A breeding method to promote the recovery of bulging-eye hippocampus

Abstract

This invention provides a method for the recovery of seahorses with bulging eyes. Algae, bacteria, and light are the three key factors causing bulging eyes. The recovery is achieved through the following three steps: A) Pond removal: The entire pond of seahorses exhibiting bulging eyes is removed, soaked in fresh water, and then placed in a clean new pond to reduce the impact of excessive bacteria and algae in the original pond; B) New pond setup: A shade net is installed above part of the new pond, and several attachment devices are placed directly below it to reduce the impact of light; C) Breeding management: After being placed in the new pond, the seahorses are fed once a day in the morning with brine shrimp soaked in pathogen inhibitors; frozen mysids are fed at two-hour intervals and seven and a half-hour intervals. A slight water flow is maintained throughout the breeding period, and aeration is kept on except when feeding and cleaning; Once the seahorses' eyes return to normal, feeding with brine shrimp is stopped, but the shade net is retained.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of seahorse breeding technology, specifically relating to a breeding method that can restore seahorses with protruding eyeballs to their original state. Background Technology

[0002] Seahorses are rare ornamental fish and also a valuable traditional Chinese medicine. With the depletion of natural seahorse resources and strong market demand, artificial seahorse farming has been developed globally in recent decades. my country was one of the first countries to achieve large-scale artificial seahorse farming. Currently, the dominant farmed species in my country are the grey seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) and the bloated seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis), and the mainstream farming model is factory-style open-flow aquaculture. In the past three years, the annual production of commercial-sized seahorses (dry weight 1-2g / seahorse) in my country has remained stable at over 40 million, equivalent to approximately 60 tons of dry weight, achieving significant ecological, economic, and social benefits.

[0003] Despite the promising progress in large-scale artificial breeding of seahorses, several issues remain to be addressed, such as genetic quality and disease control. One symptom that can occur in seahorses is bulging eyes, characterized by one or both eyes becoming swollen and protruding; congestion at the base of the eyeball; the eyeball filled with a translucent, gelatinous fluid; and a thin, white, misty film covering the outside. The seahorse's body color darkens, and it remains attached to the attachment device for extended periods, refusing to swim or feed, ultimately dying from emaciation or other complications. Figure 1 Protruding eyes in seahorses often appear in medium to large-sized fry and parent fish that can feed on ice shrimp, and are more common in the summer and autumn seasons when water temperatures are high and there is plenty of sunshine. If protruding eyes are observed in aquaculture ponds, about 10% of the seahorses in the pond will have mild symptoms, while about 50% will have severe symptoms.

[0004] To address this problem, seahorse farmers have tried various methods to alleviate or treat the symptoms, such as antibiotic baths or transferring the seahorses from their old ponds to new, clean ones, but the results have been less than ideal. Currently, the basic treatment for seahorses with bulging eyes is to remove them from the aquaculture ponds and directly dry them for harvesting.

[0005] The presence of bulging eyes in medium to large-sized seahorse juveniles significantly impacts the profitability of seahorse farming. At this stage, the seahorses are approximately 7-9 cm tall, weigh less than 1g each, and have a market price of only 4000 yuan / kg, far lower than the market price of commercial-sized seahorses (1-2g / seahorse) (over 8000 yuan / kg). Furthermore, medium to large-sized juveniles only need about a month to grow to commercial size. Therefore, establishing a farming method that can restore bulging eyes in seahorse juveniles is of great importance to ensure their successful growth into commercial-sized juveniles and to maximize the profitability of seahorse farming. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention addresses the aforementioned technical problems by providing a breeding method for promoting the recovery of bulging-eyed seahorses. In previous work, the inventors analyzed water quality and environmental factors in bulging-eyed seahorse breeding ponds, as well as data on the seahorse's eyeballs and intestinal microorganisms, identifying algae, bacteria, and light as the three key factors jointly causing bulging eyes. Therefore, this invention focuses on reducing the impact of these three factors, providing a convenient breeding method that can both restore bulging-eyed seahorses to normal and prevent the development of healthy seahorses.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0008] The breeding method for promoting the recovery of bulging-eye seahorses provided by this invention includes the following steps:

[0009] A. Pouring water

[0010] Seahorses exhibiting bulging eyes were removed from their original rearing tank, soaked in fresh water, and then placed in a clean new rearing tank. This step aims to reduce the impact of excessive bacteria and algae in the original rearing tank.

[0011] In practice, after the seahorses are removed from their original rearing pond, they are immediately immersed in a basin filled with fresh water for 3 minutes before being transferred to a new rearing pond. The fresh water temperature is nearly identical to the seawater temperature in both the original and new rearing ponds, with the temperature difference maintained within 1°C. The immersion density is 1200–1500 seahorses / m³. 3 During the soaking process, the water body is continuously aerated with air stones.

[0012] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the breeding basin has a diameter of 1.2 meters and a height of 0.3 meters; the density of seahorses immersed in the breeding basin is 400-500.

[0013] B. Layout of the new aquaculture pond

[0014] A shade net is installed above part of the space in the new breeding pond, and several attachment devices for seahorses to attach to are placed directly below the shade net. This step is intended to allow the bulging-eyed seahorses to attach to the attachment devices below the shade net in order to reduce the impact of light.

[0015] Specifically, the shade net is made of black 12-needle mesh; the length of the shade net is the same as the width of the new aquaculture pond, and the width of the shade net is 1 / 3 of the length of the long side of the new aquaculture pond; the two long sides of the shade net are fixed to two long bamboo poles, which are then placed on the two long sides of the new aquaculture pond, and the attachment device is installed on the long bamboo poles.

[0016] C. Aquaculture Management

[0017] After the seahorses are introduced into the new pond, they are fed a meal of brine shrimp soaked in a pathogen inhibitor (100 ppm oxytetracycline solution) every morning (7:00 AM) for 10 minutes. Then, at two time points, two hours later (9:00 AM) and seven and a half hours later (3:30 PM), they are fed a meal of frozen mysids. The frozen mysids are not thawed and are fed directly as ice blocks in areas not covered by the shade net. One hour after feeding, uneaten food and feces are removed. During the breeding period, a slight flow of water is maintained. Aeration is only turned off when feeding and cleaning. The seahorses' eyes return to normal in about a week. After they return to normal, feeding of brine shrimp is stopped, but the shade net is kept on for about a week.

[0018] The beneficial protections and effects of this invention are as follows:

[0019] In terms of operation, the breeding method of the present invention does not separate the bulging-eyed seahorses from the entire breeding pond for separate treatment, but treats all the seahorses in the breeding pond as the target. This not only treats the symptomatic seahorses, but also has a preventive effect on normal seahorses, which effectively improves the breeding efficiency of seahorses and saves breeding operation time.

[0020] In terms of effectiveness, using the breeding method of this invention, the recovery rate of bulging-eye seahorses after 7 days can reach over 80%, showing excellent recovery results. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is an illustration of symptoms of bulging eyes in the hippocampus. The hippocampus shown in the image is the gray hippocampus.

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing the arrangement of shade nets and attachment devices in the new aquaculture pond. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The implementation of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments of the present invention. The following embodiments are implemented under the premise of the technical solution of the present invention, and detailed implementation methods and specific operation processes are given. However, the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0024] The following embodiments use the gray seahorse as an example to describe a breeding method for promoting the recovery of bulging-eye seahorses. This method is also applicable to the recovery of bulging-eye symptoms in the bloated seahorse. The specific steps are as follows:

[0025] A. Pouring water

[0026] The seahorses exhibiting bulging eyes were scooped out of the breeding pond with a net and immediately placed in a breeding basin filled with fresh water. The breeding basin was 1.2 meters in diameter and 0.3 meters in height. The temperature of the fresh water was almost the same as that of the seawater. The seahorses were soaked in the breeding basin for 3 minutes at a density of 400-500. During the soaking period, air stones were used to continuously aerate the water.

[0027] B. Layout of the new aquaculture pond

[0028] Before or after draining the pond, place a shade net 2 over the new aquaculture pond 1, with the structure as follows: Figure 2 As shown. The netting is a black 12-needle netting. The length of the shade netting is the same as the width of the new breeding pond, and the width of the shade netting is 1 / 3 of the length of the new breeding pond. The two long sides of the shade netting are fixed to two long bamboo poles 3, which are placed on the two long sides of the new breeding pond. Several attachment devices 4 for seahorses to attach to are placed directly below the shade netting.

[0029] C. Aquaculture Management

[0030] After the seahorses are introduced into the new pond, they are fed brine shrimp soaked in oxytetracycline at a concentration of 100 ppm for 10 minutes every morning at 7:00 AM. Then, frozen mysids are fed at 9:00 AM and 3:30 PM. The frozen mysids are not thawed and are fed directly as ice blocks in areas not covered by the shade net. One hour after feeding the frozen shrimp, uneaten food and feces are removed. During the rearing period, a slight flow of water is maintained, and aeration is kept on all other times except when feeding frozen shrimp and cleaning. After 7 days, the bulging-eyed seahorses' eyes return to normal and they begin to feed on frozen shrimp. After that, feeding brine shrimp is stopped, but the shade net is kept on for about 1 week.

[0031] II. Calculation of Hippocampal Recovery Rate for Protruding Eyes

[0032] Using the above method, during the seahorse transfer process, 200 seahorses with typical bulging eyes were selected to calculate the recovery rate. These 200 seahorses were marked with a thin yellow cotton thread tied around their necks. Another 200 asymptomatic seahorses (not visible to the naked eye) were selected to calculate the prevention rate. These 200 seahorses were marked with a thin red cotton thread tied around their necks. After 7 days of rearing in the new breeding pond, 100 seahorses with yellow and red cotton threads were randomly selected from each pond, and the recovery of their eyeballs was observed. The recovery rate and prevention rate were calculated. The results showed that approximately 83% of the seahorses with yellow cotton threads had their eyeballs completely restored to normal. Those that did not recover or recovered slowly often had complications such as enteritis or tail rot. No visible bulging eyes were observed in the seahorses with red cotton threads. This result indicates that the breeding method of this invention has a significant recovery effect on bulging-eyed seahorses and a good preventive effect on normal seahorses.

[0033] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described. Those skilled in the art can make various equivalent modifications or substitutions without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and these equivalent modifications or substitutions are all included within the scope defined by the claims of this application.

Claims

1. A method for raising seahorses to promote the recovery of bulging eyes, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: A. Pouring water Seahorses exhibiting bulging eyes were removed from their original rearing tanks and, after being soaked in fresh water, placed in a clean new rearing tank. The fresh water temperature was kept consistent with the seawater temperature in both the original and new tanks, with a temperature difference maintained within 1°C. The seahorses were soaked in fresh water for 3 minutes at a density of 1200–1500 individuals / m³. 3 The water body was continuously aerated with air stones during the soaking process; B. Layout of the new aquaculture pond A shade net is installed above part of the space in the new breeding pond, and several attachment devices for seahorses to attach to are placed directly below the shade net. C. Aquaculture Management After the seahorses are introduced into the new pond, they are fed once a day in the morning with brine shrimp soaked in pathogen inhibitors. Then, at two time points, two hours apart and seven and a half hours apart, they are fed once a day in an area not covered by the shade net. The frozen brine shrimp are not thawed and are fed directly as ice blocks. One hour after feeding, the uneaten food and feces are removed. During the breeding period, a slight flow of water is maintained. Except when feeding and cleaning, the aeration is kept on at all other times. Once the bulging seahorse's eyeballs return to normal, stop feeding it brine shrimp, but continue to keep the shade netting on for 5-8 days.

2. The method for promoting the recovery of bulging-eye hippocampus according to claim 1, characterized in that: in, In step B, the shade netting is made of black 12-needle mesh.

3. The method for promoting the recovery of bulging-eye hippocampus according to claim 1, characterized in that: in, The length of the shade net is the same as the width of the new aquaculture pond, and the width of the shade net is 1 / 3 of the length of the long side of the new aquaculture pond.

4. The method for promoting the recovery of bulging-eye hippocampus according to claim 3, characterized in that: in, The two long sides of the shade net are fixed to two long bamboo poles, which are then placed along the two long sides of the new aquaculture pond.

5. The method for promoting the recovery of bulging-eye hippocampus according to claim 4, characterized in that: in, The attachment device is installed directly below the shade net.

6. The method for promoting the recovery of bulging-eye hippocampus according to claim 1, characterized in that: in, In step C, the brine shrimp are soaked in a 100 ppm oxytetracycline solution for 10 minutes before feeding.

Images