Raising red worms as feed for turtles and soft-shelled turtles delivers high economic returns

In turtle and soft-shelled turtle breeding ponds, small red worms often appear, swimming in clusters and sheets on the pond surface and in the corners, forming a layer of red water bloom on the water surface. The real name of the red worm is Cladocera, and it is a type of zooplankton in water bodies. It is composed of many planktonic flea species, with an average body length of about 1 mm. The normal body color of Cladocera is grayish white; it turns red only when the water is lacking oxygen, which is why red worms are mostly found in foul ditches. When large numbers of red worms are found in a turtle or soft-shelled turtle pond, it indicates that the pond water has begun to deteriorate and is developing toward putrefaction, so it should be adjusted quickly. The reason Cladocera turn red in oxygen-deficient water is that their blood contains a kind of invertebrate hemoglobin, and when the water is lacking oxygen its content increases markedly, turning them red.

The food of Cladocera consists mainly of protozoa, rotifers and some large algae in the water, and of course bacteria as well, so when their numbers are too high in soft-shelled turtle culture water, they will devour large amounts of the planktonic algae that carry out photosynthesis and add oxygen. Yet in their own life activities they consume large amounts of dissolved oxygen, and thus the pond water will deteriorate. However, because Cladocera can also devour large amounts of bacteria, maintaining a certain number of them can still control pathogenic bacteria and prevent turtle and soft-shelled turtle diseases. Through experimental research, it is best to keep the number of Cladocera within 15000 per liter of water; once this number is exceeded, they should be scooped out promptly.

The scooped-out Cladocera are excellent feed for turtles, soft-shelled turtles and fish, and can be added to turtle and soft-shelled turtle feed as live feed. The reason Cladocera are such a good feed is that their bodies are rich in protein, which not only contains all the amino acids required by various fish but also has the highest content of various essential amino acids, something other feeds cannot match. Cladocera also contain the fats and calcium necessary for the growth and development of fish and turtles and soft-shelled turtles. For example, experiments have shown that when carp are fed entirely on Cladocera, their metabolic intensity can increase by 100%. Experimental research has also found that in fish culture, feeding only one kind of live feed often causes poor growth and various diseases, but feeding Cladocera is an exception, and the same applies to feeding turtles and soft-shelled turtles: when juvenile turtles and soft-shelled turtles are fed a mixed feed with a large proportion of Cladocera, they excrete less feces and pollute the water more slowly, while their growth is faster than that of the control group. Therefore red worms are a good feed for turtles and soft-shelled turtles, and the water bodies in which we raise turtles and soft-shelled turtles are the best growing water for Cladocera, so they reproduce very quickly. When their population exceeds the standard we require, scooping them out to feed the turtles and soft-shelled turtles not only effectively regulates the water body and turns it in a good direction but also saves a great deal of feed, so it is a case of killing two birds with one stone. In application, first disinfect and wash the scooped-out Cladocera with 2% salt water, then mix them into the feed at a ratio of 5%-8% of the feed amount and feed. If the quantity is large, after the above treatment, dry them in the sun or oven-dry them, seal and store them, and add them gradually.