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Overview of earthworms

Raising shrimp with earthworms is a natural, effective and sustainable solution in agriculture and aquaculture, bringing many economic and environmental benefits.

What are earthworms?

Earthworms are a species of earthworm known by the scientific name Perionyx excavatus. They belong to the group of worms that eat feces and often live in natural environments with many decomposing organic substances.

Small earthworms are often used in agriculture and aquaculture. Because earthworms have many outstanding characteristics that make them an ideal choice in sustainable farming and shrimp farming models.

Characteristics of earthworms

Characteristics of earthworms

• Size and shape: Earthworms are small in size, usually 5 – 10cm long. Their bodies are soft, clearly segmented and red or brown in color.
• Habitat: Earthworms live in moist environments rich in organic matter such as cow manure, chicken manure, and rotting leaves. That’s why they are often raised in containers, tanks or soil beds containing organic matter.
• Reproduction and development: Earthworms have the ability to reproduce quickly, each can lay hundreds of eggs during its life cycle. Earthworm eggs hatch into baby worms after about 2 – 3 weeks.
• Food: Earthworms eat organic matter such as animal feces, plant matter, and organic waste from the kitchen. So they help decompose and transform organic matter into nutrient-rich organic humus.

Nutritional ingredients contained in earthworms

Earthworms are known for their high nutritional value and are a rich food source for many animals, especially in aquaculture and poultry farming. Here are some important nutritional components of earthworms:

Earthworms contain about 60 – 70% protein on dry weight. Protein from earthworms is of high quality, containing all the essential amino acids for animal development. Earthworms contain up to 8 types of amino acids necessary for the development of livestock species such as chickens, ducks, pigs, shrimp, fish,…

The fat content in earthworms is about 7 – 10% of dry weight. Fats in earthworms include essential unsaturated fatty acids such as Omega-3 and Omega-6.

Earthworms contain about 6 – 8% fiber per dry weight. Fiber helps improve animal digestion and nutrient absorption.

Earthworms are rich in essential minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, copper, magnesium and phosphorus. These minerals support bone development, the nervous system and other biological functions of animals.

Earthworms provide a number of important vitamins such as vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E. The content of vitamins B1 and B2 in earthworms is 10 times higher than soybean meal and 14 times higher than fish meal. Vitamin B12 is especially important for the development and function of the nervous system.

• Enzymes and beneficial bacteria

Earthworms contain many enzymes and beneficial bacteria that help improve digestion and nutrient absorption for animals. These enzymes also help break down food and reduce organic waste in the farming environment.

Benefits of raising shrimp with earthworms

Benefits of raising shrimp with earthworms

Raising shrimp with earthworms brings many important benefits both economically and environmentally. Below are the main benefits that earthworms bring to shrimp farming:

Nutritional and health benefits of shrimp

Worm fluid is produced by processing fresh worm meat to obtain the maximum amount of Bacillus bacteria and nutrients such as protein, minerals, amino acids, vitamins B, B3, B6, B12, B15…

• Strengthen the immune system

– When combined with industrial feeds, worm fluid will stimulate shrimp appetite and provide additional Bacillus bacteria for farmed shrimp, helping to strengthen the digestive system and absorb nutrients from worm meat. Thanks to that, farmed shrimp can avoid diseases related to the intestines and liver.

– Earthworms contain beneficial enzymes and bacteria, which help improve shrimp’s immune system and increase disease resistance.

– Shrimp that eat earthworm meat are less likely to get sick and have a higher survival rate.

• Improve meat quality

Shrimp raised with earthworms often have better meat quality with more natural and attractive flavor and color.

Environmental benefits

• Reduce environmental pollution:

Earthworms play an important role in cleaning the environment, helping to prevent the growth of many viruses and bacteria, and helping prevent diseases in shrimp. According to scientists from the National Institute of Water Environment, earthworms have the ability to clean polluted water sources. They have the ability to decompose organic matter in shrimp ponds, thereby reducing the amount of waste and improving shrimp pond water quality.

When released into polluted ponds and lakes, earthworms will grow in small grooves in the mud layer below the water bottom, while carrying the necessary amount of oxygen to stimulate the proliferation and development of bacteria. and destroy impurities in water. With only about 20 – 30 thousand earthworms, they can clean an area of ​​pond water up to 10,000 square meters.

Not only that, earthworm feces also contain many cocoons, each cocoon can contain from 1 – 20 eggs with the average number of eggs being 7. After 2 – 3 weeks, these eggs will hatch into baby worms and continue to eat dirt in the pond environment.

This important feature of vermicompost helps maintain a clean, stable pond environment and provides good nutrients for shrimp. In particular, beneficial bacteria in vermicompost such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria and nitrifying bacteria also help maintain environmental indicators in ponds, helping farmed shrimp stay healthy and grow quickly.

In addition, using earthworms as a substitute for industrial foods also helps reduce the amount of chemicals and antibiotics in the environment.

• Reuse organic waste

Vermiculture allows the reuse of organic waste such as animal manure and kitchen waste, thereby helping to reduce waste and increase sustainability.

Raising shrimp with earthworms helps protect the environment

Economic benefits

• Reduce food costs

– Earthworms can be raised and harvested on site, helping to reduce the cost of purchasing industrial feed for shrimp.

– Earthworms are a cheap food source but bring high nutritional efficiency, helping to optimize shrimp farming costs.

• Increase productivity and profits

– Shrimp raised with earthworms often grow faster and reach larger sizes, leading to higher productivity.

– Better shrimp quality also helps increase selling prices and profits for farmers.

• Product diversification

Worm farming can create an additional source of income from selling earthworms as fertilizer or feed for other poultry and livestock.

Sustainability benefits

• Promote organic agriculture

– Using earthworms in shrimp farming is an important step in promoting the development and sustainability of organic agriculture.

– Vermicompost can be used as organic fertilizer, improving soil quality and reducing dependence on chemical fertilizers.

• Protect natural resources

Using natural food sources such as earthworms helps protect natural resources, reducing the exploitation and consumption of non-renewable materials.

Earthworm farming techniques are well developed

How to raise earthworms

Before instructing people to raise shrimp with earthworms, we will show them how to raise earthworms. In general, raising earthworms is quite simple. People only need to prepare a styrofoam box or take advantage of available boxes, tubs, and pots with an area of ​​about 0.2 – 0.4m2, height of 0.3m. Next, punch some small holes to make drainage holes and place them in a dimly lit place.

The substrate used to raise worms must be clean, rich in nutrients, and especially porous. When buying worm seeds at hatcheries, after 2 days they will start providing food for them. For earthworms, the food source often used is organic humus such as animal manure. Depending on the existing worm density, the amount of food will vary. People should note that they only add new food to earthworms when the amount of old food is low or has run out.

Detailed instructions on how to raise shrimp with earthworms for high efficiency

For raising shrimp with earthworms, people can refer to the method below

Use vermicompost to clean pond water

Clean pond water with earthworm compost

To improve water color or cause water color in a shrimp pond with an area of ​​1000m2, the amount of vermicompost used is 15 – 20kg. At this time, zooplankton tends to grow very strongly and the amount of natural food biomass for shrimp also increases.

Create mulch for the bottom of the pond: After harvesting and processing all pond bottom mud, add organic mulch on this bottom to use vermicompost to treat the pond bottom. Vermicompost has the ability to balance pH and create a natural source of nutrients for phytoplankton growth. The layer of vermicompost at the bottom has a thickness ranging from 1 – 3 cm depending on the condition of the pond.

Causes water color and increases the amount of microorganisms in the pond: If the pH and water color are still not suitable after a period of farming, farmers can spread a amount of vermicompost into the pond according to the recommended dosage of 1 ton. for 10,000m2 of pond surface area.

Use earthworms as food for shrimp

Use earthworms as food for shrimp

The best way to raise shrimp with earthworms is to grind the fresh meat of the worms and mix them into food or turn them into liquid to supplement the shrimp. Shrimp after being stocked for 1 week can be fed with earthworms.

When using worms, people need to thoroughly wash fresh worms, chop them very finely or use a blender, then mix them with food at a ratio of 1% for the first feeding and gradually increase for subsequent times until the when the rate is 5%. During the first period of raising shrimp with earthworms, farmers should feed the shrimp every other day. Waiting until about 1 month after stocking, farmers can feed the shrimp every day by mixing earthworms with food at a ratio of 1:5.

After 45 days of stocking, shrimp will gradually get used to hunting and the smell of earthworms. At this time, people can feed shrimp whole worms. Particularly for ponds that have not applied the method of raising shrimp with earthworms since childhood, they should be finely chopped and mixed with food according to the ratio of baby shrimp so that they learn to eat earthworms. When the shrimp are 4 months old, farmers can feed the shrimp to improve the quality of the shrimp.

Note when raising shrimp with earthworms to ensure effectiveness and safety

When raising shrimp with worms, people need to pay attention to the following issues:

• Shrimp pond density is 40 – 50 shrimp/m2.
• Do not feed the shrimp during the first 7 – 10 days of culture because at this time, the shrimp will completely use natural food.
• After 10 days of farming, farmers can use chopped earthworms and put them in a sieve and then put them in the shrimp pond. Before becoming food for shrimp, earthworms need to be soaked for about 2 hours in water and then rinsed to remove dirt.
• From 20 to 40 days of farming, supplement 70% fresh worm meat and 30% industrial food. The worm meat will be pureed, mixed with food and used to feed the shrimp.
• From 40 to 60 days of farming, supplement 50% worm meat and 50% industrial food.
• From 60 days of farming until harvest, use 30% worm meat and 70% industrial feed.
• During the farming process, farmers need to monitor the feeding tray regularly to adjust the amount of food accordingly.
• In the second month of shrimp farming, the organic waste content will increase, farmers need to add probiotics to remove suspended substances, enhance beneficial microflora and inhibit microorganisms. harmful to shrimp.

With the method of raising shrimp with earthworms that we just shared above, people must have gained a lot of useful knowledge to raise shrimp, right? It can be affirmed that raising shrimp with earthworms not only brings economic benefits but also contributes to environmental protection and sustainable development.