Transferring 3,000m2 of rice land to raising eels, each month Mr. Loc and his wife export over 150,000 eel seeds to the market, minus the cost, they still make a profit of tens of millions of dong.
Mr. Nguyen Tan Loc (28 years old, living in Phuoc Tho hamlet, Quoi An commune, Vung Liem, Vinh Long) is currently the owner of a large local eel production and supply facility. Every month, Mr. Loc sells to the market from 150,000 to 180,000 eels of all sizes, the market covers the whole country.
Mr. Loc said, his family only had 3 fields but found that rice farming was not effective, so 2 years ago, he decided to switch to raising eels. Determined to get rich, Mr. Loc boldly borrowed over 800 million VND (3200$) to invest.
Raising eels is like taking care of a baby, farmers’ families pocket millions of dollars every day
“I hired workers to renovate the field, build 54 tarpaulin tanks with a full water supply and drainage systems, and artificial rain spray to create a suitable living environment for eels to breed. Strict handling and control.
Two years ago I released 1.2 tons of spawning eels, now the number is definitely much larger. Because letting eels lay eggs and then hatch naturally, the efficiency is not high, so I chose the artificial hatching model”, Mr. Loc said.
The rectangular eel farming tanks are about 20m2 wide, all 4 sides around and the bottom are lined with canvas. In the tanks, Mr. Loc built the surrounding soil for the eels to make nests and a ditch in the middle for the eels to feed on.
Food for broodstock eels are natural creatures that eels like, such as earthworms, snails, etc. and industrial food. Mr. Loc said that the eels lay continuously from March to September, depending on the number of eels laid, they will periodically collect eggs every 10 to 15 days.
“Eggs left in the nest will have a low hatching rate, hatch unevenly, in many litters, so the loss is very large. I take the eggs into a bucket and then incubate with an aerator for 7 days, the eggs will hatch at the same rate as above. 90%, much higher efficiency”, Mr. Loc said.
After hatching, Mr. Loc raised the eel in a pot containing a medium made of plastic fiber or trellis. Fry eels under 20 days old are fed pureed worms, older eels are fed powder or industrial pellets.
Ms. Le Thi Diem My (Mr. Loc’s wife) shared that taking care of eels is as sophisticated as taking care of a baby, having to bathe and change the water twice a day. Every day, Mr. Loc and his wife also have to divide into many meals to feed the eels.
“Several times a day, husband and wife carry a bowl of food that looks like powder for children, fertilize each spoon with baby eels. Wait for the eels to eat full, if there is leftover food, they must be removed from the pot. After feeding, they must bathe and change. new water for the eels to live in. Only then will the eels be healthy and of good quality for sale,” said Ms. My.
Ms. My added that, according to market demand, the family is currently providing 3 types of seed eels. The youngest is a 20-day-old powdered eel that costs 800 VND each. Eels raised for 50 days will reach a weight of about 1000 units/kg, costing VND2,500 (0.1$) each. The larger type of eel will cost 3,500 VND each.
“Raising eel seed is not hard, but it’s not easy, you have to always have your hands and feet. In return, the income is also relatively. Except for costs and losses, with 3 fields of work a day, you can also earn more than a million dong in profit. “, My sister said.
Mr. Loc shared, after 2 years of raising eels, he and his wife have basically recovered more than 800 million dongs of their initial investment, which is considered a profit from the parents’ eels as well as the invested barn system. However, Mr. Loc also said that raising eels is not easy and risky, so farmers who want to raise eels need to learn carefully before doing so.
