Raising eels in mud-free tanks

(Baonghean) - Eel farming in mud-free cement tanks is being successfully applied by many households, opening up new development directions in localities. However, to create a solid development step, eel farming needs the cooperation of functional sectors in establishing breeding sources and controlling diseases.

The model of raising eels in mud-free cement tanks of Mr. Tran Ngoc Duyen (Hung Thang, Hung Nguyen) is a bright spot known to many people. Since the beginning of 2013, after understanding the market, learning through books and newspapers and reading online forums about new ways to raise eels to bring high economic efficiency, he boldly built a system of barns with 4 cement tanks on a pond area of ​​nearly 1 hectare of the farm. After the first trial, at the end of 2013 he exported 4 quintals of eels at a price of 165 thousand VND/kg. After that success, in 2014 he started raising eels in 4 cement tanks.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Duyen (Hung Thang, Hung Nguyen) checks the farmed eel herd.

Mr. Duyen said that investing in a breeding tank must follow certain principles to ensure hygiene for the eels. To do so, the breeding tank is usually tiled, with a drainage hole at the bottom for daily cleaning, however, the tank must be designed appropriately to prevent the eels from escaping. After careful disinfection, 3 bamboo frames are placed in the breeding tank to create a place for the eels to live. In a small tank with an area of ​​4m2, he raises 30 kg of fry and in a large tank of 8m2, he raises 80 kg of fry. The price of fry ranges from 10 to 12 million VND/quintal, usually imported from the southern provinces. After 4 months of breeding, it can be sold. Because eels are omnivorous, the food source can take advantage of small fish (mainly perch) with a price of only about 5 thousand VND/kg.

Instead of raising hybrid eels from the South like Mr. Duyen, dozens of families in Yen Thanh are raising freshwater eels, which are famous for their fragrant, chewy and delicious meat. Therefore, customers from many places are looking to buy eels. Small freshwater eels are caught by households from the fields and imported to families with ponds. To successfully raise eels, technical factors play a decisive role. If the techniques are mastered, the farmers will have a very "leisurely" time and high income due to low costs...

In Do Luong district - one of the districts with many highly effective mud-free eel farming models in our province, up to now, the whole district has 51 households developing the model with a total area of ​​nearly 1,400m2, it is expected that this year the households will export about 230 tons of eel to the market.

Mr. Nguyen Van Chinh (Hamlet 1, Trung Son) is a typical household raising eels in a new direction with a total of 5 cement tanks of more than 20 square meters. He shared: “In previous years, when eels became a popular food, they were exploited intensively. Not only adult eels but also small eels were caught. Many households came up with the idea of ​​raising eels in mud or earthen ponds, but these methods were not effective. The reason is that in mud environments it is very difficult to care for and prevent diseases, causing eels to grow slowly and easily get sick. There are cases where after raising, the amount of eels harvested is lower than the amount of eels before release. Later, we applied mud-free commercial eel farming, bringing clear economic efficiency. Raising eels is not difficult, just pay attention to disease prevention for them because they are susceptible to skin and digestive diseases. If you do a good job of disease prevention, you will definitely succeed.” Currently, Trung Son commune has 19 households raising eels, with the average output of each household ranging from 350 - 400 kg of eels/year.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Minh - Deputy Head of Animal Husbandry Department of the Provincial Department of Agriculture said: “The eel farming movement in the province has developed quite well in recent years, mainly concentrated in the midland districts, in which, commercial eel farming in mud-free tanks has many outstanding advantages, bringing high economic efficiency. Up to now, the whole province has 70 farming households with an area of ​​nearly 2,000m2, each household has from 4 to 5 tanks. Currently, there are two main sources of seed supply: seed caught from the wild, after a 2-month domestication period, they are classified and put into commercial farming. The remaining source is domesticated eel breeds at breeding facilities from the southern provinces. Currently, ensuring the supply of breeds for farming households is also a matter of concern, the Department of Agriculture is making efforts to support people in both breeds and techniques to develop sustainable eel farming, with high economic efficiency...”.

Thanh Quynh