CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Which is better, tiger prawns or white shrimps?

In China, the top two shrimp species in farmed shrimp are Penaeus vannamei and Penaeus monodon, both of which are popular among foodies. Learn the differences and similarities between Penaeus monodon and Penaeus vannamei, and also write down the differences between the two!

Figure 1 Whiteleg shrimp

Figure 2 Penaeus monodon

First, let's distinguish them from the external appearance. Look at Figure 1 and Figure 2. The one with tattoos on its body is the tiger prawn, while the white tiger prawn looks clean and transparent, which is very easy to distinguish. The tiger prawn has different names in different places. In many places in the south, it is called "grass shrimp", "tiger shrimp" and "horn shrimp", and in the north it is mostly called "King Kong shrimp". These names come from their living habits and appearance characteristics. For example, most of the ones caught in places with lush grass are called grass shrimp, and the ones with tattoos on their backs that look like tiger tattoos are called tiger shrimp. In short, the tiger prawn = tiger shrimp = King Kong shrimp = grass shrimp = horn shrimp

There are several obvious differences between it and the South American white shrimp. The South American white shrimp can survive normally at a salinity of "2 grids", while the tiger shrimp has a much higher requirement for salinity than the South American shrimp. The tiger shrimp I have come into contact with can only be raised in water above "8 grids". It is very difficult to raise it at a low salinity. Another thing is that the water color of the tiger shrimp should be slightly darker, because it is more fierce, and shrimps will fight with each other, and have a certain sense of territory. If the water is too clear and the visibility is very large, it is estimated that half of them will be killed when molting. The third is the sand diving. The tiger shrimp must have a sandy bottom for breeding, not a bare cement pool floor. This shrimp is born to drill into the sand to sleep. If there is no sand on the bottom of the pool, it will be like a person who can't find a comfortable bed to sleep. It will riot. In the long run, this shrimp will definitely not be raised well. Compared with the South American white shrimp, it is different. The South American white shrimp is very docile. Although it can also dive into the sand, its habits are not big. This is also the direct reason why the South American white shrimp has entered the factory farming successfully. (If you are raising shrimp in a factory, I suggest you take some clean sea sand to fill the bottom, 20 centimeters will be enough, which will help your shrimps avoid getting sick.)

The above are the differences in breeding and habits, but in recent years the biggest difference between the two that people have paid attention to is the price!

Around the Spring Festival of 2021, the price of 20-head-per-pound tiger prawns actually rose to 65 yuan per pound, while the same white shrimp was only 35 yuan per pound. In the six months since then, many people who raised South America have switched to raising tiger prawns. Comparing the prices of northern and southern shrimps in the past few months, 30 tiger prawns are 7 yuan per pound higher than 30 South Americas on average. This... What's even more exciting is that before 2017, the highest per mu of tiger prawns was just over 1,000 kilograms. By the middle of 2018, some people did high-density stocking and took turns to catch and supplement (high density, half of the 30 heads were raised and sold, and the rest were raised to 20 heads), which directly raised the output of tiger prawns per mu to more than 3,000 kilograms, which was a huge breakthrough. At the same time, it is better than the South America in terms of disease resistance. It is estimated that the tiger prawn farming market in the past two years will soon catch up with the white shrimp.

However, I would also like to advise that, especially for small sheds in Jiangsu, you should focus on raising white mullets, because the sheds are small and the ponds are shallow, and the yield of mullets cannot be increased. Don't be in a hurry to reduce the size of those large ponds in the south. The data we tracked shows that the larger the pond is, the higher the yield will be.

White shrimp is good. I think both varieties are pretty good, but it depends on how you choose. If you want a better price-performance ratio, you must buy the latter one, mainly because it is cheaper in the market. But if you don't care about the price, I personally recommend that you consider the first one, because it will give you a very different taste. Its meat is very tender.