Crayfish are invertebrate animals. They are in great demand throughout Russia. Natural populations of crayfish are decreasing every year due to poaching and disease. Natural reserves of crayfish reach their maximum every eight years, after which they decrease to a minimum.

Currently, much attention is paid to breeding crayfish in artificial reservoirs. In terms of per capita consumption, Greece and Italy lead. Crayfish were brought to these countries from the former Soviet Union. Every year, these countries supply up to 11 thousand tons of commercial crayfish to the foreign market. Spain, Portugal and China also supply crayfish.

In country and homestead ponds, you can successfully breed fast-growing species of crayfish, such as broad-toed and long-toed. Common crayfish live in rivers, lakes, ponds, floodplains, streams with clean soft water, on clay, sandy, peaty, but not rocky bottoms. The favorable water temperature for crayfish is not lower than 12 degrees Celsius. The depth of the reservoir is from 1.5 to 6 – 15 m. The best habitat for crayfish is the shoreline of the reservoir with inlets, where aquatic vegetation grows well.

When eating vegetation, calcium metabolism in the body of crayfish accelerates, which contributes to the hardening of the shell after molting. On a small dam near a river, the soil near the shore should be such that it is convenient for crayfish to build holes. In addition to burrows, crayfish can be found under stones, stumps and roots.

Typically, crayfish make burrows on steep, shady banks where there is little sun. Reeds, willows, acacias, and willows can grow on the banks. Burrows can be of the following sizes: length 10–40 cm, width 5–20 cm, height 3–18 cm. In winter, crayfish burrows are located at the very bottom of the reservoir, in summer - closer to the shore, depending on the temperature.

Crayfish dig burrows using their legs and tail, supported by their front claws. Crayfish need tails not only for digging holes, but also for swimming. They swim backwards and at the same time hit the water with their tail. Crayfish, as a rule, do not live in acidic water. The optimal amount of oxygen dissolved in water for crayfish– 7–8 mg/l. A short-term reduction to a level of 2–4 mg/l is possible.

Usually crayfish lead night look life, but if they smell prey, they will strive for it during the day. They feed on shells, slugs, insect larvae, worms, carrion that is not very rotten, young stems of reeds, water lilies and other plants. Crayfish especially readily eat algae rich in lime, which, like the peel of shells and slugs, is used to form a shell. The shell consists of chitin - 46.73%, calcium carbonate - 46.25%, calcium phosphate 7.02%.

Female crayfish always sit alone in burrows, while males often gather in groups during wintering. Crayfish are dioecious animals. Males of long-clawed crayfish reach sexual maturity in the third year with a body length of at least 7–9 cm, and females in the fourth year with a body length of 6–7 cm. Some males are 2–3 times larger than females. The surest signs of difference are the genitals lying on the thoracic side, at the border of the chest and tail. In the male, the paired openings of the gonads are located at the base of the last pair of legs, in the female they are located at the third pair from the end. Already in September, from 100 to 300 testicles are formed in the female’s ovary yellowish color, at the same time the male’s sperm ducts begin to greatly increase, looking like two thick white intertwined threads.

Mating occurs in October–November or February–March. In terms of timing, a lot depends on the region. Mating duration is from 15 to 20 days. Fertilization occurs inside the body. A male can fertilize up to four females in a row. After mating, the female retires to her burrow and 20–25 days after mating begins spawning, releasing eggs through the genital openings. The number of eggs in the broad-fingered species of female crayfish, 7 to 8 cm long, reaches 68 pieces, and in the long-fingered crayfish - 60 pieces. In the broad-fingered species of female crayfish, from 8 to 9 cm long, the number of eggs reaches 93 pieces, in the long-fingered crayfish - 102; in the broad-fingered species of female crayfish from 9 to 10 cm long - 163 pieces, in the long-fingered species - 174. In the broad-fingered species of female crayfish from 11 to 12 cm in length - 302 pieces, in the long-fingered species - 350 pieces. In the broad-fingered species, female crayfish from 13 to 14 cm long have 425 pieces, in the long-fingered species - 500 pieces.

The eggs quickly stick under the abdomen to the spoonpods and remain there until the larvae hatch. Since the eggs must be continuously washed with water enriched with oxygen, the female drives the water with a splash, bending and unbending the end of her tail. Calm water, if the female sits in a hole, stagnates, becomes depleted of oxygen and the eggs die.

Crayfish eggs can be easily damaged by water scorpions, swimming beetles, and smooth beetles. The female constantly washes the eggs from dirt, mold and algae. A female crayfish can have from 120 to 500 eggs. The hatching time of crayfish offspring depends on the weather and region. As a rule, hatching occurs at the beginning or in the second half of summer.

Externally, crayfish larvae differ little from adults, except for size. The length of one-day larvae reaches 9–16 mm. At first, they remain attached under the female’s abdomen and hold onto the mother’s leg-shaped appendages with their claws. After 10–12 days they begin to swim near the female, but in case of any danger they hide under the abdomen. After 45 days, the larvae leave the female forever. In the first summer they change their shell 7–8 times, in the second summer - 5 times, in the third and subsequent years male 2 times, female – 1 time. This exchange occurs in a period of time from 10 minutes to several hours.

They grow slowly. By autumn they reach 3–3.5 cm in length. By the end of the second year of life, young crayfish grow to 7–9 cm, at the age of three years – 10–12 cm; By the age of five, the cancer can reach 12–15 cm in length; by the age of 20, large specimens reach 20–25 cm in length. At the age of 8–10 years, crayfish reach a length of 10–11 cm or more.

Juveniles raised in rivers and lakes reach commercial size in the third or fourth summer. In ponds, two-year-old crayfish during the warm season reach a fishing length of 10 cm and a weight of 32 g. Some crayfish with a size of 12.3 cm reach 70.5 g of weight or more. The survival rate of fingerlings in ponds with a good food supply during the growing season is much higher (85–90%) than in natural reservoirs (10–15%). The high growth rate and survival rate of juveniles is explained by the good food and temperature conditions that they find in artificial reservoirs. In rivers, juveniles do not receive even the minimum diet that covers energy expenditures for searching for food and metabolism in the body.

Under natural conditions, the sexual maturity of crayfish occurs in the third year of life with a minimum size of females of 6–7 cm. A 10-centimeter crayfish of four years old can be considered already a breeder. The timing of mating depends on the conditions in the reservoir and water temperature. In some regions this occurs in March - April at water temperatures of 8 - 12 degrees Celsius. Larvae hatch from eggs in the second half of May - the first half of June at a water temperature of 21–24 degrees. The larvae begin to live independently in such conditions 10–14 days after hatching.

Under natural conditions, crayfish go through the following stages of development. First stage: development duration is from 1 to 7 days, larval size is 1.5–2 mm; second stage: duration of development from 5 to 8 days, larval size 8.7 mm, weight 14.7 mg; third stage: development duration from 9 to 14 days, larval size 1.2 cm, weight 34.7 mg; fingerlings: development duration up to 90 days, larval size 3 cm, weight from 8 to 19 g; two-year-olds: larval size 6 cm, weight 32 g; sexually mature: development duration is three years, larval size is 6.7 cm; sexually mature: development duration 10 years, larval size 9 – 10 cm, weight – 50 g.

Depending on the age, crayfish have the following dependence in size: at the age of 20 days, the length of the male reaches 21.9 mm, the length of the female – 21.6 mm; at the age of 30 days, the length of the male is 28.5 mm, the female is 28.0 mm; at the age of 40 days, the length of the male is 34.7 mm, the female is 33.87 mm; at the age of 50 days, the length of the male is 40.2 mm, the female is 39.3 mm; at the age of 60 days, the length of the male reaches 45.3 mm, the female – 44.2 mm; at the age of 70 days, the length of the male is 49.9 mm, the female is 48.6 mm; at the age of 80 days, the length of the male is 54.0 mm, the female is 52.5 mm; at the age of 90 days, the length of the male is 57.7 mm, the female is 56.0 mm; at the age of 100 days, the length of the male is 60.7 mm, female – 59.0 mm; at the age of 110 days, the length of the male is 63.3 mm, the female is 61.5 mm; at the age of 120 days, the length of the male reaches 65.4 mm, females 63.4 mm.

Some methods of breeding crayfish

Since the testicles come out already fertilized, the main care must be focused on the female carrying the testicles, placing her in a safe room where she can be fed until the young crayfish fall away from her. Small crayfish should be fed until autumn in pools or small flowing ponds with steep banks and a dense bottom, into which water is carried through pipes with a diameter of 20–25 cm.

There are various practices for raising crayfish. In some farms, crayfish are grown in wooden waterproof boxes made from 5-centimeter boards. The length of the box is 12–15 m, width 6 m, depth 1.2 m. The manufactured boxes are placed on the bottom of a dry pond. Water is carried into the pond through pipes with taps and outlet pipes. Small cells with a volume of 5 cubic meters and several floors are arranged along the walls of this pool. The cells are placed one above the other so that the walls of the pool form them back wall, and the cell should be open in front so that the crayfish can freely enter and exit it. Each cancer has its own cell.

Then stones and stumps are piled on the bottom of the pond so that the crayfish can hide under them. In two corners of the pond, small mounds of rich, marl clay are poured with a layer of 90 cm in height and planted with reeds, watercress and other plants. After installation, the pool is filled with water and more than a thousand females with fertilized eggs are placed in it. The crayfish are fed with waste of finely chopped meat, young frogs, fish meat, etc. The water flows with a constant current in a stream 25 cm thick and leaves through an outlet pipe protected by a mesh with small cells. In mid-October there may already be more than 20 thousand crayfish. Young crayfish are left until they grow a strong shell.

Under natural conditions, it is rare to find a female with more than 20 crustaceans on her tail, and some of these twenty themselves fall off prematurely, others die, so on average each female raises no more than 12 crustaceans per year. When breeding in reservoirs - pools, you can get from 35 to 65 crayfish from each female.

To remove juveniles from females, you can use the following method. Shortly before the crayfish hatch from the eggs, the females are placed in a large pond, divided into two floors by nets. The upper mesh has quite large cells; after falling away from the mother, the crustaceans will fall through them to the lower floor, where there is a second mesh with very small cells. On it, crustaceans receive the necessary food and protection from enemies.

Crayfish are very picky about water, and it often happens that they begin to crawl out of the water immediately after they are placed in a pond, lake or other body of water that looks quite suitable for their breeding. In such cases, you should keep them for several days or weeks in a basket, circle, top, lowered into water, and feed them there. If after this they are released into the wild, they immediately begin to look for places in the water where they can hide and no longer try not to get out of the water. In ponds with clean water, abundant vegetation and a slight influx of water through artificial feeding, rapid cultivation of crayfish can be achieved.

In order to increase crayfish stocks and the cancer productivity of reservoirs in ponds and other natural reservoirs, it is necessary to conduct proper management, which involves carrying out biotechnical measures in rivers and reservoirs and artificial breeding of crayfish in ponds. In pond crayfish farming, crayfish productivity is understood as the increase in crayfish per unit area during the growing season.

To determine the value of the crayfish productivity of ponds, it is necessary to subtract their planting weight from the weight of the grown and caught number of crayfish (per unit area). The annual increase obtained in a pond per unit area due to natural food, is called natural cancer productivity, and the increase due to natural food and feed introduced into the pond for feeding crayfish is called general cancer productivity. In natural reservoirs, crayfish productivity refers to production, that is, the catch of crayfish per year per unit area.

The catch of crayfish obtained from natural food found in water bodies depends on the availability of food and the degree of its use. The formation and development of food in reservoirs depends on environmental conditions that contribute to the intensity of life processes. As a result of complex biological processes at the bottom of the reservoir, the organic matter of sludge is destroyed by microorganisms, the oxidized elements of the ash part of the sludge are released, the water is enriched with mineral salts and the creation of primary products - phytoplankton and bacteria that absorb the solution from the water mineral salts and organic compounds. Subsequently, the development of zooplankton and benthos occurs, feeding on primary products (phytoplankton and bacteria), necessary for the development and growth of crayfish.

Thus, cancer production is created as a result of the biological cycle of substances, and the amount of natural cancer production depends on the intensity of life processes that determine this cycle.

Food supply of reservoirs

Lower unicellular algae and bacteria that develop in the water column are united under the general name - plant plankton (phytoplankton). Algae reproduce by division very quickly. After three days, their number increases fivefold. Algae are used as food by lower aquatic animals - zooplankton, which inhabit the water column, most of which die and fall to the bottom.

Dead algae are partially used by organisms inhabiting the bottom of the reservoir (benthos), and most of it accumulates in the form of organic residues. Bacteria that develop in water reproduce even faster than algae. In 15 hours, one bacterium can produce 1 billion offspring. Some of the living bacteria, together with living algae, are consumed by zooplankton. A significant number of them die, decompose, mineralize and re-enter the biological cycle.

If there is enough oxygen in the water, organic matter decomposes quite quickly as a result of bacterial activity. In this case, carbon and hydrogen turn into carbon dioxide and water, nitrogen from protein compounds turns into urea and ammonia. Then, under the influence of nitrifying bacteria, nitrate nitrogen is created, which is well absorbed by green algae. The development of life processes in ponds creates good conditions for protein synthesis in the body of crayfish.

In addition to carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, the protein substances of crayfish include phosphorus, sulfur and iron (blood hemoglobin). The bones of crayfish are rich in calcium. Calculations and chemical analyzes of water show that the annual growth of crayfish contains significantly more nitrogen and phosphorus than the water of ponds, which is explained by the biological cycle of substances occurring as a result of the development of life processes in ponds. Biological cycle arises as a result of different life expectancies of organisms and reproductive abilities.

The fast and intense life process in ponds contributes to the intensive development of organisms used by crayfish as food. However, the amount of certain salts in water does not yet determine the intensity of life processes and the amount of cancer productivity. The amount of certain mineral salts present in the soil is no less important. Water leaches mineral salts from the soil, dissolving them, thereby preparing food for lower algae. Organic matter in the soil is used by bacteria and ciliates for nutrition.

Ponds built on chernozem soils have the highest cancer productivity. Ponds with loamy, clayey and sandy soils are less productive. Mineral salts and soil organic matter have great value only in the first years after the formation of the reservoir. Then, as it ages, this value is lost. In old ponds, the role of the soil in replenishing nutrients is played by pond silt, which accumulates at the bottom. Organic substances of pond sludge containing protein, under the influence of microorganisms, enter into the cycle and provide food for phytoplankton. The cancer productivity of the pond depends on the intensity of the work of bacteria supplying nitrogen and phosphorus to the water. Nitrogen promotes the growth of plants and animals, and phosphorus promotes the growth and acceleration of decomposition processes in plant organisms, as well as the development of reproductive products in animal organisms.

Nitrogen compounds are deposited in pond mud and serve as fertilizer for underwater and above-water plants. Some of the nitrogen contained in living organisms consumed by crayfish also falls out of the cycle. The amount of nitrogen in the ponds is replenished annually. It comes with water runoff from drainage areas in the form of mineral salts and undecomposed organic residues. An indirect indicator of the amount of organic substances in water is its oxidability. The degree of oxidation is determined by the amount of oxygen absorbed by one liter of water to oxidize the organic substances contained in it. If oxidation is low, this indicates that the water is poor in nutrients for the development of phytoplankton.

For pond farms, water is considered good if its oxidability does not exceed 20 mg 02/l. If the oxidation of water is more than 20 mg 02/l, this indicates contamination of the water supply source. Such water is unsuitable for breeding crayfish.

Phosphorus, determined in combination with oxygen, is the most important biogenic substance. It is consumed by plant organisms along with nitrogen and is part of plant protein, digestible by animal organisms. Phosphorus is found in water in the form of salts phosphoric acid and organic compounds. The main source of phosphorus replenishment in ponds is water runoff from fertilized fields in the catchment area. Phosphorus absorbed by crayfish is carried away from the reservoir and excluded from the cycle. Ordinary, unpolluted sources contain up to 0.5 mg/l of phosphorus. For intensive development of green algae, 0.2 mg of phosphorus/l is sufficient.

High productivity of crayfish breeding can be achieved if the nutrients in the pond are used by beneficial consumers. Of the lower algae that are part of the phytoplanton, beneficial consumers include microscopic protococcal green algae, mainly chlorella and scenedesmus. Blue-green algae consume nutrient salts and play a negative role. They are not used as food by zooplankton and are almost never eaten by crayfish.

Secondary production in the reservoir consists of zooplankton and benthos. Zooplankton includes ciliates, rotifers, copepods and cladocerans. Ciliates develop mainly in the coastal zone of ponds and serve as food for crayfish only in the first days after the larvae hatch from the eggs.

Copepods found in ponds are very valuable for crayfish breeding. They reproduce in large numbers at all times of the year, especially in early spring, when crayfish, exhausted after winter, begin to feed. Cladocerans are also fertile. This group includes daphnia, bosmina, polyuphemus, etc. The most valuable among the cladocerans are daphnia and moinae, which are specially bred as food for crayfish and fish.

In feeding ponds, the crayfish feeds only on part of the zooplankton - the larvae of the pusher mosquito and other mosquitoes. Mosquito larvae, chironomids or tendipedids, known as bloodworms, are of primary importance for feeding crayfish. Mollusks and their various forms contained in benthos are of some importance in the nutrition of crayfish.

Harmful insects to crayfish in a pond include water beetles, bedbugs and dragonflies. The beetles even attack crayfish fry. Special harm Juvenile crayfish are brought by such beetles as the reindeer, the pond snail, the water-lover, the diving beetle, the eelgrass and their larvae. Adult dragonflies and their larvae consume crayfish food. Frogs and tadpoles also consume crayfish food. Tadpoles also eat cake - food that is given to crayfish.

How to breed crayfish in ponds

Crayfish are bred in ponds complex value; drained bays of reservoirs specially built for crayfish breeding; massifs of peat workings; quarries; small reservoirs; sections of small rivers; estuaries; ilmenyah; lakes; rice fields, etc.

Based on the nature of water supply, ponds are divided into key, stream, river, channel, floodplain, etc.

Key ponds are supplied with water from permanent springs. They are usually constructed by embanking part of the valley or beams adjacent to the terrace above the floodplain, from which springs flow. Most ponds have a uniform depth throughout the area. At the dam they are made a little deeper - 1–1.5 m. As a rule, the water in the spring ponds is cold, with the exception of large ones with an insignificant flow of spring water. The size of ponds usually does not exceed 5 hectares, but larger ones are also found. Chemical composition pond water fluctuates greatly and mainly depends on the quantity and quality of water in the spring and on the soil on which the pond is located. In most cases, key ponds are flowing.

Stream ponds are replenished with water from streams that have a constant flow of water from springs. Ponds are created by blocking the valley with a transverse dam. These ponds have a deep part near the dam with a gradual decrease in depth towards the tops of the ponds. Such ponds usually have a well-developed coastal zone. The water temperature depends on the distance the water travels before it enters the pond, the size of the pond and the flow rate of the stream. At the sources the water is cold, further from the source and in the absence of coastal springs it is warmer than at the source, no colder than in ordinary lowland rivers. The area of ​​these ponds is small - from 5 to 10 hectares, but can be 25–30 hectares.

River ponds are supplied with water from rivers. According to the nature of their structure, they are divided into channel and floodplain. Channel dams are created by blocking the river valley with a transverse dam. The main purpose of the dam is to use water energy for small hydroelectric power stations, driving mills, grist mills, butter churns, to supply water to crab nurseries located in the floodplains of the river below the dam, etc. The area of ​​such ponds can be from 5 to 350 hectares. The depth of the reservoir is usually at least 3–4 m. Towards the top and along the banks, the depths go to zero.

Ponds are generally warm-water and durable. The salt composition of the water in them depends on its quality in the river, the drainage area and its drainage, on the nature of the bottom and on ground inflows. Floodplain ponds are formed when the lower part of the floodplain is embanked. Water is supplied to the ponds to the level of the pond's water horizon using a dam that raises the water in the river and canal, which is located in the elevated part of the floodplain. Such ponds are located in the floodplain of the main river and are supplied with water from a channel.

Floodplain ponds are arranged for breeding crayfish, as well as for gravity irrigation of land plots located on the floodplain below the pond. Ponds vary in size; in crayfish farms they are made with an area of ​​30–100 hectares. At the dam, the depth of the ponds does not exceed 1.5–2.0 m and gradually decreases towards the terrace above the floodplain. The chemical composition of pond water is determined by the quality of the river water and the soil of the pond bed. Summer rainwater and ground currents have almost no effect on water quality.

Atmospheric ponds are fed by surface runoff. As a rule, they are filled with groundwater and rainwater (ground-atmospheric nutrition). Ponds are constructed by blocking wet hollows and gullies that have inflows of surface groundwater. At the dam the depth of the ponds is 1.5–2 m, then it gradually decreases towards the top. The area of ​​soil-atmospheric ponds can be from 10 to 50 hectares. The composition of water is determined by the quality of spring water flowing from the catchment area, bed soil and groundwater. In winter, death is observed in such ponds.

Ponds with atmospheric water supply are built in the same way as soil-atmospheric ones, only they are laid in dry valleys and ravines that do not have an inflow of surface groundwater. They are supplied with water from spring and summer runoff. The area of ​​the ponds is 10–50 or more. Such ponds are inhabited by crushed crucian carp.

Floodplain dams are among the reservoirs with ground-atmospheric water supply. They are erected by embanking a section of the floodplain or by means of a transverse dam in a lower part of the floodplain, flooded by flood water. From the beginning of the decline in low water, shields are installed in the dams to block the water.

Dams are located in logs above the water horizon in the river. Every year they are filled with flood waters. They are replenished with water from summer runoff from the local catchment area and partly from groundwater. Dams are mainly used for breeding crayfish and for irrigation. The area of ​​such ponds ranges from 5 to 100 hectares. Their banks are flat and overgrown with vegetation. Steep and steep banks are rare.

When constructing new ponds and devices for breeding crayfish, the following should be provided: a drainage system that allows water to be drained and drained the pond bed for the winter or only in the fall for the time of catching crayfish, as well as a crayfish-barrier top that prevents crayfish from leaving the ponds if they are built on small rivers and streams.

If for some reason the water from the pond cannot be drained, two or three ponds should be built, placing them one after the other. With this arrangement of ponds, water is first drained to catch crayfish from the lower pond, then it is filled with water from the pond located above. The upper pond is left drained for the winter, and the remaining water reserves in the lower pond are spent on various needs.

How to make drainage ditches. A proper pond ditch network includes a main ditch, side branches to low-lying areas and upland ditches that intercept groundwater and prevent waterlogging of individual areas of the pond. It is necessary to arrange drainage ditches in such a way as to ensure complete drainage of water from low areas, as well as to drain the pond bed.

In terms of their design, ponds must comply with sanitary and hygienic requirements aimed at creating unfavorable conditions for the development of malaria mosquito larvae. To avoid swamping of areas adjacent to pond dams, quarries are made drainage or a ditch is provided for discharging seepage water and draining the adjacent area. The river bed located below the dam is straightened to lower the water level in the river and drain the floodplain. Small ponds and large ponds with shallow floodplains should be avoided.

When constructing ponds for complex purposes, special attention should be paid to their depth. For breeding crayfish in the northern regions and the middle zone, the average depth of ponds should be within 0.8 m, in the southern regions - 1 m. For feeding ponds, such ponds are optimal. At greater depths, crayfish production decreases. When constructing floodplain ponds in specialized farms, smaller average depths are allowed. In some cases, at such depths, the productivity of crayfish becomes greater.

The choice of sites for constructing ponds is of great importance for crayfish production. Ponds can be built on a variety of plots of land with different soils, provided that dams can be built on them and the areas filled with water. The more fertile the soil of the pond, the higher the productivity of crayfish in it.

Quite often, low-fertility soils that are unsuitable for arable land are allocated for ponds - saline, dry areas in ravines that produce low yields of grass, etc.

How to breed crayfish in the bays of reservoirs

Navigable and energy reservoirs differ from ordinary reservoirs by strong fluctuations in water levels, especially in the summer, when the flow of water into the reservoir is reduced to a minimum. In various reservoirs, such fluctuations reach 2 -17 m. As a result of a decrease in the water level in the reservoir, a temporary drying zone is formed. This feature is sharply expressed in reservoirs of the plains with their vast areas of shallow water, constituting from 40 to 80% of the reservoir area.

Typically, shallow waters are drained in the autumn-winter period. During the spring flood, the drained areas are again covered with water. In seasonal reservoirs they are completely covered, in reservoirs of long-term regulation - completely in high-water years.

In contrast to the temporary drainage zone, the non-dischargeable part of reservoirs is called a permanent flood zone. For the life of crayfish in reservoirs, the zones have different meanings. The zone of constant flooding is the wintering site, and the drying zone is usually the breeding site. Both zones can be successfully used for breeding crayfish.

Draining large areas of shallow water and at the same time complete liberation them during this period from wild crayfish opens up great prospects for organizing pond crayfish farming. Fluctuations in water levels occur here in the same way as in conventional reservoirs. The decrease in the water horizon begins in the summer and continues until the spring flood.

The drained areas of reservoirs suitable for constructing ponds are the floodplains of small rivers, streams, gullies, hollows and other depressions along which water flows from the drainage area into the rivers. In autumn these areas are drained and frozen in winter. During the spring flood, dried and frozen areas are again covered with water.

With the least amount of money, bays that cut deep into the mainland and have a narrow exit into the reservoir can be used. The hydrological regime of fenced-off bays differs from ponds in that the bays are filled with water not directly from the drainage area, but from the reservoir, with the beginning of the water rise.

The water temperature in the ponds at this time is significantly higher than in fenced off bays, since colder water from ice-covered reservoirs enters the bays. Subsequently, the water temperature in the bays is almost the same as the temperature of the ponds.

Fenced-off bays are divided into two groups according to water supply conditions. One group includes bays with dependent water supply, the other - with independent ones. Bays with dependent water supply receive water from reservoirs and when the water horizon drops, the reservoir is not replenished with water. Bays with an independent water supply in the spring can receive water from the reservoir, and after the water horizon drops, the water in the reservoir is supplied with water due to the constant influx of water in streams and rivers flowing into the bay. The salt composition can be different, since, in addition to soils, wastewater also affects the quality of water in bays.

According to the conditions for releasing water, bays are also divided into two groups - early and late release from water. The early release bays can be drained in the fall before freeze-up, the late release bays - only as a result of the winter lowering of the water horizon during the freeze-up period.

Bays, deeply cut into the mainland and freed from water at the end of September, are usually used for feeding ponds. This makes it possible to fence off large areas from the reservoir with dams in the autumn. To reduce the cost of crayfish production and economic maintenance, individual bays are made at least 15 hectares. The greatest depth of the bays should be close to the depths of the crayfish ponds - 1.5–2 m.

To completely drain the bays, it is necessary that the greatest depths be in the lower part of the bays, and gradually decrease towards the middle and upper parts of the bay. If there are streams flowing into bays, the depths of the ponds during the period of depression in the channel part should not exceed the height of the reservoir level.

How to breed crayfish in peat excavations

Peat massifs are divided into high, transitional and lowland. In the northern regions, highland peat bogs predominate; to the south, lowland peat bogs are more common. Raised peat bogs are formed as a result of the deposition of dying sphagnum mosses, wild rosemary, cotton grass, pommel, cassandra and other plants that tolerate high acidity, under which decomposition occurs slowly.

In lowlands, hollows, floodplains of rivers and on lakes, lowland swamps are formed as a result of the deposition of dying remains of reeds, sedges, cattails, reeds and other plants growing in an alkaline, slightly alkaline or neutral environment. In such swamps, the process of decomposition of vegetation remains is not inhibited. increased acidity, but a lack of oxygen. The water of lowland swamps contains little dissolved oxygen. Atmospheric oxygen is prevented from reaching decaying vegetation due to the layer of water covering the swamps. Transitional swamps occupy a middle position between highland and lowland swamps.

There are different methods of extracting peat, after which the excavations of different quality are left. With the hydraulic method, quarries look like long and wide reservoirs. If the machine-molding method is used with baggers or excavators, narrow and long quarries with a depth of 3 m or more are obtained. With the milling method, when peat is produced in thin layers, milling fields of a relatively large area with a flat bottom remain. Such fields are most suitable for constructing ponds. The natural productivity of ponds on them is almost twice as high as ponds built on quarries that are mined hydraulically.

In peat workings, the soil is generally acidic, with a pH of 4.1–4.4, which means that the natural productivity of crayfish ponds there is very low unless liming is carried out.

The soil of peat excavations contains many organic compounds tightly bound to colloids of humic substances, which quickly adsorb phosphorus compounds found in the form of insoluble compounds. To use these organic compounds, it is necessary to eliminate the acidity of the water and provide a sufficient amount of oxygen in the bottom layers for the development of microorganisms that mineralize organic matter and enrich the water with nitrogen and phosphorus.

Ponds on peat workings are almost no different from ordinary ponds on peaty or loamy soils, except for the pH of the water, which ranges from 6.6–6.8. If you add lime to the soil every year, the pH of the water will approach neutral. In ponds in peat workings, the food supply develops well, especially zooplankton, the intensive use of which ensures high productivity of crayfish.

How to breed crayfish in reservoirs

Based on the nature of water supply, reservoirs are divided into several groups: with water supply from precipitation, from permanent sources and with mixed water supply.

Irrigation reservoirs are constructed to retain atmospheric water. In spring they are filled with water to the design level. In June, water is taken from the reservoir for irrigation, as a result of which its horizon decreases and the area is reduced by almost 70% of the area flooded in spring.

In such reservoirs, the density of crayfish planting is calculated based on the average density, which is half the sum of the area of ​​the reservoir when crayfish are planted and its area in August, after water flow, or according to the maximum surface of the spring flood. When calculating based on the maximum surface of spring flooding with a decrease in the area of ​​the reservoir in summer, crayfish need additional feeding.

For some industries, for example, starch, sugar factories, some metallurgical and others, industrial reservoirs are installed. These reservoirs can be quite successfully used for growing crayfish, provided that the water is released and the crayfish are caught in winter or early spring and then refilled with water during high water. For breeding crayfish, such reservoirs are best used using pond crayfish farming methods by annually populating and catching everything that is grown, for example, reservoirs that can be lowered or fished longitudinally, as well as by methods of reproducing herds that do not have conditions for reproduction and do not go with the water. time of spring flood.

To catch crayfish, when constructing new reservoirs, provision should be made for bottom drains to completely drain the water. Large reservoirs, from which water is never drained, must be adapted for seine fishing by smoothing out the unevenness of the bottom. To do this, remove bushes, trees and thickets of tough vegetation and uproot stumps. After removing stumps and stones, the holes are covered with earth; The steep banks of ravines and rivers are cut at an angle of 45 degrees. If reservoirs are populated with crayfish, provision should be made for the construction of dismountable crayfish barrier dams during floods.

How to breed crayfish in shallow lakes

The country has a huge number of small lakes that are quite suitable for successfully breeding crayfish, but they are almost never used for these purposes.

Floodplain lakes of various sizes are part of the hydrological complex of rivers, in the floodplains of which they are located and are divided into several types: oxbow lakes, riverbed lakes, central floodplain (valley), near-terrace floodplain and dam lakes.

Typically, floodplain lakes are shallow, with an average depth of 1–1.5 m; in summer, the water in them warms up well. The content of dissolved oxygen in water fluctuates sharply during the day. During the day, the water is oversaturated with oxygen; at night, the amount of oxygen decreases due to the intensive consumption of oxygen by algae and the decomposition of organic matter at the bottom.

In winter, when the lakes are covered with ice and snow, the oxygen in the water is gradually depleted by the decomposition of algae, which die off in the fall. Oxygen deficiency is accompanied by complete death. Therefore, crayfish breeding in floodplain lakes is carried out by spring planting and mandatory autumn catching of grown crayfish.

Floodplain lakes have an excellent food supply. Despite prolonged coverage by a significant layer of water during floods, zooplankton maintains a constant species composition. Particularly strong development of phytoplankton and zooplankton is observed after the decline of high waters. The benthos is distinguished by its diverse species composition and abundant development, especially of larvae and chironomids. In large quantities in the lakes there are larvae of various insects, oligochaete worms and various mollusks. The residual mass of the bottom natural food of crayfish reaches 100 g per 1 square meter. m. In terms of natural productivity of crayfish, floodplain lakes are often superior to ponds.

As crayfish grounds, floodplain lakes are divided into several groups - drainage, non-discharge oblong oxbow lakes and wide lakes of the central floodplain. The bottom of the drainage lakes is located above the water horizon in the river, so they are easy to make drainage. Such lakes are no different from drainage ponds; the productivity of crayfish in them can be very high.

Non-draining oxbow lakes are oblong, small in area, and can be easily processed with longitudinal nets. Among the oxbow lakes there are also very large ones, from which crayfish are caught by pumping out water with powerful pumps. Non-draining lakes of the central floodplain usually have a large area and width and cannot be fished with longitudinal shallows either before settlement or in the fall. Crayfish can only be caught from them by pumping out water annually. The costs of pumping water do not exceed the costs of catching crayfish with seines. Leaving the bottom of lakes without water during the winter helps to increase their crayfish productivity.

Floodplain lakes, which are filled only in years of maximum floods, often become shallow and are not used for crayfish breeding. To drain such lakes, they dig a ditch or deepen the source enough to drain the remaining water and leave it for summer in years of minimal floods. Some lakes are shallow due to the great depth of the channels through which water flows during floods. The water level in them is increased in various ways. For example, a simple sluice is built on a discharge ditch. The lock consists of sheet piling rows at the level of the lowest water horizon and piles, which have a lateral connection with the banks by enclosing the sides with slabs, planks or blocks. The space between the side walls of the gateway is filled with soil or peat and compacted. The gateway is covered with shields inserted into the grooves of the piles in two rows. The lock is opened for the winter. When the level of spring water rises, it freely passes through the sluice and fills the reservoir.

To prevent wild animals from entering the reservoir, gratings with vertical rods are inserted into the grooves. When the water level begins to drop, the grates are removed and the sluice is closed with two rows of panels. To reduce water loss, soil or peat is poured between the panels, leaving them until autumn. During the autumn descent, shallow waters overgrown with hard vegetation are freed from water, which improves the conditions for catching crayfish.

How to breed crayfish in ilmen and estuaries

Ilmeni (depressions) are located in the southwestern part of the Caspian basin, between sandy and silty ridges. Ilmeni have an elongated shape, their bottom is muddy, the banks are sandy and flat, the depth is 1–2 m, the area is from 30 to 100 hectares. Almost all ilmens are connected by channels through which flood water flows. The total area of ​​the Ilmen fund is about 173 thousand hectares. Ilmen, which in ancient times had some importance for the reproduction of cancer stocks, has now lost its former importance.

In the area where the ilmens are located, adjacent to the western part of the Volga delta, summer is usually hot, long, with an abundance of sunny days. There is little precipitation. The amount of oxygen dissolved in water in summer ranges from 6.2 to 16 ml per 1 liter. In deep-sea ilmen, the oxygen content in winter ranges from 50 to 92% saturation. The growing season lasts almost eight months; the bottom of reservoirs is rich in food for crayfish.

In the Volga delta, winter lasts only three months with short frosts. In such conditions, for breeding crayfish, it is possible to completely dispense with the construction of wintering ponds, which are the most expensive part of a crayfish nursery.

According to specialists’ calculations, when pumping out the remaining water in the fall to catch crayfish, it is possible to create a pond farm on an area of ​​60 thousand hectares with an annual capacity of up to 300 thousand centners of crayfish. Ilmeni, which are not subject to winter death, are also suitable for growing crayfish. It is recommended to populate them with yearlings and catch marketable crayfish not in the same year in the fall, but a year later, when the three-year-old carp reaches a weight of 2 kg. When growing for three years, you can pump out water and catch crayfish not from all the ilmen, but from half of them, which will reduce labor costs by half and ensure the production of large, highly valuable crayfish.

With a three-year cultivation period, the need for cancer-planting material is half as much as with a two-year period. With proper drainage of ilmen and draining them using pumping units, you can get more than 3 quintals, and in 2 years - 6 quintals from 1 hectare. This is exactly the productivity of crayfish in the Volga delta that was obtained in the ilmen with an area of ​​75 hectares in the Astrakhan region.

As a rule, ilmens are distinguished by a rich food supply. The benthos biomass here on average per year is 477 kg per 1 ha, compared to 103 kg in the ilmen of the central delta. The biomass of plankton is correspondingly 8 g instead of 5.2–6.5 per 1 cubic m of water. In summer, the biomass of ilmen averages about three thousand organisms weighing 48 g per 1 sq. m.

The drainage ilmens available in the Volga delta can be used for the joint cultivation of fingerlings and table crayfish with the release of fingerlings into the river for the reproduction of crayfish stocks. When two-year-olds and underyearlings are raised together, the cancer productivity of ilmen can be increased by 45–55%.

Estuaries located at the mouths of rivers flowing into the Azov and Black Sea, arose in connection with the formation of deltas as a result of centuries-old river sediments and the action of sea waves, forming spits and bays. Numerous Kuban estuaries arose on the site of a sea bay, separated from the sea by a spit, which was gradually filled with sediment from the Kuban River.

The area of ​​the estuaries is constantly changing. The reasons for the changes are flat banks, shallow depths, fluctuations in the water horizon depending on its influx, etc. The shallowness of the estuaries determines their unique thermal regime, characterized by rapid heating of water in the spring and rapid cooling in the fall. In spring, the water temperature in the estuary is warmer than in the sea, and in autumn it is colder. In calm, hot weather, the water temperature reaches more than 35 degrees Celsius. In the thickets during the day, the water temperature at the bottom is 7–9 degrees lower than at the surface.

In winter, for an average of 75–80 days, the estuaries are covered with ice 15–30 cm thick. In severe winters with prolonged ice cover and large ice thickness, death occurs.

Many estuaries are silted, the layer of silt usually reaches 0.5 m, in some 2–3 m. The salinity of the water is variable and depends on the connection with the river and the sea. Most of the Kuban estuaries are desalinated, their salinity is no more than 2%, while the salinity of the Azov Sea reaches almost 12%.

Most estuaries are heavily overgrown with coastal reeds, cattails, sedges, etc. The common underwater vegetation is chara, hornwort, pondweed, and urut. The spring cycle of zooplankton development begins in April. The biomass of zooplankton reaches 18 g per 1 cubic meter. m of water. In estuaries where salinity reaches less than 5%, crustaceans, chironomid larvae, and various mollusks develop well. Zooplankton and zoobenthos are richer in saline estuaries.

Currently, according to the scheme of crayfish reclamation measures for the reproduction of commercial crayfish in the reservoirs of the Krasnodar Territory, the main area of ​​estuaries is allocated for the construction of nurseries. 16 thousand hectares of estuaries and all dead-end estuaries that are not important for the reproduction of commercial crayfish in the Sea of ​​Azov are allocated for the construction of commercial farms.

How to breed crayfish in small rivers

A good base for growing crayfish are sections of small rivers, the length of which is more than 1 km. Small rivers are divided into mountain and lowland. The flow of rivers makes it possible to feed crayfish in them during compacted plantings and thereby increase the productivity of crayfish to 18 c per 1 ha.

The area of ​​rivers can be significantly increased by installing simple bridges on them, allowing them to raise the water horizon and at the same time use them as headwaters to retain crayfish in a fenced off section of the river. Before planting the crayfish, areas fenced off with jumpers must be carefully fished with nonsense.

How to transport crayfish

It is best to transport crayfish in baskets filled with dry, smooth straw or dry moss. When receiving crayfish at their destination, you should not immediately transfer them to water; you must first water them from a watering can while they are still in the basket.

Breeding crayfish is a profitable and interesting business. Just as in the case with, this does not require huge expenses, but can bring you good profit. The only drawback of such a business is its seasonality. You can win financially from crayfish farming only in the period from May to October. But despite this, breeding crayfish at home has been and remains a popular way of earning money.

Determining market demand and distribution options

Just like any other type of business, crayfish farming should begin with an analysis of market demand. To understand whether your product will be popular, you can go this way: find out from catering establishments (cafes, restaurants), supermarkets, etc. whether they would be willing to purchase goods from you for subsequent sale. If in most cases your offer is received with a bang, then you don’t have to worry about having nowhere to put the goods.

You can try another option: selling crayfish through your friends and acquaintances. Everyone knows the power of word of mouth, when some people tell others about a product, and they, in turn, tell others about it, and so on. However, such a mechanism will only work if your product is of truly high quality and the pricing policy is acceptable for most people.

How to breed crayfish

Breeding crayfish is a simple process, although it does require some effort, both mental and financial. You can come across a large number of opinions about how to do this correctly and more rationally. If you yourself have not previously encountered raising crayfish (or any other creatures), then try to use only verified information to organize your activities in order to reduce the likelihood of wasting time and money. If you have plenty of time and money, then you can go through trial and error - no one has canceled that either.

You need to buy the first crayfish for breeding, and not catch them in the nearest river (such crayfish will most likely grow very slowly and will not bring you the desired profit). Buy adult specimens and raise the young ones yourself. To get good offspring, take twice as many females as males.

What should a body of water be like?

For home breeding crayfish is needed aquatic environment, where, in fact, this will happen. Both natural and artificial reservoirs are suitable. Crayfish feel the need to dig holes for themselves, so they will feel best in reservoirs with clay or sandy soils; the presence of silt will also be beneficial. In such a reservoir, crayfish will be able to create the most comfortable living conditions for themselves. Pay special attention to the temperature of the water in the pond.

In order for crayfish to feel great, grow and reproduce, it is necessary to constantly maintain the temperature at 18°C. If the temperature is below this mark, the crayfish will most likely hibernate and, therefore, will not produce any offspring.

The optimal depth of the reservoir is from 1 to 3 meters, and the area is from 30 to 60 square meters. Do not forget that the water in reservoirs must be updated regularly. It is best to do this every 2-3 weeks, however, replace no more than 30% of the water at a time, otherwise the microclimate of the reservoir will be disrupted.

Breeding crayfish in an aquarium

If you are aiming for an even more home-based business option, then think about breeding crayfish in an aquarium. This is quite real, and has its pros and cons. If you install special cleaning filters in an aquarium with crayfish, you will save yourself from the need to constantly change the water in the aquarium. Maintaining the desired temperature in an aquarium is also much easier than in artificial reservoirs, and catching crayfish is also easier. In addition, crayfish living in an aquarium grow 3 times faster than those living in a pond. Therefore, you will be able to sell the finished product faster.

The only significant disadvantage of raising crayfish in an aquarium is the limited space. You will not be able to install many aquariums within one medium-sized apartment, and you will also have to spend more funds to pay for electricity to heat the aquarium. However, according to reviews from people who breed crayfish in a home aquarium, we can say that the income will easily cover all expenses if you take care in advance about where and to whom you will sell the goods.

Crayfish Care

When all the preparatory work has already been done, you can purchase crayfish and send them to the reservoir. It is necessary to purchase both females and males. To calculate the required number of individuals for the first purchase, keep in mind that each female crayfish can lay about a hundred eggs. The purchase of individuals will not be the only one - this will need to be carried out periodically for at least five years. Only after this period can you get a herd that is capable of self-reproduction.

From time to time it is necessary to isolate certain groups of individuals from each other. In order for crayfish to develop and grow normally, it is sometimes necessary to separate the older and younger “generations” from each other. Also, every spring, females should be caught and moved to a separate pond. This is necessary so that you do not lose a significant part of the individuals, since crayfish can eat each other. Females will develop best in water with a temperature of about 22°C, although it is not scary if it is a little lower. At proper care in two years, crayfish can grow 10-12 centimeters in length and weigh about 50-60 grams.

Feeding the crayfish

Crayfish are omnivorous creatures. They can feed on fish remains and various aquatic plants. However, it is important to provide additional feeding, and to do this at regular intervals. Boiled meat, fish, vegetables, algae, worms, larvae, and zooplankton are well suited for feeding. There are also special feeds for crayfish.

However, be careful not to overfeed crayfish: they tolerate an excess of food eaten much more difficult than a lack of it.

Reproduction and moulting

Mating in crayfish occurs in early autumn. As mentioned above, it is necessary that for each male there are two females. This is due to the fact that a male can only fertilize two females in a row. If after two matings he sees a third female, then there is a high probability that he will try to eat her. The eggs of females are initially under the shell and cannot be seen. But when it moves under the tail (usually this happens towards the end of spring), you can easily see it. When the larvae emerge from the eggs, the females keep them under their tail for some time, thus protecting them from possible dangers. On average, the number of offspring per female reaches about 20 individuals per year, and in home breeding conditions there can be up to 60.

When the shell becomes too tight for the growing crayfish, they shed it. This process is called molting. Young crayfish molt about eight times during their first year of existence. In the second year, crayfish survive no more than five molts, in the third - about three or four.

Equipment for breeding crayfish

If you decide to create your own small crab-breeding farm, then for greater efficiency you should supplement the pond with special equipment. Crayfish are creatures that are quite picky about their living conditions, and therefore the better environment you create for them, the more they will repay you with magnificent growth. To complete the pond you will need:

1. Equipment for thermal insulation. They can be used in greenhouses, both special industrial and ordinary ones. Greenhouses are necessary to maintain the optimal water temperature for crayfish in a pond.
2. Frame. To hold water in the pond, a frame is needed, and it is best made from polypropylene.
3. Air compressor. This equipment is necessary so that the water in the reservoir does not stagnate, and the crayfish can continue to grow actively.
4. Oxidizer. In winter, crayfish may lack oxygen, but an oxidizer installed at the bottom of the reservoir will saturate it with oxygen. It is best to place the oxidizer in a pond in late autumn, without waiting until the pond is already covered with a layer of ice.
5. Filtration system. Even if you change the water on time, there will still be food debris and waste products of various insects and the crayfish themselves at the bottom of the reservoir. If all this is not removed, the health of the crayfish can deteriorate significantly, which means their growth will slow down.

If we talk about breeding crayfish in an aquarium, then special filtration systems, heaters and compressors are also needed.

How to breed crayfish video

And finally, we offer you several videos in which you can clearly see what it means to breed crayfish in a RAS, and also learn useful information about the reproduction of crayfish.

Crayfish meat is distinguished by its juiciness and high taste, and is regularly in demand on the market. Growing and breeding crayfish at home can be a profitable business, since these aquatic inhabitants are ubiquitous in fresh water bodies in temperate climates.

Features of breeding and methods of growing crayfish at home with photos and videos will be described in this article. With its help, anyone can raise these aquatic creatures in their dacha.

How to breed crayfish at home

Growing crayfish at home is a simpler process when compared to mussels or shrimp. They are found in many freshwater bodies, so creating suitable conditions for their reproduction will not be difficult.

Breeding at home requires constant presence. You also need to think about the fact that to collect the catch you will have to drain the water in the pond or install special traps (Figure 1).

Note: A good option would be if you find a body of water directly next to the river. Then it will be possible to make a good flow: you take water from the river into it and take it out.

Before you start breeding crayfish at home, study all the necessary literature, and also visit farms where they are grown.

Figure 1. Features of raising animals in artificial reservoirs

The first specimens need to be purchased in special stores, and not caught from the river. It is desirable that the reservoir has clay or sandy soil. Particular attention should be paid to the water temperature. Experience has shown that old females should not be kept in the pool for more than 3-4 months, as they can eat their cubs. Consequently, after the females lay eggs, they are moved to another tank, and the eggs are left separately.

If you want to breed them for wholesale, you need to obtain the appropriate certification.

Home breeding technology

There are several breeding technologies: naturally- in a pond, home pond or aquarium, and an expensive method - industrial, with the installation of a closed water supply (Figure 2).

With the first method, large expenses are not required, since they feed on natural food contained on the bottom. But under such conditions, they grow slowly because they hibernate, and because of this, they gain marketable weight only by the age of three. The second technology is considered more successful, where a decorative pond is set up on the site, individuals are released into it and periodically fed so that they gain weight faster. With this method, the crustaceans will all go into hibernation.

Figure 2. Methods of growing in bathtubs and aquariums in home and industrial conditions

If you want to raise livestock all year round A more expensive technology will suit you. To do this you will need: a heated room, several containers, a system for constantly ensuring optimal temperature, circulation, water purification and oxygen saturation. This method is good because individuals do not hibernate due to constant temperature water in containers. Therefore, you will see profits faster.

Any species can be grown using this method, the main thing is to create comfortable conditions for their life. To do this, the bottom needs to be covered with clay, crushed stone, coarse gravel or lined with stones. At the bottom of the reservoir you need to install shelters: pipe fragments, branches, stones, snags.

To organize a drain in the far part, install a pipeline with a protective mesh. Next, according to the technology, the reservoir is insulated so that the crayfish do not die. The finished pond at home is filled with clean water, without heavy impurities and chlorine, and the livestock is populated. Every two weeks a drain is made, draining a little less than half of the old water to preserve the microclimate.

How to choose a place for breeding

It is better to choose a place for a pond near a river. An ideal place to live would be a coastline with inlets and aquatic vegetation. The bottom of the reservoir should be hard (clay or sand), with the addition of stones and limestone.

If there is a small pond on your site, then the soil near the shore should be such that individuals can build burrows, or you will have to install shelters for them manually. They often build their burrows on steep, shady banks where there is less sun. For example, in the reeds or on the banks where willow, willow, and acacia grow. The main thing is that the water in the reservoir is clean, because freshwater species They love cleanliness very much.

Growing crayfish at home: video

If you want to start growing crayfish at home, we recommend watching a video that shows how to organize this process for beginners.

Growing crayfish at home

The main place for cultivation is ponds. They are natural and artificial. Regardless of what kind of pond you use, it should be insulated. They can also be grown in aquariums, swimming pools and ponds.

Having decided on the breeding site, the livestock is released into it. There should be two females per male, but no more. Water must be clean and of high quality, without impurities. Several times a month it will be necessary to change approximately 30% of the total volume of the tank, this will preserve the microclimate and update the oxygen balance. To replace water, you need to provide drainage and supply systems, and the holes need to be covered with a mesh. Water can be taken from clean water reservoirs or from a well. The water temperature should not fall below 15 degrees, this will allow individuals to grow faster.

Note: For better survival of juveniles, females should be placed in separate containers, and when the small crustaceans hatch, they should be removed, this will allow the crustaceans to grow.

Young animals eat the same foods as adults. Typically, these are dead fish, meat, bread and vegetables. You can also purchase special food for crayfish. The main thing is that the food contains fats, protein, fiber and calcium. Under natural conditions, they feed on anything - carrion, algae, frogs, worms, small fish.

They molt several times a year, at which time they are very vulnerable. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor their diet so that they do not eat their relatives.

Note: It is most profitable to breed blue crayfish, they grow faster and are more fleshy.

The technology of breeding crayfish in a pond is very popular. Observing certain rules, large and fleshy individuals can be grown even in a small country pond (Figure 3).

Peculiarities

A pond is a natural and most suitable habitat. The main thing is that there is clean water in it, otherwise the livestock will decrease or even die. In the cold season, having given up food, crayfish hibernate. To prevent this, greenhouses are built over reservoirs.

Figure 3. Arrangement of a breeding pond

For crayfish to live comfortably in a pond, you need to properly equip it. It is advisable to have a pond on your property, since there are many lovers of free crayfish. Do not place the pond in sunny place. The pit area should be more than 50 square meters, two meters deep, and the bottom should be flat. The pond should be lined with polypropylene sheets; it is safe for crayfish. Next, the bottom must be covered with stones and sand so that individuals can build burrows for themselves. The shore of the reservoir should be clayey, and grass should be sown around it.

When breeding in ponds, it is important to ensure an influx of fresh water, aeration and to prevent algae overgrowing; for this, the bottom must be periodically cleaned. In addition, the pond should be filled with plankton.

In general, breeding crustaceans in a pond has both positive and negative aspects. The first is that the cost of maintaining a reservoir is minimal and feeding does not require large expenses due to natural food. Disadvantages include a long payback period, low stocking density and a long growth period.

More information on how to breed crayfish in a home pond is shown in the video.

Rules

In order for cultivation to be successful, it is necessary not only to equip the reservoir properly, but also to follow certain recommendations.

Among the basic rules for growing crayfish are::

• the pond should be located in shaded areas;
• the banks are strewn with rich clay and planted with plants;
• periodically plant algae and other plants to recreate natural living conditions;
• a third of the water needs to be changed several times a month;
• The pond needs to be cleaned periodically.

Also, units are installed in the reservoir to aerate the water so that the individuals living in it receive a sufficient amount of oxygen.

Breeding crayfish in the garage

Growing in a pond can be called the standard method. But there are more unusual options, for example, breeding in a garage.

From the sections below you will learn how to properly set up a crustacean room so that you have access to their meat all year round.

Peculiarities

Before you start breeding arthropods, it is important to think about whether you can provide the conditions they need. After all, they react very sensitively to water pollution and decreases in water temperature. In addition, you need to choose a room. This could be a garage, the area of ​​which should be at least 50 square meters (Figure 4). There you need to clean and prepare the room; if necessary, it should be insulated. You need to place one light bulb in the center of the ceiling, because crayfish do not need a lot of light. You will also need three large containers. One for adults, the second for teenagers and the third for babies. When placing all the crayfish in one tank, the adults may begin to eat the young.

Figure 4. Arrangement of a garage for breeding crayfish

Sandy soil is laid on the bottom, then various driftwood, stones, and pipe fragments are placed, which will serve as shelter for the crayfish. Each container must have a drainage and water supply system, because the liquid must be changed frequently. The holes in the drain pipe must be lined with fine mesh.

The next step is purchasing the individuals themselves in special stores. You just need to buy them, and not catch them in an ordinary body of water. It is important to remember the proportion of the sexes, namely: one male needs two females, but not three.

The water needs to be changed several times a month, replacing a little less than half the volume. This will enrich the water with oxygen and preserve minerals and microclimate.

Crayfish feed on algae, so they need to be regularly fed with fish, worms, cereals, bread, and special food. During the breeding and molting season, they especially need good nutrition.

Rules

As with other breeding methods, growing crayfish in a garage follows certain rules:

• the room should be spacious, if necessary, the walls and floor should be insulated;
• all individuals should be purchased at specialized points, taking into account the fact that there are two females per male;
• The water temperature should not fall below 15 degrees, otherwise the crayfish will hibernate.

In addition, in artificial conditions crayfish need balanced food, but overfeeding should not be allowed.

Breeding crayfish in a greenhouse

You can also breed crayfish in a greenhouse, because climatic conditions this room is excellent for growing these arthropods (Figure 5).

However, when growing in a greenhouse, you should still take into account all the breeding rules described above.

Peculiarities

In countries with cold climates, to reduce the duration of crayfish hibernation or completely eliminate it, they use the method of insulating ponds, where crayfish breeding can be carried out in winter. To do this, a polycarbonate-based greenhouse is erected over the pond. You can convert an ordinary greenhouse into a thermos greenhouse, where the solar collector warms up the water in the pond. It is good to use such a greenhouse when breeding northern territories. You can also use industrial greenhouses. Due to their dimensions, they transmit a large amount of light and heat.

Figure 5. Arrangement of a greenhouse for breeding crayfish

Under such conditions, the air temperature in the cold season will be 3-12 degrees. Water at this temperature will not freeze, which means nutrition and growth will continue. Thanks to this, the crayfish will grow faster and reach marketable size.

The cost of equipment will depend on the type and size of the greenhouse. It must be remembered that the insulation of part of the ponds must be taken into account at the design stage, since standard models of industrial greenhouses impose restrictions on the size of the reservoir.

Rules

When planning breeding in a greenhouse, you should take into account the number of individuals and the expected size of the reservoir. Based on these parameters, a greenhouse is also built.

In addition, it is better to immediately build the structure from polycarbonate, since this material transmits light well and retains temperature, but at the same time provides a stable microclimate.

Australian red claw crayfish: breeding

To breed the Australian Red Claw, special conditions are needed. This breed is the most “fleshy”. Their breeding is possible only in closed reservoirs with additional heating. At home, they are bred in aquariums with a volume of at least 100 liters. It is quite possible to contain 3-4 crayfish there at the same time (Figure 6).

When arranging a reservoir, you need to take into account the fact that crayfish periodically rise to the surface. They need shelters for eating, resting and during the molting period. To do this, you need to arrange holes in advance, set up driftwood, locks, and pots. The optimal water temperature is 20-26 degrees; temperatures above 36 and below 10 degrees will be destructive for them. Australian crayfish are very sensitive to copper levels in water.

Figure 6. Peculiarities of growing Australian red claw crayfish

This species is not picky when it comes to food: it eats well dead fish, bread, vegetables, peas, algae and combined feed. Beech or oak leaves must be present in their diet. Feed regularly with snails, earthworms or frozen live food.

Along with crayfish, you can also grow certain types of fish. Inexpensive, fast-growing species are suitable for this, because there may be cases of overeating and death of more fastidious fish. It is better to buy ordinary guppies.

Breeding aquarium crayfish

Aquarium crayfish need fairly clean water with a temperature of 21-27 degrees (Figure 7). High water hardness guarantees the possibility of building a shell after molting. To increase water hardness, you can put limestone or marble in the soil. Acidic water is not acceptable for these animals.

Note: If you decide to keep only aquarium crayfish, then an aquaterrarium with a small area of ​​land will be more suitable for you.

Breeding crayfish in an aquarium requires the creation of artificial conditions with which they must be provided. Therefore, you need to put stones, sand, clay, driftwood at the bottom - this will resemble natural conditions and make it possible to dig holes. The soil should be coarse, especially if there are living rooted plants. In an aquarium, crayfish need oxygen, so it is necessary to ensure constant aeration and filtration of the water.

Figure 7. Setting up an aquarium for growing crayfish

In the wild, crayfish love to wander along the shore in search of something edible. It is advisable to give them the same conditions in the aquarium; for this you can take an ordinary driftwood that will protrude above the surface of the water.

Based on the fact that crayfish like to walk on land, the aquarium should be covered with thick glass with a gap corresponding to the body of the container.

Note: The desire of crayfish to get out of the aquarium intensifies when the water quality is low, there is a lack of shelter, or it is overcrowded.

Crayfish feed on various mollusks, tadpoles, worms, and insects. During the molting and breeding season, they need more food.

Reproduction under artificial conditions mainly takes place after molting. The female lays eggs 20 days after mating. Juveniles are very shy; they spend most of their time under snags or behind ledges.

Breeding crayfish in an aquarium is good because you can control the temperature, hardness and other parameters of the water. Also, by growing crayfish in an aquarium, the larvae will be protected from enemies, and mortality from unfavorable factors will also be reduced.

• Where to start breeding crayfish?
• Technology for growing crayfish at home
• How much can you earn from raising crayfish?
• How much money do you need to start a business?
• How to choose equipment
• Which OKVED code must be indicated for crayfish farming?
• What documents are needed to open
• Which tax system to choose for crayfish farming
• Do I need permission to open?

Few residents and guests of Russia will refuse the original Russian dish - boiled crayfish. Today, rural residents have a good additional income in the summer months by catching crayfish in natural reservoirs. However, this way of earning money cannot be called humane. The population of animals in nature is declining, and entrepreneurs themselves may be charged with poaching. There is another way, which, unfortunately, has been undeservedly forgotten by modern businessmen. Even in the century before last, there were many farms in Russia where crayfish were grown. Then their production reached such a level that healthy meat was even exported. We’ll talk about how to breed crayfish in different ways at home in this article.

Where to start breeding crayfish?

For farmers who have the opportunity to lease a large plot of land, a suitable option is to breed crayfish in artificial ponds. They are easy to create. A depth of 1-2 meters and a water surface area of ​​30-60 sq.m is sufficient. The average farm usually consists of 3-4 such reservoirs. One of the main conditions is a shore with a lot of clay and a rocky bottom. In such conditions, crustaceans can more easily set up their burrows and reproduce better.

The water in artificial reservoirs must be changed. For this purpose, a drainage system is installed during construction. At least once a month, 30% of the water is drained from the pond and new water is added. It cannot be completely changed, since the established favorable microclimate for crustaceans can be disrupted. During the season, each female brings 30 offspring, but presentation crayfish will only be reached after six years. Growing in such conditions has several advantages:

• Minimum costs for arranging a reservoir;
• Food costs are reduced due to the formation of natural food in the pond;
• Labor costs throughout the entire growing period are practically absent.

Disadvantages of such a business:

1. Breeding crayfish in ponds is possible only in certain regions where winters are not severe and the pond does not freeze completely;
2. Waiting six years for the animals to grow increases the payback period for the initial costs;
3. Low population density per 1 sq.m. artificial reservoir.

Technology for growing crayfish at home

The next way is to set up a farm for breeding crayfish in aquariums at home. An artificially created microclimate, which will be maintained regardless of the time of year, contributes to the stable, continuous weight gain of animals. The cultivation of arthropods is carried out in an aquarium with a volume of 250 liters. Soil is poured at the bottom and driftwood is laid. This way, at home, the habitat will be close to natural. 350 animals can live on one square meter at the same time.

The most interesting, and one might even say mysterious, process of reproduction of crayfish in an aquarium. This phenomenon has not been fully studied even by scientists. The female’s readiness to reproduce is determined by a large number of factors: microelements in the environment, its acidity and others. For this process it is necessary to allocate a separate aquarium, at least 200 liters. Animals usually mate in the fall. To produce offspring, it is necessary that there be twice as many females as males. The female lays eggs on her paws and is in close contact with her offspring all the time. After the birth of the crustaceans, they are transplanted into a separate reservoir. The natural process of molting leads to the death of some of the young animals, and the surviving animals continue to grow and gain the required weight.

Where to place such a number of aquariums at home? This is a logical question to which many enterprising businessmen have already found an answer. The basement in a house is often an area that becomes cluttered and does not bring any benefit. At the same time there excellent conditions for living animals such as crayfish. Growing crayfish in your own basement does not require much material costs. Additional heating or lighting is not needed if the temperature in winter does not drop below +7 degrees. The aquariums are installed on special shelves and the crayfish farm is ready for use.

On sale today it is difficult to find young crustaceans sold to farmers for breeding at home. Typically, entrepreneurs catch them in the nearest pond or buy them secondhand during the fishing season. Then begins the process of comprehending the mystery of animal reproduction, described above.

How much can you earn from raising crayfish?

Everyone who has practiced crayfish business claims that it is quite a troublesome business, but profitable. In a pond with an area of ​​25 sq.m. you can grow 30 kg of crayfish. One kilogram costs about 500 rubles. Minus the costs of feeding and care, the net profit is 26 thousand rubles. The disadvantage of business is its long duration, but if an entrepreneur has the patience to wait 6-8 years for the results of his work, then further income will increase every year. Experts advise starting to grow crayfish in parallel with another main activity.

How much money do you need to start a business?

To start your own crayfish breeding business at home, you can start with 100,000 rubles. However, this will most likely not be a business, but a kind of hobby, since with such an investment it will most likely not be possible to get much profit. A full-fledged business will require significantly higher expenses. Everything will depend on the number of ponds located on the territory of the private farm and the number of individuals.

How to choose equipment

In cases of growing crayfish in artificial ponds, you will need to purchase pipes and drains, waterproofing and flow filters, an oxidizer and aerators, and measuring instruments. When offspring appear, the young animals will need to be separated from the adults. This will require concrete pools.

Which OKVED code must be indicated for crayfish farming?

Freshwater fish farming or code 03.22. It is this that will need to be reflected in various documents, including those submitted to the registration authority for registration of a new business entity.

What documents are needed to open

The package of documents will directly depend on the chosen organizational and legal form. If volume production is being established, then it is better to register as a company with limited liability. To do this you will need to prepare:
Charter and a copy of the decision of the shareholders meeting to create a legal entity in the form of a limited liability company;
provide information to both the director of the company and the chief accountant;
pay the state fee and receive legal address;
open a bank account and register with government agencies.
For small production volumes, it is enough to open an individual entrepreneur. The list of documents here is somewhat smaller than for legal entities. You will need a photocopy of your passport and a receipt for payment of the state duty, a standard application form and a copy of the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).

Which tax system to choose for crayfish farming

The best option for paying taxes when running the above-mentioned business is the imputed income tax. It should also be indicated in the application submitted for registration.

Do I need permission to open?

To legalize the sale of grown crayfish on your own farm, you will need to obtain permission from the sanitary and epidemiological station. No other permits or licenses are required.

Breeding crayfish at home can become a fairly promising and profitable business in Russian conditions, since today this industry is still free from a large number of competitors. Probably, many of those who have at least once tasted the tender meat of crayfish will prefer to continue eating this delicacy, so constant demand for the product is practically guaranteed.

But where do you start if you have some capital and a great desire to become a breeder of tasty and appetizing arthropods? What types of animals to choose and how to create their habitat? Let us consider step by step the process of organizing business activities aimed at growing crayfish and their subsequent sale.

Pros and cons of raising crayfish at home

Before you rush into all seriousness and run out to buy an aquarium or dig a pond to populate it with expensive residents with claws, it is worth analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of such a business.

The advantages include the following:

• Disposability of significant capital investments– they are necessary only at the beginning of the activity, and the amount will depend on the planned scale. Why? Nothing complicated: some breed crayfish at home - in an aquarium, while others breed in artificial reservoirs. Agree, the costs for the first and second differ significantly, which means that the entrepreneur himself is free to decide what volume financial resources he is ready to invest in the business. It is quite possible to organize your own.
• Development prospects– having become accustomed to a new area and having understood all the nuances, you can think about scaling your activities, which will significantly increase profits. It is quite possible to expand in this area, since there are still very few competitors, and distribution channels are not difficult to find.
• There is no need to maintain a large staff of workers– breeding crayfish at home is usually labor-intensive only at the start, that is, when laying a kind of foundation for a business, including registering a legal entity or individual entrepreneur, creating a reservoir, purchasing the first inhabitants, etc. Then, when things are settled, everything will go as if on rails, without causing serious problems.
• High profit– crayfish meat is considered a delicacy, therefore the prices for these arthropods are impressive in their size, therefore, breeders with well-organized activities, as a rule, have a large income.

Important: however, not everything is as rosy as it seems at first glance, otherwise every second person would grow crayfish at home. However, there are not too many disadvantages. For example, these include the seasonality of product sales. But this also takes place only if the crayfish are bred in natural environment habitat. Also, as an obstacle preventing one from joining the business, one can identify the significant financial costs required for initial stage. Although, on the other hand, no one forces you to immediately dig ponds and purchase a RAS, and buying an aquarium is a very budget option.

Breeding crayfish at home as a business

Now many aspiring entrepreneurs realize that growing crayfish is very promising in Russia, as well as, since there are negligible competitors, especially compared to other countries. Crayfish have always been found in the reservoirs of our country, and in pre-revolutionary times they were bred in an artificial environment, sending the meat for export throughout Europe. But today the main suppliers providing the world market with delicious arthropods are China, Turkey and Spain... and the flag, as they say, belongs to them, but the only surprising thing is that before there were no crayfish there at all. That is, by initiating a business for breeding crayfish at home, you can dream of later covering not only Russia, but also establishing sales channels abroad if things go uphill.

Let's take a step-by-step look at how to create your own business aimed at making a profit by selling carefully raised crayfish.

Business registration

Currently, any activity aimed at generating income must be formalized and registered accordingly by law. The creation of a crawfish farm is no exception. Of course, a businessman has the right to independently choose an organizational form - there are two options:

• OOO– limited liability company;
• IP – individual entrepreneur.

Advice: how to decide what is right for you? We should probably analyze the differences between an LLC and an individual entrepreneur. The peculiarity of the latter is that in the event of debt formation (and no one is insured against this, and it is worth thinking about the possibility of collapse in advance), the individual entrepreneur is liable for the obligations with all his property - an apartment, a car, and a dacha. LLC risks only assets and authorized capital, minimum size which currently amounts to 10 thousand rubles. LLC also has another advantage - it allows you to attract investors and partners to the business.

Thus, when choosing a legal form, you should pay attention to the planned scale of the business - if you want to become a small fish in the business world, then an individual entrepreneur is quite suitable, and in the case when you see yourself as a future shark -. Although, in fact, with any option, LLC has fewer problems - both in terms of risk and in terms of development prospects.

Important: When registering a business, you need to decide on the taxation system. Here, the optimal solution would be the Unified Agricultural Tax (USAT). The payment amount is calculated using the formula: Tax rate (6%) x Tax base(income reduced by expenses).

This is a very profitable system due to the low tax rate, thanks to which the state supports those who farm. However, there is one limitation - income from agricultural activities must exceed 70%.

Also, when registering your own business for breeding crayfish at home, you need to select the appropriate activity codes according to OKVED and indicate them in the documents. In the case of crayfish farming, the following are suitable:

• 01.49.5 – Breeding domestic animals;
• 46.38 – Wholesale trade of other food products, including fish, crustaceans and molluscs;
• 47.23 – Retail trade in fish, crustaceans and molluscs in specialized stores.

Determining the method of breeding crayfish

After completing all bureaucratic procedures You can legally breed crayfish at home for the purpose of their subsequent sale. But here the question arises - where to store the future product? It all depends on the financial capabilities and plans of the businessman, since there are several options for growing arthropods:

Pond

Almost any body of water can be suitable for crayfish, the only exceptions being those that are characterized by significant swampiness or a large amount of silt. Animals will live well in fish ponds if there are no predators among their neighbors. The advantage of this method of growing arthropods is that a pond is a completely stable aquatic system, which means that the process of purification and renewal in it is regulated by nature itself, so you can really save a lot on equipment (filters, aerators, etc.), as well as on food , because in ponds crayfish eat algae and a variety of insect larvae. Of course, additional feeding is necessary, but costs will still decrease. However, the option under consideration also has a significant disadvantage - the growth of crayfish in the natural environment occurs very slowly: they gain marketable weight only in the fifth or sixth year. That is, profits will have to wait a long time. The number of individuals that can be released into a pond is quite small - 6-8 crustaceans per square meter of reservoir.

Important: at low temperatures crayfish become indifferent to food, stop eating and do not gain weight, that is, they plunge into a state of suspended animation. And for Russia, winter cold is a constant component, so when raising animals openly, you need to keep in mind that their growth will take a long time.

Aquarium

Undoubtedly, this method of breeding crayfish at home requires huge containers. It is believed that the volume of the aquarium should not be less than at least 250 liters. The “house” for the inhabitants needs to be equipped - pour some soil on the bottom, place stones there, as well as driftwood, which will serve as animal shelter. If you maintain the temperature at an optimal level (18-23 degrees), then the crayfish will not hibernate and grow quickly, especially if you create comfortable conditions in the aquarium - ensuring water filtration and saturation with oxygen. The advantage of this option is that up to 50 crustaceans are allowed per square meter of “living space”. But there is also a minus - the area is limited, which means that up to industrial volumes is like the moon.

Advice: Crustacean larvae can be grown at home (in an aquarium) until the fingerling stage, and then moved to a pond or a specially equipped pool. To ensure high larval survival, it is very important to constantly monitor water quality and temperature.

Basement

If a businessman is the happy owner of his own cottage, then a basement can be allocated for breeding crayfish at home. Agree, it often serves as a storage facility for all sorts of unnecessary rubbish, and few are able to turn it into a source of income. To some extent, this method is a modification of the previous one, the only difference is in the use of non-residential premises, although the scale of activity usually increases, because in the basement it is easy to place several aquariums, which, as a rule, are installed on special structures consisting of tiers. A significant advantage of growing crustaceans at home, namely in the basement, is that you do not have to clutter up your apartment or house with large volumes of water tanks.

Advice: Most likely, you will need to insulate the basement, since sometimes in such rooms the temperature drops below 17 degrees, which means that animals can go into hibernation and stop gaining weight. You will also need to take care of lighting. However, there are no special requirements here - two or three standard light bulbs on the ceiling are enough.

RAS

RAS (recirculated water supply installations) are special equipment designed for growing crustaceans and fish. The undoubted advantages include the fact that it will take half as much time to gain marketable weight of animals - crayfish in a RAS can grow to the required size in two years (sometimes one), while in the natural environment this will take about five years. Modern market offers entrepreneurs wonderful options equipped with heating, aeration, disinfection and water purification systems. Such installations are often located in basements, garages - any insulated rooms where the temperature does not drop below 10 degrees.

Equipment purchase

The equipment needed for a farm will depend on the chosen format of activity - you can try to earn money, limiting yourself to home conditions, or go out into industrial level. If you have serious plans and have the opportunity to make the necessary calculations, then you should try to get it and use this money to purchase equipment. Let's consider what those who prefer to keep up with progress and choose RAS will need. A special closed water supply installation is a frame containing several tiers, on each of which there are pools. Typically, one container is not occupied by residents, but is left for “equipment.” Her sample list looks like this:

• Circulation pump;
• Filters;
• Sterilizer (ultraviolet lamp);
• A compressor used to aerate water;
• Heating elements.

Important: If you take a responsible approach to the issue of breeding crayfish at home, then it is best to purchase an oximeter, which can be used to determine how saturated the water is with oxygen. One cannot do without instruments that measure temperature and analyze water composition. Well, you can remember the little things: feeders, electronic scales, lamps, animal shelters, etc.

Choosing a variety of crayfish

After the issue of the crayfish habitat is resolved, you should think about what species of animals should be settled there. Breeding crayfish at home involves the initial acquisition of male and female individuals. Some farmers don’t particularly bother with selecting and purchasing future residents of an aquarium or pond, but simply take females from natural ponds and carefully transport them to new home. But future entrepreneurs should know that there are several types of crayfish, and they all have their own characteristics.

Blue Cuban– it is quite unpretentious, so it is easy to grow at home or in open ponds and pools, but it requires temperatures above 25 degrees and systematic feeding. It is extremely profitable to breed such crayfish, since they grow very quickly - the weight required for sale can be achieved in just 6 months, and the length of the animal’s body ranges from 6 to 12 centimeters (without claws), although sometimes large specimens are also found (about 15 centimeters).

Marble– quite picky: thermophilic and has an excellent appetite, so you will have to feed him abundantly and often. Individuals usually grow large (up to 15 centimeters). Breeding such animals at home usually brings good profits, since their breed is considered elite.

Australian– it is also called “red claw” for the corresponding color of the claws. In the world market it is perceived as a high-quality delicacy, similar in taste to lobster. It is logical that the price of the product will please farmers. Breeding such arthropods at home is not too difficult to organize - they are not picky about food, but love warmth and need a large number of different burrows where they can hide after eating or for sleeping.

European river– in Russia it is most often bred because of its unpretentiousness and ease of cultivation, which can be carried out in open reservoirs. Animals are divided into broad-toed and long-toed.

Development of food supply

Of course, anyone who plans to make money by selling their own home-grown crustaceans understands that they need to be well fed. What? After all, the entrepreneur’s goal is for them to quickly gain “marketable” weight. In fact, food largely depends on the type of inhabitants of the pond or aquarium, but general principles in the nutrition of crayfish can still be formulated. The food is easy to buy in specialized stores or prepare at home. Typically the diet consists of the following products:

• Meat and fish, ground into minced meat or cut into pieces;
• Seaweed;
• Earthworms, various larvae, snails and plankton;
• Cereals (corn, barley, wheat, etc.);
• Vegetables characterized by a high fiber content (potatoes, carrots, etc.);
• Chopped and steamed hay;
• Oak leaves (they are a natural antiseptic).

For crayfish to eat, it is convenient to use special feeders - lattice cages where food is placed. Their use allows you to slightly delay the moment when water purification becomes necessary.

Important: Of course, most businessmen strive to quickly grow animals to a size that allows them to start selling, but it’s still not worth feeding arthropods - leftover food pollutes the pond, which can lead to additional costs for its purification or to diseases of the inhabitants. A lack of food, as well as an excess, is fraught with problems - if crayfish are constantly hungry, then they will not only stop gaining weight, but will also begin to fight, tearing off each other’s claws and damaging their shells, and this will significantly affect their presentation.

Search for sales channels

One of the main advantages of breeding crayfish at home is the absence of difficulties in finding sales points. Why? Little competition. That is, businessmen will offer the market an almost scarce product that is popular, in demand because of its good taste - and who wouldn’t want to feast on the tender and exotic meat of the animals in question? What if it also comes with beer? This means that demand will not be long in coming, especially if it is possible to carry out wholesale deliveries. Let's look at a sample list of organizations that are most likely to be interested in gourmet products:

• Fish markets;
• Restaurants, cafes, sports bars;
• Saunas and baths;
• Hotels and holiday homes;
• Retail stores.

Advice: In addition to crayfish meat, you can sell their caviar - many say that when salted it tastes just as good as red caviar. Chitin shells are also a valuable commodity - they, ground into powder, are often used in the cosmetology and medical fields due to the content of rare substances that promote tissue regeneration.

Breeding and growing crayfish as a business idea - video

Frequently Asked Questions

Creating a business for breeding crayfish at home is associated with many questions for newcomers to this business. Let's answer the most common ones.

Is it profitable to breed crayfish at home?

If an entrepreneur does not plan to acquire a whole RAS complex or a farm consisting of several ponds, then you should not count on a huge and quick income. It will take a long time to wait for profit - in the natural environment, animals gain weight, allowing them to begin selling them, very slowly (several years). Under artificial conditions, it is possible to grow crustaceans in a year or two. Prices for the product vary significantly depending on the weight of each piece, although sales are usually carried out in kilograms. Approximate wholesale prices can be found in the table:

Cancer size	Weight (in grams)	Price for 1 kg
	40-60
	60-80
	80-100
Selective	100-150

It is clearly seen that the prices for crayfish are quite high, since they are perceived as an elite product. It is not difficult to find distribution channels, so the entrepreneur will not be left without profit. Significant investments will be required only at the start - the purchase of aquariums or RAS, equipment, etc. Their amount will be affected by the planned scale of activity. The only drawback is the waiting time for income, because you will have to be patient while the animals grow up. That is, to begin with, breeding crayfish at home can be considered as additional source earnings, because payback will occur only after a few years (depending on the method of breeding arthropods).

How do crayfish reproduce?

Crayfish in nature mate in the fall - in September-October. In the natural environment, the female glues eggs in the tail area and carries them during hibernation. If the reservoir warms up, then such a pause will not occur, which will have a beneficial effect on the growth of the livestock - the breeding cycle will take about two months instead of six months. Usually the clutch consists of 150-500 eggs, but most die quickly. On average, 30-60 larvae survive, which actively increase their mass and very soon begin to get their own food. In artificial and home conditions, farmers will be able to save the lives of almost all small crustaceans (up to 90%), if they are well fed and protected from adults, since the animals in question are characterized by cannibalism - they can eat their own kind. In nature, the survival rate is several times lower - about 20%.

Important: At the beginning of growth, crayfish often molt, that is, they shed their old shell, which becomes simply small. This happens up to six to eight times in the first year. Then the molting process slows down - the shell is renewed two or three times annually. Of course, all crayfish cannot “change clothes” at the same time, so there are always very small and adult individuals in reservoirs. If the farmer does not want to one day discover that all the babies have been eaten by large animals, then the latter should be placed in other containers in order to avoid sad cases. Molting is a difficult process for crustaceans, as it leaves them completely defenseless. But it’s easy to help in this case - you need to organize as many shelters for them as possible: place stones, driftwood, pipe cuttings and similar things in a pond or aquarium.

Do cancers get sick?

Possible illnesses are the worst thing for anyone who works with animals (whether it’s crustaceans or not, it doesn’t matter). After all, then it is easy to completely lose the livestock raised with difficulty. Crustaceans are not immune to the following types diseases:

Breeding crayfish at home is a relevant and profitable business, but the first profit will not reach the farmer’s pocket quickly. Of course, basing a business on raising animals is always somewhat risky, as they can suddenly get sick, ruining a lot of effort. But, in the end, any type of entrepreneurial activity is not immune to failure.

Most likely, the game is worth the candle, since now the competition in this area is negligible, which means that the chances of achieving success are very high. The main thing is to take responsible care of the inhabitants of reservoirs or aquariums: feed them well, control the cleanliness, quality and temperature of the water, monitor the reproduction process and create necessary conditions in the form of a large number of shelters.