Magnesium in shrimp farming plays an important role in maintaining the health and growth of shrimp. Magnesium is an essential mineral in shrimp, so adding adequate Magnesium to ponds brings many benefits, contributing to improving productivity and farming efficiency. This article will delve deeper into the effects of Magnesium in shrimp farming, helping readers better understand the importance of this mineral and how to effectively supplement it.
Typical effects of Magnesium in shrimp farming
Magnesium (Mg) is one of the important trace minerals in every body. It participates in many essential biological processes, affecting growth rate, molting ability, disease resistance and meat quality of shrimp. Below are the important and indispensable effects of Magnesium in shrimp farming:
- Formation of shrimp shells: Magnesium is an essential ingredient in the structure of shrimp shells, helping to make the shell strong and protect shrimp from harmful environmental factors. When lacking magnesium, shrimp will have difficulty molting, the shell will be soft, vulnerable and susceptible to disease.
- Muscle activity and nervous system of shrimp: Magnesium plays an important role in nerve signal transmission and muscle contraction, helping shrimp move flexibly and react quickly. Magnesium deficiency can lead to convulsions, muscle paralysis, and affect the ability of shrimp to move.
- Metabolism: Magnesium participates in many enzyme reactions, helping shrimp absorb and metabolize food effectively, while promoting metabolism in the body.
- Increase shrimp’s immune system: Magnesium helps strengthen shrimp’s immune system, helping shrimp fight diseases and harmful agents from the environment.
- Mineral balance: Magnesium has an interactive relationship with Calcium (Ca) in the shrimp body. The ideal Ca/Mg ratio in pond water is 3:1. When lacking Magnesium, shrimp will have difficulty absorbing Ca, leading to many health problems.
- Balancing alkalinity in ponds: Magnesium helps maintain alkalinity in pond water, creating a stable living environment for shrimp. When magnesium is lacking, the pH in the pond easily fluctuates, affecting the health and growth ability of shrimp.
- Cleaning shrimp pond water: Magnesium has the ability to deposit suspended clay particles in water, helping to reduce turbidity and improve pond water quality. Water in the pond will help shrimp breathe better, limiting the risk of diseases caused by bacteria and parasites.
Magnesium has many effects for farmed shrimp
Through this we can see many great effects of Magnesium in shrimp farming. Therefore, it is necessary to always observe and check to ensure that the shrimp in the pond are not lacking in Magnesium, leading to many unpredictable consequences.
Easy-to-identify signs of Magnesium deficiency in shrimp during the farming process
Magnesium deficiency can lead to many serious consequences for the health of farmed shrimp, thereby affecting the productivity and profitability of shrimp farmers. Therefore, early recognition of signs of magnesium deficiency in shrimp is essential.
- The shell is soft and easy to bend: Magnesium plays an important role in forming shrimp shells. When magnesium is lacking, shrimp shells will become soft, fragile and prone to warping. This is the most recognizable sign of Magnesium deficiency in shrimp.
- Muscle cloudiness: Magnesium deficiency affects muscle enzyme function, leading to muscle cloudiness in shrimp. Initially, the shrimp’s muscles will be perforated in patches, then spread throughout the body. Shrimp with opaque muscles are often weak, have poor appetite and easily die.
- Shrimp grow slowly: Magnesium participates in many important metabolic processes of shrimp, so magnesium deficiency will affect the growth rate of shrimp. Magnesium-deficient shrimp are often smaller in size than shrimp of the same age and may have prolonged shell loss.
- Increased shrimp mortality rate: Magnesium deficiency weakens the shrimp’s immune system, making it susceptible to disease and has a higher mortality rate.
Shrimp lacking Magnesium have poor resistance and are susceptible to many diseases
From recognizing the above signs, shrimp farmers can easily find the cause or reason for magnesium deficiency in shrimp to get the most effective treatment method.
The cause of shrimp lacking Magnesium during care
Magnesium deficiency can lead to many serious consequences, not only affecting the health of shrimp, but also reducing the productivity and quality of farmed shrimp. There are many causes of magnesium deficiency in shrimp in the farming environment, include:
Water quality factors in shrimp farming ponds
Water in shrimp ponds is a very important factor that determines the living environment of shrimp. In the process of caring for shrimp, people need to know which water characteristics lead to magnesium deficiency in shrimp:
- Pond water has low Magnesium content: This is the most common cause of Magnesium deficiency in shrimp. The ideal Magnesium content in shrimp pond water should range from 10 – 20 mg/L.
- Low salinity of water in ponds: At low salinity, the ability of shrimp to absorb Magnesium will decrease significantly. Therefore, shrimp raised in areas with low salinity are more susceptible to magnesium deficiency.
- Ponds with low alkalinity in water: Low alkalinity of water in ponds affects the solubility of Magnesium in water, making it difficult for shrimp to absorb.
- Presence of heavy metal ions: Some heavy metal ions such as copper, zinc, lead,… can compete with Magnesium in the absorption process, leading to Magnesium deficiency in shrimp.
Magnesium content in water affects shrimp health
The management of shrimp ponds is not scientific
How to care for or manage shrimp ponds is a factor that directly affects the health of shrimp. The following reasons lead to magnesium deficiency in shrimp, or difficulty in absorbing magnesium due to shrimp farmers’ subjectivity:
- Using food that does not provide enough Magnesium: Food plays an important role in providing Magnesium to shrimp. Therefore, if using food that does not provide enough Magnesium, shrimp will easily be deficient.
- Poor water quality management: Poor water quality management, such as algae blooms, water pollution, etc. can affect the shrimp’s ability to absorb Magnesium.
- High farming density: High farming density causes the amount of Magnesium in pond water to be quickly depleted, leading to Magnesium deficiency in shrimp.
Other factors cause shrimp to lack Magnesium
- Diseases in shrimp: Some diseases in shrimp can affect the ability to absorb Magnesium, leading to deficiency.
- Shrimp genetics: Some shrimp strains may have higher Magnesium requirements than others, and are therefore more susceptible to Magnesium deficiency.
Insufficient magnesium in food also leads to sick shrimp
These are just the main causes leading to magnesium deficiency in shrimp. Depending on the specific conditions of each pond, there may be other causes.
Proper method of supplementing Magnesium in shrimp farming
Magnesium deficiency can lead to difficulty in molting, soft shells, susceptibility to disease, reduced growth rate and survival rate, causing many serious consequences. Therefore, adding Magnesium fully and properly at the right time to ponds is extremely necessary.
Reasonable time for magnesium supplementation in shrimp farming
Magnesium needs of shrimp depend on many factors such as the stage of shrimp development. Supplementing Magnesium at the right time will help shrimp absorb effectively, limit waste and bring high economic efficiency to farmers. Below are some important times to supplement Magnesium in shrimp farming:
- Shrimp molting stage: This is the stage when shrimp need the most Magnesium to form a new shell. Magnesium should be supplemented 1-2 days before shrimp molt and 1-2 days after molting.
- When shrimp shows signs of Magnesium deficiency: Some signs that shrimp lack Magnesium include: slow growth, stunted shrimp, fragile shell, easily broken, shrimp susceptible to disease. When these signs appear, magnesium needs to be supplemented immediately to overcome the deficiency.
- Periodically supplement Magnesium: Magnesium should be supplemented periodically every 1-2 weeks to ensure shrimp always have the necessary amount of Magnesium. Supplemental dosage can be adjusted depending on environmental conditions and shrimp health status.
Determine the right time and properly add Magnesium to shrimp ponds
Magnesium supplement dosage is suitable for shrimp ponds
The dose of Magnesium supplement needed for shrimp depends on many factors such as water salinity, shrimp development stage and shrimp health status. You should consult with experts or aquaculture technicians to determine the appropriate supplement dosage.
How to supplement Magnesium in shrimp ponds to ensure effectiveness
Supplementing Magnesium in shrimp ponds properly ensures effectiveness, avoiding too little or too much, affecting the pond water environment, as well as increasing many other pathogens. Currently, there are often common and easy-to-implement ways to supplement Magnesium:
– Supplementing Magnesium through shrimp food:
- This is the most popular and effective method to provide magnesium to shrimp. Magnesium can be mixed into homemade food or use industrial foods supplemented with magnesium.
- The dose of Magnesium supplement in food needs to be adjusted depending on the age, size and health status of the shrimp. You should consult with aquatic nutrition experts to get the appropriate dosage.
– Pour Magnesium directly into shrimp ponds:
- This method can be applied when magnesium needs to be supplemented quickly or when shrimp cannot absorb magnesium from food effectively. Use powdered or liquid Magnesium preparations to throw into the pond.
- Magnesium spray dosage needs to be adjusted depending on pond area, water depth and Magnesium deficiency status of shrimp.
- Magnesium should be sprayed in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid affecting shrimp activities.
– Using microbial products:
- Some microbial products can help convert magnesium compounds in pond water into an easily absorbable form for shrimp.
- Microbial products should be used according to the manufacturer’s instructions to achieve the best results.
Supplementing magnesium adequately and properly is very important to ensure the health and development of shrimp. Monitoring signs of Magnesium deficiency and applying appropriate Magnesium supplementation methods will help shrimp farmers improve productivity and farming efficiency.
Notes when adding Magnesium in shrimp ponds
Magnesium has many important benefits in shrimp development and health. However, adding magnesium to shrimp ponds requires some precautions to ensure effectiveness and safety for shrimp.
– Reasonable Ca:Mg ratio
- Shrimp absorb Magnesium most effectively when the ratio between Magnesium and Calcium (Ca) is 3:1.
- It is necessary to monitor the Ca and Mg content in the pond periodically to adjust the appropriate amount of Magnesium supplementation.
- Avoid having the Ca:Mg ratio too high or too low because it can affect the shrimp’s ability to absorb minerals.
– Origin of magnesium use
- You should use magnesium sources with clear origins and quality assurance.
- Prioritize using Magnesium from Chloride salt instead of Sulfate salt.
- Avoid using magnesium sources that can pollute the pond environment.
Magnesium Chloride (MgCl2) is easy to supplement Magnesium in shrimp ponds
– Monitor water quality to supplement Magnesium
- Monitor water quality indicators such as pH, alkalinity, salinity,… to adjust the amount of Magnesium supplement accordingly.
- Use biological products to support the balance of microflora in the pond, helping shrimp absorb Magnesium better.
In addition, it is necessary to consult with technical staff or shrimp farming experts before adding Magnesium to the pond. Combine magnesium supplementation with other minerals such as Calcium, Potassium,… to ensure shrimp nutrition.
Through the above article, readers can see the necessity of Magnesium for the health of farmed shrimp. From there, we can know the most appropriate time, dosage and method of magnesium supplementation in shrimp farming. In addition, if readers want to learn more information about shrimp care or buy quality shrimp pond water treatment products, please visit the Dong A chemical website!
Giáo sư Nguyễn Lân Dũng là nhà khoa học hàng đầu Việt Nam trong lĩnh vực vi sinh vật học (wiki), với hơn nửa thế kỷ cống hiến cho giáo dục và nghiên cứu. Ông là con trai Nhà giáo Nhân dân Nguyễn Lân, thuộc gia đình nổi tiếng hiếu học. Giáo sư giữ nhiều vai trò quan trọng như Chủ tịch Hội các ngành Sinh học Việt Nam, Đại biểu Quốc hội và đã được phong tặng danh hiệu Nhà giáo Nhân dân năm 2010.