CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Snakehead fish's living environment and characteristics, how to breed the next generation

Snakehead fish's living environment and characteristics, how to breed the next generation

1. Living environment: Snakeheads generally live in waters with dense aquatic plants. They can be found in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and other waters. They have strong adaptability to environmental factors in water bodies. 2. Living characteristics: Snakeheads can survive in water temperatures of 0-41°C. 16-30°C is the optimal temperature for their growth and reproduction. When there is a lack of oxygen in the water, they can breathe with the help of the auxiliary respiratory organs in the supragillary cavity. The active water layer will be affected by the water temperature.

1. Living environment and characteristics of snakehead fish

1. Living environment

Snakehead carp usually inhabits waters with dense aquatic plants (or silt bottom), and its traces are found in rivers, lakes, ponds, paddy fields, reservoirs and other waters. It has a strong adaptability to environmental factors in water bodies (especially water quality, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen content).

2. Life characteristics

(1) Snakehead carp can live in water temperatures of 0-41°C, and the optimum temperature for its growth and reproduction is 16-30°C.

(2) When there is a lack of oxygen in the water, snakehead fish can breathe on the water surface with the help of auxiliary respiratory organs in the suprabranchial cavity.

(3) In spring, when the water temperature rises to 8°C, snakehead carp generally move in the middle and upper layers of the water body; in summer, they mostly move in the upper layer of the water body; in autumn, when the water temperature is below 6°C, snakehead carp swim slowly and often lurk in deep water layers; in winter, when the water temperature is close to 0°C, snakehead carp hibernate in the mud.

(4) Snakehead carp is a carnivorous animal. Juveniles with a body length of 3-8 cm mainly feed on maggots, small fish and shrimps, small tadpoles, and larvae of aquatic insects. Adult snakehead carp over 20 cm mainly feed on small wild fish, shrimps, and frogs.

(5) When hunting, snakehead carp does not chase its prey directly. Instead, it hides near aquatic plants (or other concealing objects) and pays close attention to the surrounding situation. When it passes by fish, shrimp, or frogs, it will quickly attack and prey.

2. How does snakehead fish reproduce the next generation?

1. Before spawning, male and female snakeheads will pick up plant fragments or water plants to build nests beside them. The ovaries float on the water surface and are usually about 50 cm in diameter. After the ovaries are built, the male and female snakeheads will begin to mate, and then the female will lay fertilized eggs on the nest.

2. After spawning, the female fish will lurk around the ovaries with the male fish to prevent other fish from harming the eggs. The incubation time of fish eggs is generally about 3-7 days. The water temperature will affect the incubation time. The lower the water temperature, the longer the incubation time.

3. If the average water temperature is 15-20℃, the time required for fish eggs to hatch is usually 5-7 days. If the average water temperature is around 20℃, the time required for fish eggs to hatch is usually 4-5 days. If the average water temperature is 20-25℃, the time required for fish eggs to hatch is usually 2-3 days.

4. The newly hatched fry is about 4.1 mm long, with melanocytes all over its body. The oil balls will cause the front end of its body to swell significantly, similar to a tadpole, and it often lies on the water surface.

5. When the hatched fry grow to 4-5 cm, the parents will stop protecting them and leave the nest.

Black fish breeding method and reproduction method

1. Preparation before breeding black fish

1. Breeding facilities: earth ponds, cement pools, etc. The water depth should be 1-2 meters, and the water lifting equipment should be complete.

2. Water source: river water, reservoir water, underground well water, etc. The water quality should be neutral or weakly alkaline.

3. Area: In order to facilitate production management and sales, the area of ​​the fish pond should be smaller, preferably about 1 mu, and the maximum should not exceed 2 mu.

4. It is best to have inlet and outlet water, and anti-escape facilities such as 40-60 cm nets should be installed around the pool.

5. Plant aquatic plants on the water surface around the pond (generally no more than 20% of the pond area is appropriate) as shelter, to block the sun, escape the heat, and predators. It can also purify the water quality and regulate the water temperature.

6. The pond must be cleaned and disinfected before stocking fish.

2. Key points of snakehead fish breeding

Stocking of fish: ① Fish size: Choose fish of the year with a size of more than 10 cm (preferably 10-14 cm, 60 g-100 g), the size of the fish should be consistent, and the fish should be free of injury and disease. ② Fish source: It is best to choose fish produced locally. ③ Stocking time: It is best to stock from September to early October of the year, so that they can eat to restore their physical fitness and improve their survival rate over the winter. Stocking after the New Year should be in March-April. ④ Disinfection: Strict disinfection must be carried out before stocking, generally soaking in 5% salt water for 10-15 minutes or soaking in 10PPM malachite green solution for 10 minutes. ⑤ Stocking density: When the water depth is 1.2-1.5 meters, 8000-9000 fish of about 50-60 grams are stocked per mu, and 5000-6000 fish of 80-100 grams are stocked per mu. If the average water depth decreases, the stocking amount will be reduced accordingly.

Feeding and management: The bait should be of certain quality, quantity, timing and location. The types of bait are mainly animal bait, mainly small marine and freshwater fish and shrimp. In freshwater, there are whitebait, wheat ear, sand crawler, young white fish, small crucian carp, small horsefish, green shrimp, small green shrimp, etc. In seawater, there are various small fish such as sardines, green (yellow) and locust fish. Because wild or some artificially bred fish species eat live bait, the fish should be stopped from feeding for one or two days after being put into the pond, and then a proper amount of dead bait should be fed around the pond every morning for domestication, and then gradually moved to one place in the pond for feeding. The feeding method of "slow, fast, slow" has good feeding effect and less feed waste. Most fish can stop feeding after they run away after eating.

Daily management: mainly focus on the following aspects. ① Patrol the pond. Observe the fish's feeding, activities, water quality changes, whether there are signs of floating heads, whether there are sick fish, etc. If problems are found, they should be dealt with in time. ② Change the water. Generally, 1/3 of the water should be changed every week, and 4/5 of the water should be changed every half a month. It depends on the changes in water quality and can be flexibly controlled. Where conditions permit, it is best to maintain micro-flow aquaculture. During the aquaculture period, the water temperature should not be higher than 30℃. ③ Escape prevention. The height of the pond bank from the water surface should generally be greater than 50 cm. Strong escape prevention nets should be installed at the inlet and outlet, and escape prevention nets or escape prevention walls should be installed around the pond.

Snakehead fish farming technology:

1. Fish pond selection: The fish pond should be well ventilated and sunny, with sufficient water source, an area of ​​1 to 5 mu, a water depth of 1 to 1.5 meters, and some water lilies or water peanuts should be planted around it. It should be surrounded by a net in a lower place. This can prevent the escape of mullet and provide concealment and shade, creating a good ecological environment which is conducive to the growth of mullet.

2. Pond cleaning and disinfection After the fish pond is selected, drain the pond water first, use 140-150 kg of quicklime per 667 square meters to dissolve the water, evenly sprinkle the whole pond, and use rakes and other tools to turn the silt and fully disinfect it. One week before stocking the mullet fingerlings, fill the pond water to a depth of 1 meter and apply appropriate basal fertilizer to improve the water quality.

3. Fish stocking There are generally two sources of fish, one is wild and the other is artificially bred. Regardless of the source of the fish, they must be screened before being put into the pond. The fish with basically the same specifications should be bathed in 3% to 5% salt water for 5 to 10 minutes, and then put into the same fish pond. The stocking density depends on the water source, injection and drainage conditions, and the source of bait fish. Under normal circumstances, 6,000 to 10,000 fish of 3 to 5 cm in length are stocked in 667 square meters; 4,000 to 6,000 fish of 10 to 15 cm in length are stocked; and about 2,000 fish of about 20 cm in length are stocked. If the water source and injection and drainage conditions are good and the source of bait fish is sufficient, the stocking density can be appropriately increased.

4. Feeding Artificial intensive black carp mainly uses low-value fresh small fish and shrimp as the main bait. Because wild or some artificially bred fish species eat live bait, the fish should be stopped from being fed for one or two days after being put into the pond. Then, feed an appropriate amount of dead bait along the four sides of the pond every morning for domestication, and then gradually move to one place in the pond for feeding. After the fish are accustomed to eating dead bait, feed them once at 9 am and 4 pm every day. The daily feeding amount is 5% to 10% of the fish's body weight, and it should be flexibly controlled according to weather, water temperature, growth, feeding and other conditions.

The feed is powdered feed produced by regular units, with a crude protein content of 45% and crude fiber of 3%. The main raw materials of the feed are fish meal, bone meal, soybean meal, flour, vitamin and mineral premixes, etc. It is supplemented with fresh baits such as mussel meat and small fish.

5. Daily management Black carp is not prone to disease in natural water bodies or under rare breeding conditions, but in artificial intensive breeding, if the prevention and control is not appropriate, fish diseases will break out, causing serious economic losses. From the author's practice over the past few years, common diseases of black carp include saprolegniasis, skin rot, ascites, gill rot, etc. If the prevention and control measures are appropriate, the fish will rarely or never get sick. Therefore, in the process of black carp breeding, water quality, fish conditions, salvage of leftover bait, and prevention of escape should be checked frequently. If abnormal conditions are found, they should be dealt with in a timely manner.

6. Catch the big ones and keep the small ones, and put them on the market in time. Because mullet is a ferocious carnivorous fish, it will kill each other when there is insufficient bait. Therefore, it is necessary to catch the big ones and keep the small ones once every month or so. If the size difference is large and the number is large, it can be divided into other fish ponds or cages of the same size. When the market price is good, the adult fish that have reached the commercial size can be put on the market for sale. In this way, it can be sold at a good price and is conducive to the growth of small-sized fish.

Black fish breeding method:

The spawning season varies with climate conditions in different regions. In southern China, it is from mid-April to mid-September, with peak seasons in May and June; in central China, it is from May to July, with a higher concentration in June. The water temperature for breeding is 18-30℃, with the optimum temperature being 20-25℃.