Key Points of Soft-Shelled Turtle Farming Techniques and Detailed Daily Management Methods

The soft-shelled turtle, also called the Chinese softshell turtle or tuan yu, is a common freshwater specialty aquatic product with tender meat and rich nutrition, and there has always been steady demand for it on the market. Soft-shelled turtle farming means raising soft-shelled turtles in ponds, greenhouses or simulated ecological environments by artificially regulating conditions such as water temperature, water quality and feed, and it is a fairly typical specialty aquaculture project.

Soft-shelled turtles like warmth and quiet, are timid and have the habit of basking on their backs, so farming ponds are generally required to face the sun and be sheltered from the wind, with a quiet environment, a suitable amount of soft mud retained on the pond bottom, and basking platforms and escape-prevention facilities installed. The water quality should be kept clear and fresh with sufficient dissolved oxygen; regular water changes or regulation with aquatic plants and microbial preparations can effectively reduce the occurrence of diseases.

In terms of feeding management, the soft-shelled turtle is an omnivore leaning toward carnivory, and in daily feeding it can be given small fish, river snails, animal offal and special compound feed, with the feeding amount flexibly adjusted according to water temperature and weather. When the water temperature is on the low side, the soft-shelled turtle's appetite declines and it may even enter a state of hibernation, so many farmers use greenhouse heating to shorten the farming cycle.

Common diseases in soft-shelled turtle farming include skin rot disease, red neck disease, white spot disease and others, mostly related to water quality deterioration and excessively high stocking density; disinfecting fry, reasonably thinning the stock and adjusting the water in time are the keys to prevention. In recent years, the concepts of ecological farming and low-medication or medication-free farming have gradually become widespread, and improving soft-shelled turtle quality by creating a simulated ecological environment has also become a direction for many farmers to increase profits.