Unique model of raising sea crabs in plastic boxes

Currently, the farming modelcrabIn Vietnam, crab farming is still quite new, people do not dare to invest heavily due to limitations in technology, experience, and infrastructure investment. More than a year ago, Mr. Pham Van Duy (residing in Tien Village, Ninh Nhat Commune, Ninh Binh City) had a chance to apply this crab farming technique for the first time in Ninh Binh Province.

The model of raising sea crabs in plastic boxes of Mr. Pham Van Duy (Tien village, Ninh Nhat commune, Ninh Binh city) is the first model in Ninh Binh. Photo: NT

ModelMr. Duy's plastic box crab farming started with only 50 plastic boxes for testing. After 1 year of raising, learning from experience and exploring on his own, Mr. Duy has now boldly expanded the model to 540 plastic boxes, and invested in a professional waste filtration system at a cost of more than 300 million VND.

According to Mr. Duy, the high-tech system for raising sea crabs indoors has the outstanding advantage of not requiring much water input thanks to the principle of circulation and oxygenation. When water is put into the crab farming box, excess food and waste are discharged and go through the rough filter system, then into the biological tank and UV disinfection system.

Microorganisms living on Kaldnes plastic beads act like corals to filter out leftover food and waste, making the crabs' living environment cleaner. Thanks to this, up to 99.5% of the water in the model is reused, helping to increase the survival rate of farmed seafood, increase productivity, and not pollute the environment.

Circulating water filtration system for crab farming. Photo: NT

"Raising sea crabs in boxes has a few differences from raising crabs in the lagoon. The process of feeding crabs in the lagoon will save more time, raising crabs in plastic boxes will require dropping food into each box for the crabs to eat. Each day the crabs will eat 2 meals, because they are nocturnal, so the main meal is dinner. The crabs' food is fresh food such as clams, shrimp, snails, and chopped mussels" - Mr. Duy shared.

According to biological characteristics, the structure of crab meat is not muscle structure, so whether the crab moves a lot or a little, the firmness of the meat is not affected. The quality of crab meat depends on the nutritional content of the food and the quality of the living environment. Customers can be completely assured of the quality of crab meat when raised in boxes, even the crab is guaranteed to be fresh and clean.

Each crab is raised separately in a plastic box. Photo: NT

According to Mr. Duy, each crab will be raised separately in a separate plastic box to avoid cannibalism and to narrow the model for easy management and to avoid cross-infection. The crab boxes are arranged in many different levels, numbered in order and daily records of care effectiveness are recorded on the box. After about 20 - 40 days, the crabs will begin to be harvested, at which point they will reach about 4 crabs/kg.

"The crabs in the box are not affected by natural factors. To keep the crabs in an ideal temperature environment of 28 degrees Celsius, I have a heater to ensure the standard temperature in all weather conditions, regardless of winter or summer.

After about 20 - 40 days, the crabs begin to be harvested. Photo: NT

In addition, the big advantage of the indoor crab farming system is the maximum utilization of the farming area. Crabs are raised and harvested continuously, the quality of the products can be easily controlled before being put on the market. The model takes up little space but has high productivity, the products ensure food safety, do not contain drugs and antibiotics" - Mr. Duy added.

Currently, two crab breeds are being raised at Mr. Duy’s farm: soft-shell crab and four-bullet crab. With the initial success that the model has brought, in the future, Mr. Duy plans to expand the model further, meeting the needs of customers./.