Osmanthus fish breeding technology and methods

Osmanthus fish, scientifically known as Mandarin fish, has a high market price, but not many people successfully breed it. This is mainly because breeding sweet osmanthus fish requires corresponding technical knowledge and a certain amount of capital investment. Let’s learn about the techniques and methods of breeding osmanthus fish together.

1. Breeding technology

1. Pond selection

When choosing a pond for sweet osmanthus fish, the following factors should be considered: Choose a location that is sheltered from the wind and facing the sun to facilitate the growth of fish. There should be little or no pond bottom mud to reduce pollution. The water source should be sufficient, clean and unpolluted. It is best to have submerged plants at the bottom of the pond to meet the habitat habits of osmanthus fish. The recommended pond area is 5-7 acres, with a water depth of 1.5-2 meters for easy management and water quality control. It is recommended to equip every 5 mu of pond with 2 1.5kw blade aerators or aeration rods. There should be a matching bait fish breeding pond, and the recommended area ratio is 1:3-1:4. Keep the environment quiet and avoid disturbing the sweet osmanthus fish.

2. Pond Preparation

Before stocking, clean the pond thoroughly, remove excess silt, and freeze-dry. Use quicklime for disinfection, the dosage is 130-150 kg per mu. When injecting water, use a dense mesh to filter to prevent impurities from entering.

3. Fish stocking

The time is generally from late May to early June. The stocking density is 1500-2000 per mu, avoid excessive density. The recommended stocking size is 3-5cm/tail to ensure the survival rate. Choose fish with strong physique, intact scales and bright colors. Before stocking, the seedlings should be slowed down by soaking them in salt water to reduce stress.

3. Stocking and selection of bait fish

Choose fish that grow fast, have high yields and are palatable, such as silver carp, silver carp, etc. The bait fish should be disinfected before being released using povidone-iodine solution. The size of bait fish should be moderate, and the length should be controlled at 1/2-1/3 of the body length of sweet-scented osmanthus fish. Adjust the feeding amount according to the season and the feeding habits of sweet osmanthus fish, and control the feed coefficient at 4-4.5 throughout the year. The ratio of sweet osmanthus fish to bait fish should be 1:5-10.

4. Daily management

Adjust feeding rate according to water temperature and season, feeding more in summer and autumn and less in winter. By observing the behavior of sweet osmanthus fish chasing bait fish, you can judge whether there are enough feed fish in the pond. Judge the availability of forage fish by listening to the sound of water as fish chase forage fish.

2. Precautions

Stocking density: Osmanthus fish are gregarious fish, they gather to hunt between 8-9 am and 5-7 pm. If the stocking density is too low, it will not only increase the difficulty of fish foraging, but also prolong the consumption time of bait fish, causing bait fish to become thin and lose weight, thereby increasing the feed ratio of bait fish.

Oxygenation management: Oxygenation is crucial, especially in the middle and late stages of breeding. Even when the weather is nice during the day, the importance of oxygenation cannot be ignored. In the middle and late stages of the osmanthus fish pond, the nitrite content may increase. This is due to the lack of algae and nitrifying bacteria, which results in the inability to convert organic matter into nitrate in time. Enhancing oxygenation can help promote oxygen supply at the pond bottom, accelerate the decomposition and oxidation of organic matter, and reduce oxygen consumption at the pond bottom at night.

Choice of bait fish: Osmanthus fish prefer to prey on palatable bait fish. Bait fish that are too large or too small will affect the growth of sweet-scented osmanthus fish. Bait fish that are too large may cause injury or even death to the sweet-scented osmanthus fish, while bait fish that are too small may cause the sweet-scented osmanthus fish to lose appetite and affect its growth.

Water quality monitoring: Regularly test water quality, especially the concentration of ammonia nitrogen and nitrite. When ammonia nitrogen exceeds the standard, Bacillus subtilis can be used and oxygenation can be enhanced to decompose ammonia nitrogen. When nitrite exceeds the standard, timely measures need to be taken, such as using organic acid detoxification, oxygenation, drugs to improve the bottom, and using chemical oxygenation particles at night. For nitrite that cannot be reduced for a long time, the water can be changed after the sweet-scented osmanthus fish stabilizes.

Disease prevention and control: Patrol the pond regularly and conduct parasite detection and water quality inspection in a timely manner if sick fish or abnormal conditions are found. When problems are discovered, immediate measures should be taken, such as using pesticides and fungicides , using organic acids for detoxification after treatment, and supplementing the water with probiotics.

Supplement probiotics: Since drugs are often used in the process of osmanthus fish farming, it may cause an imbalance of pond flora, thus affecting the control of ammonia nitrogen and nitrite. After each pest control and sterilization, timely supplementation of probiotics, such as Bacillus, lactic acid bacteria, Clostridium butyricum, yeast and nitrifying bacteria, will help decompose residual bait, promote nitrification process, reduce the production of harmful substances, and prevent enteritis in sweet osmanthus fish.

Change water with caution: When sweet osmanthus fish are under stress or die in large numbers, you should avoid changing the water at will. If necessary, the water should be changed after the osmanthus fish is stabilized, and organic acid or vitamin C should be used for anti-stress treatment. Frequent, large water changes may increase the risk of parasitic infections.

In short, as a fish that many people like, there are still many people who raise Osmanthus fish in Hexian County. However, if you want to achieve high returns, you still have to master comprehensive breeding techniques.