Many owners of large gardens or small lands choose to condition their farms in order to carry out the reproduction of carp and pond fish. Although beginners will have to document themselves thoroughly, the investment of time and money will end up being worthwhile.
How to achieve optimal water conditions
The ideal scenario in which to get down to work with the reproduction of carp and pond fish is of shallow depth, which allows water to warm up quickly in summer. Depending on the warmth of the region in which we find ourselves, we will opt for ponds between 1 and 1.5 meters deep, since it is important to avoid overheating the water in the summer months.
The extension of the pond will depend on the type of reproduction we are looking for: if the objective is to raise a few larvae for recreational purposes, it will be enough to build a pond between 100 and 500 square meters. On the contrary, if the aim is extensive fish farming, the fattening or breeding ponds for the market can reach up to 5 or 10 hectares.
The quality criteria of water ponds are not very strict: many are supplied with water from rivers, streams or springs, but must take special care that no water is leaking contaminated other areas to prevent the spread of disease to the fish. Filtration and evaporation losses can be solved with additional water supplies that we can add to the pond through channels.
The beginnings of common carp farming
Carp cultivation began in ancient China in 45 BC and continued to develop to this day. The breeding methods were especially perfected in the 16th and 18th centuries when Jakovi managed to fertilize trout eggs artificially. This kind of artificial insemination fell into oblivion and did not recover until the mid-nineteenth century.
The reproduction and breeding of the common carp are far from the reproductive and growth cycles of the wild species. The feed used in captive breeding of domesticated carp has caused the pond carp to grow very rapidly compared to other wild species. A mixture of feed and natural food will lead to healthy and good-sized specimens.
The breeding cycle of carp and pond fish
Carp metabolism is accustomed to sudden temperature fluctuations, so we will have to take into account that their food needs will decrease the lower the temperatures of their habitat.
The culture of these species can be divided into the stage of reproduction and larviculture, and the cultivation of growing fish. In the first, the eggs are fertilized, sown and hatched after the winter.
In the second phase, they begin to grow at the end of spring: they convert the pond food and artificial food into reserves of fat and volume of meat.
The more autumn approaches, the more their metabolism will slow down and the less they will grow, although the growth of the specimens is also linked to the density, quantity, and quality of the oxygen and the food available.