Close-up of rare species of fish that are about to become extinct in the West, raised in the middle of the Hau river

In addition to raising fish in cages on the Hau River, Mr. Bon also succeeded with the idea of ​​raising fish in cages combined with tourism to bring a “huge” income. Currently, Mr. Bon is raising many rare and precious species such as squirrel tea fish, squirrel fish, toad fish, … especially rat pelagic fish – a species of fish. rare fish found in the West.

Mr. Bon said, for more than 20 years of raising fish on Hau River, every year, he researches more exotic fish species to raise, in order to preserve natural fish.

“The rattail fish was monitored and studied by me 10 years ago. At that time, this fish was decreasing in the market, so I intend to raise it to preserve it for the next generation to know. However, let this fish be. Reproduction is not an easy thing, but it takes many years of research and study to get the output like today,” said Mr. Bon.

Ratfish can reach a weight of about 100 grams/fish.

Mouse latch fish, cotton body, sometimes yellow skin, black skin, … depending on the color of the water the fish lives in will have different skin colors.

According to Mr. Bon, the mouse-pinned fish is a freshwater fish that lives in rivers in the Mekong Delta. This fish is small in size and has smooth skin. The whole body of the mouse paw fish is black with horizontal patterns, yellow or white, … depending on the color of the water the fish live in will have different skin colors.

“In the past, rat-paw fish was abundant in the West, because of the good quality of the meat, it was completely destroyed to the point of extinction,” added Mr. Bon.

Also according to Mr. Bon, it takes about a year to raise rat-paw fish from fry to spawn. Reproductive behavior of ratfish is very special, in the dry months they live in rivers and canals, but in the rainy season, they come to the field to mate.

“When rearing in cages, I have to feed the fish with enough nutrients for the fish to carry eggs. Then I have to create artificial rain, as well as temperature, light… and then release the male fish to let the fish spawn naturally but The yield is not high. Therefore, I have to cut open the male fish to get sperm, so each mating session, the amount of male fish is lost a lot,” said Mr. Bon.

In addition to rat trap fish, Mr. Bon also raises barracuda.

Mr. Bon succeeded with the idea of ​​cage farming combined with tourism. Photo: Nhat Huy.

In terms of food, the mouse pawfish has a nocturnal habit, so to let them get used to the daytime environment, Mr. Bon will leave water hyacinth to create cover. When the fish is young, it is necessary to feed the fish with natural food, then switch to industrial food.

Mr. Bon added that, at present, this fish is no longer in the wild, so the production of fingerlings and commercial fish is scarce. Currently, the seed price of mouse pawpaws is 15,000 VND/fish, but the meat fish alone is over 400,000 VND/kg but not enough to sell.