Turtle breeding is quite common, even with a small tank or a large tank, it is possible to raise Turtles and Fish together. This mixed farming method will help increase economic efficiency, and also create a space like a small farm, very interesting! Let’s find out with the Veterinarian.

Building a pond to mix Turtle and Fish

• Design: Turtles have a tendency to bully their fellow humans, so it is imperative to clearly separate large and small and separate ponds. The polyculture pond is divided into parent-mother turtle pond, adult turtle pond, young turtle pond with an area of ​​​​2:1:6 ratio, located along the east-west direction, the edge of the pond is T-shaped, and a drying mound is built. sunny with a width of about 50-100 cm in the north of the pond, spread sand and gravel on it so that turtles have a place to sunbathe and lay eggs; Build an additional mound as a feeding place, the slope is about 30° above the water surface, let the water cover about 20 cm, spread on it a layer of sand 10 – 20 cm thick.
• Build a shack to keep heat: Build a shack located along the South – North direction, can use steel or bamboo. When the temperature drops below 28°C, cover with plastic film.
• Heaters: If possible, place dual steam heaters at the pond entrance.

Prepare Fish and Turtle before releasing

Disinfect ponds in the usual way after pumping water into the lake. Place 2-4 thermometers in opposite corners of the tank to control the temperature of the water. Release animals as bait such as snails and shrimp into the lake. Remember to choose Fish and Turtle without disease, fish can choose such as Catfish, White Sesame, Flower Sesame, Carp, Grass Carp, etc.

Important tips when raising

• Select individual Turtles with similar size and physique and put them in polyculture ponds. Ratio and density: 1 – 2 Turtles and 2 – 3 fish in 1m² pond rearing turtles like their parents; 6 – 8 Turtles and 4-6 fish per m² of pond for young turtles; In adult Turtle pond, each m² of pond stocked 4-6 Turtles and 3-5 fish.
• Type of fish: Fish that eat plankton choose white catfish, flower catfish; Herbivorous fish choose grass carp; Omnivorous fish choose carp, carp, and catfish. The ratio of the numbers of these 3 types of fish is 3:1:10.

Daily care

• Feeding: Feed the Fish and Turtles with animal food (such as larvae, fodder, maggots or worms) and mixed feed.
• Mixing formula: Fish meal, bone meal, corn flour, wheat bran 15%, wheat flour 7%, table salt, bean residue 30%, food glue, growth hormone (Auxin) 1%.
• Prevention: Prevention of diseases (mycosis fungoides, red neck, erythema white, …). Use antibiotics 1‰ every 10-15 days, feed once, reduce the amount of medicine by half on the 2nd day, maintain 5 days is a course of treatment; Eliminate natural enemies (Snake, mouse, bird, mosquito,…); The young Turtle pond does not have a shelter, so a net should be used above it.
• Check regularly in the morning, noon and afternoon every day.
• Observation: Observe if the Turtles are working properly, see if they are safe, the water temperature is appropriate (it is recommended to keep the temperature at 28 – 30C), the water is stable, the water is ok. gray and with yellow-brown clouds, the clarity is about 20-30cm.

The benefits of polyculture

Mixing Turtle and Fish will increase the oxygen in the water, increasing convection between the water layers. When Turtles are active in the water, they will help increase convection between the water layers, making the oxygen in the water more abundant. When turtles work on the bottom of the water, the sediments on the bottom of the pond will decompose faster, reducing the oxygen consumption of organic matter.

Mixing Turtle and Fish will benefit the reproduction of live bait. Uneaten food and waste will make the water more nutritious, stimulating the proliferation of plankton and benthic organisms. At the same time, mixed culture also helps to make the water cleaner.

Fish can take advantage of the turtle’s leftovers, the fish’s waste will be food for plankton, thereby making the water cleaner. Mixed culture helps to reduce disease incidence in fish. Turtles will eat sick and dead fish, reducing the probability of infection.