Snail Farming Management Methods and Key Technical Points
Snails are very common in China and are a snail species unique to our country, and they are a very popular late-night snack in China. Market demand is very large, making it a farming project with relatively good prospects. It is also one of the types relatively suitable for rural farming. Although snail farming is widespread, it is not simple. Management of snails is very important, so how should we manage them when farming? Let's take a look below!
1. Water Quality Management
Snail ponds need regular water changes to ensure the water quality is suitable for snail growth; this is relatively important during the snail breeding period, and the water should be kept in a flowing state as much as possible. During the high-temperature summer season, ensuring water flow can effectively lower the temperature. The water in snail ponds should not be too deep, with a maximum depth of no more than 40 cm. Adjust the water pH appropriately; quicklime can be used to neutralize acidity and alkalinity. The adjustment frequency is determined according to water conditions, usually once every half a month. A pH of around 7 is the most suitable range for snail growth.
2. Feed Feeding
Before stocking, apply an appropriate amount of farmyard manure to the pond to cultivate plankton, because plankton can serve as feed for snails. The specific amount depends on the stocking quantity in the pond and the water quality. After stocking, some rapeseed cake, animal viscera, etc. can be added as feed. Note that the feed should be chopped up and must not be put in whole, as snails cannot easily eat it. How much to feed depends on the snails' feeding and weight, and the feeding frequency can be controlled to about once every 2 days. When the surrounding temperature exceeds the range of 15-30 degrees, the snails stop feeding, and we can also stop feeding the feed.
3. Disease Prevention and Control
Disease prevention and control for snails is mainly based on prevention, and when farming snails they are generally polycultured with herbivorous fish. Therefore, while carrying out disease prevention and control for snails, we must also pay attention to the occurrence of fish diseases. Most of the time, when preventing and treating fish diseases, copper sulfate is added to the pond. In fact, copper sulfate is fatally harmful to snails, so we must control the use of copper sulfate. Quicklime is a relatively important substance for snail disease prevention. Regularly splashing quicklime during the farming process can effectively prevent diseases. It can also increase the calcium element in the water and promote snail growth. The interval between each splashing is about half a month.
4. Overwintering Management
Snails need to hibernate. When the water temperature is below ten degrees, snails begin to burrow into the mud to hibernate, leaving small holes on the mud surface for breathing. During overwintering, snails do not eat. Although there is no need to feed them, we must maintain the pond water depth, change the water regularly, and ensure sufficient dissolved oxygen in the water. After successfully overwintering, it is almost time for harvesting. Snails have relatively strong reproductive capacity. When harvesting, we only need to retain an appropriate amount of female snails and immature young snails to complete reseeding work, and there is no need for us to purchase seedlings again for reseeding.
When harvesting, note that you must not catch all the snails in one go. If you want to increase yield, you need to retain a portion of the snails for egg laying. First harvest the larger ones, then harvest in batches according to the harvesting standard, generally once every half a month. When catching, be careful to prevent the snails from being injured, which would affect their commercial value. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it is helpful to everyone.