Cultivation Methods and Key Technical Points for Whitebait

Whitebait is a very common small freshwater farmed fish, generally growing to a maximum length of around 25 cm, but its reproductive capacity is extremely strong, and it is rich in protein and other trace elements. The nutrients in whitebait are very easily absorbed by the human body and are of great benefit to human health. It also appears frequently in our daily lives, but mainly in the form of dried fish, with an excellent taste and relatively few bones. So today let us learn about the cultivation methods for whitebait.

1. Farming Preparation

Whitebait is a fish with particularly weak vitality; it will die not long after leaving the water, at most no more than ten minutes. Secondly, it has certain requirements for water quality, so the whitebait we usually see are generally at the water inlet or outlet, where the water quality is the best. Therefore, when building a pond, we should try to choose a place with abundant water sources. Next, after the pond is built, it must first be disinfected with quicklime, then the water should be drained out, and then an anti-escape net should be laid in the pond to prevent the whitebait from escaping. Finally, new water is added, and then you can wait to release the fish.

2. Fry Selection

The selection of whitebait fry is crucial, because whitebait does not grow large; if you want to make money, you can only rely on the reproduction speed of the whitebait. Therefore, we should choose robust, lively and active ones, then observe whether the belly of the whitebait is injured and whether it is relatively broad and even, and finally select fry that meet the standards for stocking. During the transportation of the fry, we need to add an appropriate amount of oxygenating agent to the water tank, or install oxygen supply equipment on the vehicle, to prevent the fry from dying of oxygen deprivation during transport.

3. Fry Stocking

Stocking whitebait fry is actually relatively simple, because the fry will die within no more than ten minutes after leaving the water, so the sooner the fry are put into the pond for stocking, the better. However, since purchased fry will more or less carry some potential pathogens, before putting them into the pond we need to first thoroughly disinfect the fry, but it must be done quickly, otherwise the losses will be severe. After disinfection is completed, they must be put into the pond immediately, and the oxygen in the pond should be appropriately increased so that they can quickly survive and establish themselves.

4. Feed Feeding

Whitebait is a particularly greedy fish, so it is also especially easy to catch, and it is the favorite of many anglers. What whitebait loves most is fishy-smelling flour-based food, but fry that have just been put into the pond cannot be directly fed flour-based food. So at this stage we can plant some phytoplankton and aquatic plants such as waterweeds in the pond, which can provide them with some food. We can also pour plankton into the pond for feeding. After the fry have basically adapted to the pond environment, we can appropriately feed some processed feed, or fishy-smelling flour-based food, but the amount must not be too large, otherwise they will eat themselves to death.

5. Daily Management

After each feeding, we need to remove the leftover food and food residue from the pond, which can prevent the food from becoming smelly and prevent the whitebait from getting sick after eating spoiled food. Secondly, we need to observe the activity of the whitebait. If it keeps coming to the surface and blowing bubbles, then the oxygen in the water is relatively thin, so we need to supplement oxygen in time. Then, if dead whitebait are found floating to the surface, they should be removed in time to avoid polluting the water quality, and at the same time we should check the reason they died. If it is disease, then the fish in the pond should be treated and prevented in time, which can effectively protect the normal growth of the whitebait. Finally, the water must be changed once or twice every half a month to a month.