Raising lobsters at home

There are 12 kinds of lobsters, the most common ones are Splendid lobster, Japanese lobster and Chinese lobster. The Splendid lobster is the largest, up to 55 cm, and the Japanese lobster is the smallest. Lobster is delicious, nutritious, and colorful. It is regarded as the king of shrimps.

Market potential

Lobster is a highly valuable cultured species in the United States, France and other countries, but mass production has not yet occurred in my country. According to relevant data, currently, most of the lobsters supplied in large and medium-sized cities in my country are imported products. The total annual import of live lobsters in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangdong is no less than 15,000 tons, accounting for 70% of the world's live lobster market. At present, my country has become a major importer and consumer of live lobsters. Therefore, the potential of my country's lobster market is very huge. However, because artificial breeding of domestic lobsters has not been developed, and natural lobsters have been overfished for many years, the output is very small. Currently, most of them are imported from Australia, India, South Africa, the United States and other regions. Due to the strong demand in the Chinese market, the price of lobsters in the world has been rising. Now, depending on the species, the price of live lobsters in the Guangzhou market is as high as 190-400 yuan per kilogram.

There are also certain lobster resources along the coast of my country, especially along the coast of South China. Lobster has the characteristics of long life cycle, resistance to storage and transportation, mixed feeding habits, thin shell, rich meat, and fresh and tender meat. Some fishermen keep lobsters caught in nature for a short period of time and then sell them when the price is high. The test results also show that lobster farming can be matched with pond farming and cage farming, and intensive farming can be combined with temporary farming. Two crops can be raised every year, and each crop costs 180 yuan. Natural crayfish seedlings with a size of 50-120 grams are used. The average lobster weight gain is 195-200 grams, and the yield per mu per crop is more than 798 kilograms. The breeding benefits are very good. There is a successful case in this regard in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province: artificial lobster farming began in the suburbs of Zhanjiang in August 1988, and it was successful after three years of practice.

Cultivation technology

Lobsters in nature mainly inhabit the sandy and muddy seabed, with one lobster lurking in each cave. However, during the mating period, the male and female pair up and lurk, and sometimes they also lurk in the burrow. In the gaps between rocks, Japanese lobsters live in groups. Lobsters must be fed during the breeding period, and it is necessary to consider whether various attached organisms can be used as bait.

1. Water temperature: Lobsters live in lower water temperatures. The lowest water temperature in winter is about 5℃-6℃, which is suitable for lobster farming. If the water temperature is low, the maturity period will be extended to 5-7 years. Lobster has poor resistance to high temperatures. In the experiment, the water temperature was raised to 25°C, and no special abnormalities occurred for 2 weeks. According to experiments, the suitable temperature for growth is 20°C-23°C. Lobsters grow fastest in water with a water temperature of 20°C-22°C. Therefore, in winter when the water temperature drops, using warm drainage to raise lobsters is one of the ways to promote growth.

2. Salinity: The suitable salinity range of lobster is 26.90‰-34.40‰, and it can live and metamorphose in seawater with a low salinity of 23.50‰.

3. Substrate: In order to escape the predation of natural enemies, lobster larvae turn to the benthic life. The gravel of the substrate is extremely important as a place for lurking and feeding. Three to four days after metamorphosis, lobsters can burrow and lurk in sand with a particle size of 0.4-1.00 mm. After 8 days of metamorphosis, it can lurk in sand with a particle size of 2.0-3.0 mm.

4. Growth rate: For lobster groups before the age of 1, only oyster shells are needed to line the bottom of the pond, without the need to put in artificial shelter nests, and purple mussels are fed as bait. Starting from the 2nd age, perchlorethylene pipes are put in as shelter nests, and the number of them is twice the number of lobsters raised. Among the groups that have been cultured for 2 years, individuals with a maximum weight of about 300 grams appear. Each time the lobster molts, the weight increases by about 50%. The lobster individuals molt at the beginning of the first instar, and the weight can reach 450 grams at sexual maturity. Within the 3-year-old group, 16% have reached sexual maturity.

The growth of lobster is related to the feed, environment, water quality and the number of molts. Various feeds and electric stimulation of shells have been tested. The results showed that the growth rate of lobsters was faster when fed with fresh shrimp meat than when fed with fish meat. It is 1 times faster. During the growth process, it usually molts more than 2 times a year. When chemical drugs or electrical stimulation are used, it can molt 4 times, and the growth rate is doubled. After the lobster molts, the new shell will harden in 2 weeks, and the lobster will become active again. At this time, the food intake will increase greatly, and the amount of feed must be increased by 30% when raising.

5. Survival rate: Based on the fourth stage larvae living in benthic life, the survival rate of groups less than 1 year old is slightly less than 60%, but the survival rate of groups 1-3 years old exceeds 80%. The survival rate of group breeding reaching 80% is a relatively good breeding result.

Observing that lobsters encountering each other in the pool often raise their chelicerae to intimidate each other, but there is no phenomenon of fighting and killing with chelicerae leading to the death of lobsters. Therefore, it is believed that lobsters of 0-1 years old move together in groups. After 2 years of age, the efficiency of individual breeding in isolation is higher.

6. Feed: Lobsters after stage IV are specially fed with purple mussels, which can promote the rapid maturation and reproduction of lobsters. Purple mussels can meet the nutritional needs of lobsters. Lobsters have a mixed diet. They can be fed with frozen small fish, small shellfish and artificial shrimp bait. The feeding time is once a day, preferably in the afternoon. Feeding lasts for 2 consecutive days and then stops for 1 day. The daily feeding amount is the weight of the shrimp. 5%-12%. Always pay attention to the lobster's activities and feeding status, and clean the pond once a year to prevent contamination.

Experiments have shown that the growth and survival rate of lobsters are better than those of blue mussels when fed with Japanese prawns. For lobsters, the optimal protein content in feed is 20%-25%. It is hoped that a compound bait suitable for lobsters can be developed in the future. In addition, lobsters use their third palatine to prey on granular baits, so the size of the lobsters varies with the granules. Size is not directly related, generally small diameter pellet feed can be used.