Organization of a farm for breeding and growing crayfish at home. Recommendations and business plan.

Breeding and growing crayfish as a business at home in our country is only gaining momentum, and due to the unsatisfactory environmental situation and water pollution in our rivers, the number of crayfish is constantly decreasing, only properly organized crustacean farms can correct the situation.

In addition, our beer lovers prefer less and less the usual fish as a snack, and more and more prefer crayfish!

Almost all over the world, on all continents, crayfish are bred. This business is so popular because there is no need for large investments even at the very beginning of this business, while costs decrease in the future, and sales grow from year to year.

Breeding crayfish as a business is not only a global production: at first, it can be organized on a small scale, for example, even in ordinary home conditions. It will certainly bring income after a certain time, if you adhere to all long-established crayfish breeding standards. This is one of the best business ideas, small cost, but requires some knowledge and diligence.

Organizing a crayfish breeding business at home

What reservoirs are suitable for breeding

You can breed crayfish in ordinary reservoirs, which were dug specifically for this purpose or were used for fish farming. Running water is optional. It is much more important that crayfish have the opportunity to build burrows in which they will spend most of their time. The bottom should be lined with small stones, gravel or clay.

Difficulties of breeding in aquariums

Some people start breeding crayfish at home in large aquariums. However, if you are going to breed them for business, then aquariums will not be enough, they are only suitable for mastering and studying the processes of growing and breeding. There are other difficulties in growing these crustaceans in an aquarium.

Firstly, the number of crustaceans raised in aquariums will be small and secondly, there are many problems associated with maintaining the biological balance in such a small volume. Water must be constantly cleaned and juveniles must be isolated from older ones to prevent cannibalism. Sometimes crayfish are kept in the same aquarium with fish, but you need to know that only some breeds can get along with crayfish without harming them while not being eaten by themselves.

Video "How to breed crayfish at home"

Video breeding crayfish at home

Breeding in pools

If you nevertheless decide to add fish to crayfish, then you need to choose from those breeds that prefer to be closer to the surface, bottom fish, for example, some breeds of catfish so beloved by aquarists can be eaten by them. In turn, you do not need to keep expensive breeds and squids with them.

Indoor pools can be an ideal option, in which you can organize all the necessary conditions for the year-round keeping of crayfish. In such reservoirs, they will be constantly active, feed well and grow quickly. From 3-4 such pools you can get about half a ton of crayfish for sale.

Don't expect big profits in the first year. First you need to grow a broodstock, and then expect them to receive crustaceans and subsequent profits.

The purchase of already adult females can significantly accelerate profit. But they are quite expensive, but if you have adequate finances for growing crayfish, you can try.

Pond breeding

If you are going to start breeding crayfish in ponds, then you should understand that this is a fairly long process, because due to the low temperature, the crayfish will be inactive to eat poorly and, accordingly, grow slowly.

If you have a suburban area, then you can dig a suitable reservoir. But it is worth considering in advance that in addition to free space, bulk material, special equipment is also needed.

The depth of the reservoir should be at least one and a half meters, the minimum area is 30 m2, these are the minimum dimensions, but they are enough for a small livestock. This is a small reservoir and in order to save money, it can be dug manually in a few weeks, but if you have a friend with a personal excavator, then it is better to entrust this work to him.

Digging a reservoir for breeding crayfish does not need to be in the form of a pool. The shape of the pit, in which there will be a spherical bottom, is more suitable for our case. For effective business conduct, you will need not one, but two, even better three or four such reservoirs.

As mentioned above, the bottom should be lined with stones or large pebbles, which must be sprinkled with river sand.

Sometimes the reservoir can overflow with water, so you need to worry about arranging the drain in advance. This is not difficult, just install a pipe, at the end of which there must be a mesh. If there is no net, then your charges will have the opportunity to leave the reservoir and, of course, die.

Various garden vegetation sits along the edge of the reservoir, which plays not only the role of decoration, but will also strengthen the banks, preventing them from collapsing.

For the winter, reservoirs are insulated, otherwise the water will freeze and its inhabitants will die.

Conditions of detention

After your reservoir is ready, you just have to fill it with water and launch crayfish into it. The quality and purity of the water is of great importance. If the reservoir is not flowing, then the water in it should change as it gets dirty - this is about once every 2 weeks. If the reservoir is equipped correctly and a drainage system is provided in it, then this is not difficult. The pipe is opened, the old water is drained and new is poured in.

It is unnecessary to drain all the water, it is enough to update 1 \ 3. This will be enough to enrich the water with oxygen without disturbing your pets or upsetting the biological balance.

In our latitudes, it is possible to breed crayfish (depending on the onset of cold weather) for about 7-8 months a year. However, this time should also be enough. One female can usually give a couple of hundred crustaceans, but several dozen usually survive to large sizes.

Often, breeding crayfish at home is hampered by such an unpleasant phenomenon as cannibalism. Adults perceive small crayfish as food and eat them with great pleasure. In particular, females are prone to this, which for a long time, bearing eggs, are in one place, as a result of which they often starve.

To prevent this phenomenon, females at this time need to be transplanted to another place, i.e. a special incubator and as soon as the crustaceans hatch, they are removed from it, thereby increasing the number of surviving young.

The diet of small crustaceans is the same as for adult crayfish:

• meat;
• dead fish;
• bread;
• vegetables.

There is a special food for small crustaceans on sale - this, of course, is ideal and the cultivation of crayfish will be more successful.

The composition of such feeds was developed by specialists and tested in practice, it includes:

• raw fats;
• cellulose
• digestible proteins;
• crude proteins;
• minced fish and flour;

Where to buy crayfish for breeding and what

Specifically, for breeding, you will need mainly female crustaceans, but males are also needed. Some crustaceans buy females on legs, which already have caviar. On average, to grow one ton of crayfish, you need to buy about four hundred females. Naturally, if you are just starting to breed, then there is a lot of this amount, for the first time fifty will be enough.

You can also catch your own crayfish in their natural habitats. Small ponds with well-established water replacement and aeration are the best place for further excretion of embryos in females.

It is possible to purchase crayfish for subsequent breeding at special enterprises that breed broodstock for sale.

You can also do it even easier, namely, place an order for raklov, which you can find on any grocery market that sells their production.

Breeding crayfish as a business - provides for savings at all stages.

Breeds of crayfish and features of their cultivation

Australian

In order to breed a red-clawed Australian, special conditions are required. This is the most "fleshy" breed. Breeding is possible only in closed reservoirs, while additional heating is required. Very often they are bred at home in aquariums, while their volume should not be less than 100 liters. This is enough for the normal maintenance of 3-4 individuals.

They have a need for periodic ascents to the surface and this must be taken into account when arranging a reservoir. Burrows, various shelters and various driftwood should be foreseen. They need these shelters for eating, resting and for the period of molting, which can occur anywhere, but then the cancer needs to hide somewhere.

They are unpretentious to food: they perfectly eat dead fish, aquatic vegetation, combined feed, bread.

You can add fish to them, but not all breeds are suitable. It is better to buy fast-growing inexpensive species for these purposes, because there is a huge probability of overeating and the frequent death of fastidious fish. Ordinary guppies may be the best solution.

Blue cuban

This type of crayfish is distinguished by its exceptional unpretentiousness. The sizes are average. The water temperature is not more than 26C, the hardness is high. They feed on everything that they can find at the bottom. Cases of attacks on fish that swim close to them are not uncommon. If they are properly fed and properly looked after, then after six months the young will reach the size of adults. In the reservoir in which the Cubans are kept, the soil must be sandy, the vegetation is rough. Filtration and aeration of water is required. Crayfish of this breed, like all crustaceans, love to hide in various grottoes, burrows and shelters.

Marble

Marble, like the Australian, needs special breeding conditions: water temperature 20-28C, filtration and aeration. Abundant feeding. But the big advantage is that in an aquarium with a volume of 100 liters. can contain about twenty individuals. Reproduction is parthenogenetic. If anyone still does not know what it is, then, in short, this is the same-sex method, when the cancer is both a female and a male at the same time. The larvae hatch on the abdomen for about a month. The young grow up to 15 cm. After birth, the fry must be planted, otherwise the adults will surely eat them.

Business setup costs

Equipment and containers for breeding crayfish

For breeding crayfish in open reservoirs, insulation is still needed, since the freezing of its lower layers is unacceptable.

Breeding crayfish in pools or aquariums is more profitable, but at the same time, investments will be required at first to purchase specialized equipment:

But do not be alarmed, this is the cost of the first initial stage. Already next year they will be significantly lower and you may already be able to start making your first profit. As a result, the crayfish farming business is profitable, and the payback period is 2 years.

More about the equipment

If you have decided to organize your own small crustacean farm, then additional equipment should be purchased to increase profitability. As you know, crayfish are creatures that are quite dependent on the conditions in which they are kept, as a result of this, a logical conclusion suggests itself, the better conditions you organize for them, the sooner and better they will be able to repay you with good growth.

To fully equip the pond you will need:

• Thermal insulation equipment. These can be greenhouses, both specialized in industrial production, and of their own design. Greenhouses are needed to maintain the optimum water temperature for crayfish.
• To keep the water in the pond, you need a reliable frame, and it is better if it is made of polypropylene.
• The compressor is needed so that water stagnates in it, otherwise the growth of crayfish may slow down or even stop.
• An oxidizer, especially in winter, is needed to saturate the water with oxygen. It must be installed in the fall and do not wait for the ice crust to cover the reservoir.
• A filtration system is needed in any case, including if the water is replaced in a timely manner, since in any case, the remains of feed and crayfish secretions will accumulate at the bottom, which rotting and decomposing will pollute the water, which will negatively affect not only growth, but and the health of crustaceans.

When breeding crayfish in aquariums, you need a special filtration system, as well as heating systems and a compressor.

This video explains how a crayfish farm works and what needs to be done to speed up their growth.