How to raise Thai marble goby? Detailed introduction to farming methods

The marble goby has a high market price and good development prospects. Many people want to raise it but do not know how. The author has specially written this article for the reference of aquaculture operators; various farming methods suit farmers in different regions and environmental conditions.

1. Pond farming

The pond for farming Thai marble goby should preferably have an area of 3 mu, usually no more than 8 mu, a water depth of 1.5 m, little silt, and a good water source. Stock 3000-3500 fry per mu. For first-time farming of Thai marble goby, it is advisable to choose the single-cycle grow-out method.

Before releasing the fry, the pond must be cleared and disinfected to remove trash fish. Artificial fish nests must be laid out on the pond bottom; plastic pipes with a diameter of 11 cm and a length of 35 cm can be used, with two 2 m wooden strips tying 9 plastic pipes into a row, about 80 rows per mu depending on the stocking density. The artificial fish nest pipes must be 20 cm off the pond bottom, fixed with stakes and frames, and slightly tilted to prevent mud and fish from accumulating inside the pipes. Artificial fish nests are an important measure to effectively expand the ecological farming area, increase stocking density, and raise yield.

When the pond water temperature is above 22°C and biological bait can easily be cultivated, the fry can be released. With a pond water depth of 1 m, use plastic sheeting to partition off 1/3 of the water surface. According to the fertility of the pond bottom, apply 250-500 kg of fermented manure or machine-made organic fertilizer to this 1/3 of the water surface. While fertilizing, disinfect the water body with 5 g/cubic m of strong chlorine. After 5-7 days, once large amounts of water fleas and other plankton have been cultivated, the fry can be released. If the biological bait throughout the whole pond is sufficient and the resources of freshwater shrimp are abundant, the partitioning method may be omitted. When releasing the fry, the temperature difference between the fry bag and the pond water should not exceed 2°C.

Because of the particular characteristics of the scales on the body surface of Thai marble goby fry, fry over 3 cm in size are easily scratched during transport, and improper disinfection before stocking will reduce the survival rate. Therefore, it is advisable to buy disinfected and packaged fry of 2-2.5 cm that can be released directly. The fry are concentrated in this 1/3 of the water surface for the first stage of rearing. With sufficient bait, the fry can grow to 3 cm in 1 week and reach 4-5 cm in 1 month. At this point the plastic sheeting dividing the pond can be removed, allowing the fingerlings to enter the large pond for the second stage of rearing.

Before this, stock and cultivate live bait in the other 2/3 of the pond's water surface. The live bait should preferably be small-bodied, highly reproductive fish species, no fewer than 10,000 per mu. When the fingerlings enter the second stage of rearing, release freshwater shrimp fry that can reproduce naturally under freshwater conditions, no fewer than 500,000 per mu, or release desalinated macrobrachium rosenbergii fry in batches, and feed shrimp feed regularly and in fixed amounts according to @#@234@#@ standards. The fry prey on the shrimp fry, fish fry, small shrimp and small fish in the pond, and the grow-out survival rate is generally above 80%. After 3-4 months they can grow to 10-12 cm and 20-30 g in body weight and move into adult fish farming. During the adult fish farming period, 50-100 silver carp can be polycultured per mu, which helps control water quality.

When the amount of live small fish and shrimp in the farming water body is insufficient, the Thai marble goby turns to feeding on artificial feed. Frozen fresh fish chunks or artificial compound feed or artificial compound powdered feed must be provided in good time, with a protein content of no less than 38%. When feeding, feeding stations must be set up, with 6-8 hanging baskets per mu distributed about 20 cm from the pond bottom, to suit the Thai marble goby's characteristic of disliking movement. Place the processed block feed or frozen fresh fish chunks in the hanging baskets, and adjust the feed amount as appropriate according to feeding conditions; leftover bait can be poured into the pond to feed small fish and shrimp. Feed conversion ratio: 6-8 when feeding small trash fish, 2-2.5 when feeding artificial compound feed. After 6-7 months of farming, they can reach commercial size.

Polyculture of small fish and shrimp with Thai marble goby forms a good food chain. Small fish and shrimp are not only the best bait for Thai marble goby but also effectively clean up leftover bait and help keep water quality stable.

2. Pond cage farming

When Thai marble goby enters the grow-out period, use ground cages to catch large-size fingerlings and transfer them by size into cages set up in the same pond. This is a farming method that solves the size variation of single-cycle grow-out and allows batch harvesting for market. The farming density is 10-20 fish/sq m. Fish whose body surface is damaged during capture should be treated according to the treatment methods for fish body surface diseases.

Usually the pond used for cage farming has an area of 6-8 mu and a water depth above 1.5 m. In high-temperature seasons, the water at a depth of 1 m should not exceed 32°C. Duckweed and water hyacinth can be grown on the water surface to lower the water temperature, and flowing water methods or paddle-wheel aerators can be used to aerate regularly and improve water quality.

The cage material is made of knotless netting. For fingerlings of 30-50 g each, use knotless netting with a mesh of 1.5 cm; for fingerlings of 100 g each, use knotless netting with a mesh of 2.5 cm. Cage specifications can be chosen according to conditions as 3 m x 4 m or 4 m x 6 m. The cage uses buoyant materials so that the cage opening is 20 cm above the water surface and the bottom is 20 cm off the pond bottom.

According to the size of the cage, place 3-4 rows of artificial fish nests and set up 1-2 hanging baskets as feeding stations.

3. Large water surface cage farming

When the natural water temperature is above 24°C, cage farming can be used in reservoirs, lakes and rivers with gentle flow that are rich in water resources. This is a good method with low investment, high output and high efficiency.

Choose a farming site suitable for setting up cages, with good water quality, no industrial pollution, gentle water flow, a water depth of no less than 2 m, few motorboats nearby, and convenient transportation for easy transport.

There are many cage specifications, but the most commonly used is 4 m x 6 m x 2.5 m. Cage materials can be made of knotless netting, bamboo strips, or galvanized embossed iron mesh. The mesh size should be based on the size of the stocked fry, as long as they cannot escape and are not trapped. Use buoyant materials (foam, floating barrels) so that the upper part of the cage is 40-50 cm above the water surface. The top can be sealed flat with wooden boards to prevent sun exposure, and two movable feeding windows of 40 cm x 50 cm are opened on the top. Usually several cages are connected together and set in reservoirs or lakes, with people living on them for convenient feeding and management. Cage farming must stock healthy large-size fry. When purchasing large-size fry from outside farms, inspect on site and select carefully. After disinfection and temporary holding, release them into the cages for farming only after the damage caused by transport has healed.

Stocking density. When releasing fingerlings of 50-80 g each or more, the density is 30-50 fish/sq m. Release the fingerlings in the morning or evening. The same cage must contain the same size grade. Use a bucket to place the fingerlings with water into the cage and let them swim away on their own. Never pour the fish into the cage. Feeding should begin on the third day after stocking. Put the feed into the feeding frame and sink it into the water, 30 cm from the cage bottom. Feed twice a day and adjust the feed amount according to actual feeding conditions. The surroundings of the cage must be cleaned frequently to remove algae and keep water flowing smoothly, and use a water pump to suck out debris at the bottom of the cage. After 6-7 months of farming, they can reach commercial size.

4. Concrete pond farming

Using turtle-farming facilities with heat-preservation conditions to farm Thai marble goby not only allows the greenhouses of the turtle-farming industry to generate benefits again, but is also a good way to gradually implement factory-style farming of Thai marble goby. It is suitable for farming in regions with low winter and spring temperatures. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, when the water temperature reaches 22°C each May, freshwater shrimp reproduce in large numbers. Using ponds to farm marble goby, from September-October they are harvested from the pond and transferred to greenhouses for grow-out, and by the next year they can reach commercial size.

No artificial fish nests are set in the pond. Use micro-circulating water or timed aeration and oxygenation, and remove waste regularly to prevent deterioration of water quality. Use feeding stations to feed bait, feed every afternoon, and inspect and clean the feeding stations the next day.

The grow-out pond area should be no less than 30 sq m. The stocking density for large-size fry of 30-50 g each or more is 8-15 fish/sq m. After mastering the technical characteristics of farming this fish, the farming density can gradually achieve high-density factory production of 30-50 fish/sq m.

5. Shrimp and fish polyculture

Polyculturing Thai marble goby in shrimp ponds saves investment and gives good benefits. The shrimp pond should have little silt, with shrimp as the main species, while also fattening Thai marble goby fry. Because Thai marble goby has good salt tolerance, in whiteleg shrimp or macrobrachium rosenbergii farming ponds, 10-15 days after the shrimp fry are stocked, when the salinity is 2‰-5‰, the fish fry can be released directly, with 100-200 Thai marble goby fry per mu. Their main food is small, slow-growing shrimp fry. When harvesting shrimp, any Thai marble goby caught must be disinfected promptly. Because Thai marble goby has the habit of burrowing into mud and staying still, careful capture is needed after the pond is drained. Fry farmed for 3 months usually reach the 9-10 cm size and can be transferred to pond cage farming.

6. Fish and fish polyculture

In farming ponds mainly raising monosex tilapia or pufferfish, under artificial feed feeding conditions there are usually many freshwater shrimp, which are the best bait for Thai marble goby. 50-80 Thai marble goby fry can be released per mu at the same time, and with a small number of artificial fish nests arranged, an additional 20-30 kg of Thai marble goby can be harvested per mu at the same time.