CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How do loaches live in the soil?

1. How do loaches live in the soil?

It lives in still or slow-flowing water at the bottom of muddy water. It is highly adaptable and can live in an environment rich in humus. When the water is lacking in oxygen, it can breathe through its intestines. When the water dries up, it can burrow into the mud and hide. It feeds on various small animals. It lays eggs in batches, and its breeding period is mainly from May to June. The fertilized eggs attach to aquatic plants and hatch. The largest individual can be up to 300 mm long. Its meat is of excellent quality and is one of the exported aquatic products. [1]

Loaches like to live at the bottom of still water, often appearing in the muddy surface rich in plant debris at the bottom of lakes, ponds, ditches and paddy fields. They have strong adaptability to the environment. The living water temperature is 10-30℃, and the optimum water temperature is 25-27℃, so they should be classified as warm-water fish. When the water temperature rises to 30℃, loaches will dive into the mud to spend the summer. When the water temperature drops below 5℃ in winter, they will burrow into the mud 20-30cm deep to hibernate.

Loaches can not only breathe with gills and skin, but also have special intestinal breathing functions. When the weather is hot and humus or other materials at the bottom of the pond are rotting, causing severe hypoxia, loaches can also jump out of the water, or rise vertically to the water surface, swallow air directly with their mouths, and breathe with the assistance of the intestinal wall. When they turn their heads and slowly dive, the exhaust gas is discharged from the anus. At this time, loaches in the entire water body rise to the surface of the water to inhale air, one after another, so Western Europeans call it "climate fish". In the cold winter, the water body dries up, and loaches drill into the mud, relying on a small amount of water to prevent their skin from drying out, and rely entirely on intestinal breathing to maintain their lives. When the water rises the following year, they go out again.

Since loaches can tolerate low dissolved oxygen much better than other fish, they can survive longer out of water. In a dry bucket, 4-5 cm long loach fry can survive for 1 hour, while 12 cm long adult fish can survive for 6 hours, and they can still move normally when put back into the water. Loaches come out at night to prey on plankton, aquatic insects, crustaceans, aquatic higher plant debris, algae, etc., and sometimes also ingest humus or mud residue at the bottom of the water. Loaches mature in the second winter and begin to reproduce in April every year (water temperature 18℃). They lay eggs in shallow water grass with a depth of less than 30 cm. The eggs are attached to water grass or submerged dry grass. The hatched fry often live in a scattered manner and do not form groups.

2. Is it profitable to raise loaches? I am from Tai'an, Shandong! How much does a loach seedling cost? How long does it take to be put on the market? When is the price the highest?

Loach farming is a very good project. Ganyu County, Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province is the largest loach farming area in China. Generally speaking, small-sized seedlings are planted in spring and put on the market at the end of the year. At present, there is no problem in the domestic sales of loaches. In addition, if you are in Shandong, as long as you have a certain amount, you can directly contact Korean merchants for export. Almost all loaches in Jiangsu are exported.

Loach farming is very extensive and the technology is very simple. Ten mu of land can be used to raise 1.2 to 1.5 million loaches. It is generally not mixed with other fish to avoid cross-infection of diseases. Lotus roots can be planted appropriately, but it is recommended not to plant lotus roots to avoid inconvenience in later fishing.

The market price of loach varies across the country and is greatly affected by the season. It generally ranges from 20 yuan/kg to 60 yuan/kg.

Popular Farming Network;

China Loach Breeding Network

3. What does loach represent in folk culture?

Misgurnus anguillicaudatus belongs to the family Cobitidae. Loach is called "the ginseng of the water". It is distributed in all parts of southern China. It is not common in the north but is also distributed everywhere. It can be harvested all year round, but it is most abundant in summer. After being caught, loach can be used fresh or dried. Loach lives in lakes and ponds, and is small in size, only three or four inches long. It has a round body, a short body, small scales under the skin, a dark blue color, and is covered with its own mucus, making it slippery and difficult to hold. It is a fish with high nutritional value. It is different from other fish in appearance, body shape, and living habits. It is a special loach. The body is slender, and the front section is slightly cylindrical. The back is flattened, the abdomen is round, the head is small, the mouth is small, and it is horseshoe-shaped. The eyes are small, and there are no spines under the eyes. There are 5 pairs of whiskers. The scales are extremely small, round, and buried under the skin. The back and sides of the body are gray-black, with many small black spots all over the body, and there are also many black spots on the head and fins. The spots on the dorsal and caudal fin membranes are arranged in rows, and there is a distinct black spot at the base of the caudal peduncle. The other fins are gray-white. Loaches are widely distributed in China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, and India along the coast of Asia. They are edible and used as medicine.

Living habits

Loach appearance

Small bottom fish. Lives in still or slow-flowing water at the bottom of mud. Strong adaptability, can live in an environment rich in humus. When the water is lacking oxygen, it can breathe through the intestines, and when the water dries up, it can hide in the mud. It feeds on various small animals. It lays eggs in batches, and the breeding period is mainly from May to June. The fertilized eggs adhere to the water plants to hatch. The largest individual can be up to 300 mm long, with excellent meat quality, and is one of the exported aquatic products.

Loaches like to live at the bottom of still water, often appearing in the muddy surface rich in plant debris at the bottom of lakes, ponds, ditches and paddy fields. They have strong adaptability to the environment. The living water temperature is 10-30℃, and the optimum water temperature is 25-27℃, so they should be classified as warm-water fish. When the water temperature rises to 30℃, loaches will dive into the mud to spend the summer. When the water temperature drops below 5℃ in winter, they will burrow into the mud 20-30cm deep to hibernate.

Loaches can not only breathe with gills and skin, but also have special intestinal breathing functions. When the weather is hot and humus or other materials at the bottom of the pond are rotting, causing severe hypoxia, loaches can also jump out of the water, or rise vertically to the water surface, swallow air directly with their mouths, and breathe with the assistance of the intestinal wall. When they turn their heads and slowly dive, the exhaust gas is discharged from the anus. At this time, loaches in the entire water body rise to the surface of the water to inhale air, one after another, so Western Europeans call it "climate fish". In the cold winter, the water body dries up, and loaches drill into the mud, relying on a small amount of water to prevent their skin from drying out, and rely entirely on intestinal breathing to maintain their lives. When the water rises the following year, they go out again.

Since loaches can tolerate low dissolved oxygen much better than other fish, they can survive longer out of water. In a dry bucket, 4-5 cm long loach fry can survive for 1 hour, while 12 cm long adult fish can survive for 6 hours, and they can still move normally when put back into the water. Loaches come out at night to prey on plankton, aquatic insects, crustaceans, aquatic higher plant debris, algae, etc., and sometimes also ingest humus or mud residue at the bottom of the water. Loaches mature in the second winter and begin to reproduce in April every year (water temperature 18℃). They lay eggs in shallow water grass with a depth of less than 30 cm. The eggs are attached to water grass or submerged dry grass. The hatched fry often live in a scattered manner and do not form groups.