Culture techniques of water cockroaches

Water cockroaches, also known as water turtles, dragon lice, etc., are the general name of various species and genera of the family Drosophila. The most common ones are Japanese sucker dragon lice, black dragon lice, oriental three-star dragon lice, and so on. Their protein content is very high, but the fat content is very low, so the nutritional value is very high. As a typical food with high protein, low fat and low sterol, it is very popular. Let's take a look at the culture technology of water cockroaches.

Life habits

Water cockroaches inhabit the freshwater environment all their lives, and their life is divided into four stages, namely, eggs, larvae, pupae, adults, and adults lay eggs again and again. Larvae and adults are aquatic, prey on small aquatic animals such as small fish, shrimp and tadpoles, and lay eggs on the branches and leaves of aquatic plants. The larvae are slender, with a large head, sharp and curved upper jaws, pores inside, and can suck animal juice. when the larvae are mature, they pupate in the soil at the edge of the water, and then gradually transform into adults.

Breeding prospect

Water cockroach culture is a special animal breeding project that has sprung up in the past two years, and its sources mostly rely on man-made overfishing, and the number of wild dragon lice is decreasing year by year, so that supply exceeds demand in the market. Because the dragon lice is small and occupies small water space, it is not only suitable for breeding in large water surfaces such as fish ponds, but also suitable for breeding in cement ponds of several square meters or even smaller water tanks, and its economic value is high. therefore, as soon as it came out, it was favored by many farmers, especially as a good project of courtyard economy. In recent years, the artificial culture of dragon lice has been successful in Guangdong and Guangxi.

Culture environment

Water cockroach culture as far as possible in places with less pollution, farms try to choose roads and factories far away from more vehicles (especially chemical plants), the water body requires non-toxic and lethal pollution, keep the water depth of 50 to 100 centimeters, do not need to change water frequently, but the water should be free of stench, at the same time to prevent the sun from overheating, some aquatic plants should be planted in the water, such as water floating lotus, and anti-flight nets should be added on the water surface.

Site construction

Water cockroaches are aquatic insects, which are very sensitive to pesticides, chemical fertilizers and oil pollution. Generally, it is better to build ponds in the suburbs, but not in places with environmental pollution, especially in places with oil pollution. The culture site can choose small fish ponds, ponds or tanks, etc., the pool is made of brick, the area is less than 5 square meters, the water depth is 0.5 square meters, and 200 to 300 cockroaches can be released on each square meter of water surface.

Seed and seedling selection

When breeding water cockroaches, it is generally to choose and purchase seedlings from reputable seed suppliers, which can not only ensure the quality of varieties, but also allow manufacturers to provide better technical guidance and technical advice. At the same time, it can also catch water cockroach larvae in the fish fry at the turn of spring and summer, raise them into pupae in autumn and turn into adults.

Culture management

1. Bait: water cockroaches are mainly carnivorous, can also be both herbivorous and saprophytic, and are good at catching small organisms, organic matter and aquatic plants in water. Under artificial feeding conditions, water cockroaches are generally fed with corn meal, rice bran, wheat bran and sweet melons and fruits, as well as broken snails and scraps of pigs, chickens, cattle and ducks widely found in rural areas.

2. Feeding: water cockroaches are generally fed once a day in the evening, with a feeding amount of 70.8% of the total weight of dragon lice (about 0.15 grams per water cockroach). They should not be fed every other day to avoid killing each other, and should not be fed with poisonous and infectious food, otherwise it will cause water cockroaches to die or be unable to reproduce for a long time.

3. Management: the culture cycle of water cockroaches is 8 months, which is mainly fed with meat in the first 3 months, such as longevity snail, beef liver, fresh scraps, dead fish, dead shrimp, etc., and mixed feed in the last 5 months. that is, meat and plant feed are fed according to a certain proportion. Water cockroach culture has no special requirements for water quality, generally use tap water, groundwater, natural water and other pollution-free water sources, when the water is too dirty, we should pay attention to the replacement of new water.