly moving forward.