How to grow crayfish at home

Breeding crayfish is a painstaking task, requiring a lot of patience and time. People breed crayfish for themselves or for sale. If you like seafood and want to enjoy plenty of crayfish, then the area for breeding animals should not be large. If you want to breed crayfish in order to earn income, then you need to more carefully approach this issue and find a suitable room. By the way, crayfish breeding is quite a profitable business. Crayfish are appreciated by many gourmets who are willing to pay a lot of money for a quality product. In Russia, this industry is not developed and it will not be difficult to occupy a niche. The main thing is to create conditions under which the cancer will grow, get fat and feel great.

How long do crayfish grow

I would like to note that breeding cancers is a long-term business. Cancer from the moment of birth grows to its maximum size in 4 years. Therefore, you need to be prepared for the fact that you will receive your first profit no earlier than a couple of years from the start of growing crayfish. And all this time they will need to be fed and maintained.

Where to breed crayfish

The natural habitat for crayfish is small ponds that do not freeze in winter. Water does not need filtration in them - a flowing pond provides animals with everything necessary - an optimal temperature for life and food. However, finding such a natural pond is quite difficult. Even if you live on a plot of land, digging a pond will not be enough. In winter, all cancers simply die from frost. Therefore, creating the conditions for breeding cancers, you need to take into account the features of their life. So where can crayfish be kept?

1. In a swimming pool. This method is suitable for those who have a private pool on the plot. You will also have to abandon swimming in it for the next few years, as the crayfish grows long enough. The pool should be divided into two parts. Adult crayfish will live in one part, and young growth in the other. This is done so that adults and strong individuals do not eat young crayfish. As soon as the cancer is strong and ready to move to the "adult" pool, it is moved.
2. In aquarium. To breed crayfish, the aquarium must be very large. Because there is no reason to breed 10 or 20 individuals, you need to grow at least 200 crayfish to get a tangible result. If you want to breed crayfish in an aquarium, you need to buy a capacity of at least 500 liters. You also need to organize regular water filtration, which ensures the normal functioning of the crayfish. In any living room for crayfish, it is necessary to create the optimum temperature. Whatever place you choose for breeding animals, the temperature should not drop below zero degrees Celsius, otherwise the crayfish will die. If you can arrange a temperature of +15 degrees for crayfish - that's great. In this case, they will not hibernate and stop growing.
3. In the basement. Some people successfully grow crayfish in the basement. What? It is very comfortable. A large area allows you to place quite large vats or aquariums with crayfish. In the summer, the basement is always cool, and in winter it is not cold. If you want to simulate the natural environment, you need to sprinkle the bottom of the tank with water with sand. Also place stones in the vat behind which the crayfish love to hide.
4. In the annex. If you do not live in an apartment, but in a country house, you can grow crayfish in any extension. For this case, even the most collapsed barn is suitable. The main thing here is that it is not cold inside, especially in winter. Warm the extension and calmly breed crayfish there.

How to breed crayfish at home

So, the place for breeding animals is selected.What's next? Let's figure it out in order.

1. First you need to buy two or three large containers. They must be glass (aquariums) or plastic. It is better not to put iron vats; crayfish do not take root in such conditions. Tanks should be equipped with a filtration system, i.e. a drain. The drain hole must be covered with a net so that no cancer is harmed.
2. Several vats are needed in order to distinguish crayfish by age. After young crustaceans are born in a pond, adults need to be transplanted. Do not transplant babies, because they are not ready to adapt to the new environment. But those who have reached a certain age can already settle down in a new place. It is best to divide crayfish into three ages - adults, medium young and very small crustaceans. Crayfish transplantation by age is done manually, visually at a glance.
3. You can buy crayfish in the form of larvae and adults. If you decide to buy adult crayfish, you need to know that there should be two females per male. Interestingly, the male impregnates two females, and kills the third, so the proportions should be just that. It is best to buy crayfish in the fall when a mating period occurs. They will give you new offspring, which you will already grow from scratch.
4. I would like to note that in the water where small crustaceans are contained, the filtration should be as careful as possible. Young individuals are so small that they can seep even through the net - so you can lose some of the hatched offspring.
5. Once again, I would like to draw attention to the fact that the temperature of air and water should be comfortable. If the temperature does not drop below 15 degrees, the crayfish grow faster and have larger sizes.
6. How to feed crayfish? In the natural environment, crayfish feed on anything - plants, carrion, organic compounds, frogs, small fish, worms, larvae. In an artificial environment, you can feed them with the same composition. However, in order to make life easier for yourself and not be constantly in search of larvae and fish, you can add boiled cereals (cereals), vegetables, fish food, meat, whole grain crops to the diet.
7. Lighting for crayfish does not play a big role. Just one light bulb left constantly on.
8. Crayfish molt several times a year, that is, they discard their old carapace. At this time, they are quite vulnerable to other adults. Therefore, you need to carefully monitor the nutrition of the crayfish so that they do not eat their "defenseless" relative.
9. It is most beneficial to breed blue crayfish. They are more fleshy, in addition, they grow faster and gain weight.

Cancers can get infectious diseases or suffer from parasites. All deviations from the norm occur due to improper keeping of animals. It is very important to change the crayfish water in time, do not overfeed them, do not give them raw meat, and provide the right temperature for a comfortable life.

When breeding crayfish, you will have to spend money on the animals themselves, tanks for water, a filtration system, as well as feed. But most of all you need to put attention and patience. When breeding crayfish, it does not happen that he threw the crayfish into the vat and wait for profit. To get a real result, you need to love this thing and give it all your time. And then you can not only enjoy delicious and tender meat, but also get a considerable income.

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