Today, breeding crucian carp is a fairly common hobby among summer residents and just owners of private houses. On the one hand, this allows you to always be able to provide yourself with the freshest fish. On the other hand, the excess can always be sold profitably, having received a good profit from the transaction. Of course, for the operation to complete successfully, you need to know a lot. To begin with, let's figure out why farmers choose crucian carp, and not some other fish.
Why you should choose a crucian
In fact, everything is simple. Breeding crucian carp at home requires a minimum of experience from the breeder. He rarely gets sick, eats with appetite and gains weight quite quickly.
It is very important that the crucian feels great in stagnant water - some other species of fish will simply die during prolonged living in such conditions. In winter, the activity of crucian carp is reduced to a minimum; it consumes almost no oxygen. And most fish, when the surface of a small pond is covered with ice, which will not allow air to pass through, will simply die.
At the same time, crucian has excellent taste. True gourmets highly appreciate him for the most tender, juicy and very tasty meat. So such a product will definitely be torn off with your hands as soon as you show yourself with live fish in any market. And you yourself will be able to enjoy yourself by preparing crucian in any way (fry, cook, soot), any connoisseur can.
What size pond is needed
The first question that arises for a person who decides to start breeding crucian carp in the country is what pond is suitable. It is very prudent to think about this in advance.
In general, even a small pond is suitable - the main thing is that it is deep enough. But no one will be content with two or three small carp. Consider - the larger the area of the pond, the more fish you can run there, and the larger they will be reached by 3-4 years.
The minimum pond area is 10-15 square meters. But keep in mind - the larger the volume of the pond, the more fish you can get from it. Experienced breeders use a simple formula - 1 ton of fish per 40 tons of water. Of course, in the wild, being in such conditions, the fish will simply die - there will not be enough food. But at home, this problem is easily solved - it is much easier to provide carp with suitable food than digging a pond with an area of several hectares to grow a ton of fish.
Optimum reservoir depth
To make breeding crucian only pleasure, you need to properly design a pond. Most of it should not be deep - 70-80 centimeters is enough. Keep in mind that crucian carp, like any other fish, is a cold-blooded creature. The higher the water temperature (within reasonable limits), the faster the processes in the body. Therefore, the sooner the water warms up in the reservoir in the spring, the better. Indeed, in winter, in cold water, the fish eats little and hardly grows. It gains the bulk in the summer, living in warm water.
But in the center of the pond should be a depression - about 1/5 of the total area of the pond or slightly less. In winter, during severe frosts, water in shallow water may well freeze to the very bottom. And crucian carp will simply die. If there is a deep hole, he will simply plunge into it, will not eat and will almost stop breathing. At this time, crucians simply lie on top of each other, waiting for a hard time.
You will need a pit in the warm season. If it is too hot during the day and the water warms up in small places, then the amount of oxygen in it will drop sharply. Crucian will suffer from this. But if he has the opportunity to go deeper, closer to the ice keys, the problem will be completely resolved.
Preparing a pond for stocking
When breeding fish, crucian carp is the best option for the reason that it is unpretentious - this has already been mentioned. Nevertheless, certain rules are very important to maintain. To begin with, you cannot start fish in a recently dug pond. Indeed, in most cases, in order not to waste energy and money filling a pond with a pump, experienced breeders try to dig a deep enough pond so that it is filled with underground keys. And the water there is icy. Once in such water, crucian carp will immediately survive the shock - this will negatively affect his health and may even cause the death of many individuals.
Therefore, you need to wait at least a week for the water to settle, warm, enrich with oxygen. After that, algae should be planted there. Suitable duckweed, reeds, cattail, arrowhead - almost everything that grows freely in the area where you decide to breed silver carp or gold.
It will be useful to launch several dozen shells - for example, a toothless. They perfectly filter the water, so it contains fewer potentially dangerous microorganisms. You can also run a dozen cancers (only not in the spawning), which will eat dead fish, not allowing them to decompose and spoil the water. After such preparation, you can start the fish.
What size fish to run
It all depends on what kind of effect you want to achieve. Is your goal to slowly breed small quantities of fish, being able to always catch several crucians for dinner? In this case, it makes sense to start half a dozen (or more, depending on the area of the pond) 3-4 summer individuals in mid-autumn and wait a few years - in the spring they will spawn, and in two years there will be an opportunity to enjoy fish from their own summer house.
Or would you like to make a profit? Then it is better to give preference to two-year-olds. In nature, they have a size of no more than 5-7 centimeters and grow relatively slowly. But if the water is warm and the food is plentiful, then they will grow much faster. Having launched two-year-olds weighing 20-30 grams in the middle-end of April, in the autumn you can catch crucian carp weighing up to 300-350 grams! Of course, it’s not a fisherman’s dream, but it is at this time that they grow fastest. Yes, and the taste of young crucian is very good.
In general, during long-term transportation, preference should be given to young fish. It is much easier to tolerate moving and prolonged oxygen starvation - large ones die much faster.
How to feed crucian carp
The next very important question about breeding crucian carp is the right choice of feed. If only a dozen individuals swim on a pond with an area of half a hectare, then you can not worry - they feed themselves thanks to algae and insects that fall into the water. But if tens and hundreds of fish gathered in a small area, then you need to take care of additional nutrition.
Of course, the best choice is insects and earthworms. On such a diet, fish grows fastest. But where to get them in such quantity? Therefore, you have to switch to plant food - it is much easier to get it. Steamed wheat, oats, corn, peas are suitable. A good choice will be boiled small potatoes. A good choice will be feed intended for birds and pigs. It is advisable to choose granular - it breaks less, doesn’t soak and spoil water so quickly.
The optimal amount of feed is 3-5% of the total weight of the fish. You need to give food twice a day, at about the same time, in one place. If the food is eaten in less than half an hour, you can increase the dose. If after half an hour at the bottom and surface of the reservoir there is a lot of food, the portion should be reduced.
We take care of the fish in winter
Speaking of breeding crucian carp in a pond in the country, one can not help but mention special care in the winter.
At a water temperature below +10 degrees Celsius, you don’t need to feed the fish - the food will only rot and spoil the water. But you need to make sure that there is at least a meter of water under the ice. You can also make holes - small holes. It is advisable to fill them with a thick layer of straw from above - it will slow down freezing, letting air through perfectly. You can also stick in a few holes on a bamboo bundle, which will improve oxygen supply to the water.
Conclusion
Now you know everything in order to start independent breeding of the young carp. If you follow all the tips, then after a few years you will probably be able to regularly eat fresh fish and sell excess.