On an early November morning, 29-year-old Bui Hoang Hong Thai of Tan Thanh commune, Cai Be district, Tien Giang province, inspected his sprawling black snail farm.

He moved along the pond’s edge, occasionally picking up snails clinging to floating plants to check for any signs of illness. "If any snails are sick, I treat them immediately to prevent the spread of disease," Thai explained.

The only child of a farming family in Cai Be, Thai served in the military after high school and then worked as a driver upon his discharge in 2016. However, during his drives, he began thinking about a more sustainable career. "I wanted to build something of my own," he shared.

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Thai inspects black snails he just harvested from the pond. Photo: E.X

During a trip to Can Tho, Thai became interested in black snail farming, wondering why he couldn’t raise black snails himself. After thoroughly researching their behavior and care techniques, he realized his family’s pond could be an ideal environment for snails.

"I found that driving was high-stress with low pay, so I decided to switch to snail farming for more family time and an additional income source. Luckily, my parents supported my plan," said Thai.

In 2017, after learning techniques from other farmers, Thai began raising snails in a 5,000-square-meter pond in his family’s durian garden. However, due to initial mismanagement of water quality, he suffered significant snail losses.

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Black snails are raised naturally in a pond within the durian garden. Photo: H.T
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Thousands of black snails thrive in Thai’s garden pond. Photo: H.T

Following this setback, Thai sought advice from experts and chose to continue farming in a natural manner. He applied lessons from previous mistakes and began seeing success.

In 2020, he expanded his operations by leasing additional land, bringing his farm size to 15,000 square meters. Before introducing new snails, Thai revitalized the pond’s ecosystem by dredging the bottom, adding minerals, spreading lime, and leaving it to dry for several days. Once water was added, he introduced floating plants for shade and snail food.

Each 100-square-meter pond is stocked with about 100,000 juvenile snails, which he feeds with available fruits and vegetables, including gourds, pumpkins, guavas, mangoes, and jackfruit. "I rely on natural produce to keep the snails organic, which also helps reduce costs," Thai noted.

Snails reach market size in approximately 4.5 to 5.5 months after being introduced into the pond.

 

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Large, mature black snails. Photo: H.T
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Market snails fetch between 35,000 and 60,000 VND per kilogram. Photo: H.T
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Harvested snail eggs are collected and incubated. Photo: H.T

According to Thai, the most challenging aspect of black snail farming is maintaining a stable ecosystem, especially during heavy rains when pH levels can rise and harm the snails. He keeps the water clean, manages pH between 6.5 and 7.5, and frequently refreshes the water to create the best environment for the snails to grow.

Currently, Thai raises both snails for meat and breeding. When the snails lay eggs, he collects and rinses them, then incubates them at 27–28 degrees Celsius, misting them twice a day to maintain humidity. After 13 days, the eggs hatch, and the young snails are kept in tanks for about 14 days before they are ready to be sold.

For market snails, Thai sells over 800 kilograms monthly at prices ranging from 35,000 to 55,000 VND per kilogram. He sells young snails at 250 VND each and eggs at 750,000 VND per kilogram. His customer base spans the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City, bringing him an annual profit of around 350 million VND.

Thai reinvests these profits into expanding his ponds and has plans to increase his scale. He is well-regarded by customers for his willingness to offer farming advice and buy back snails from new farmers he mentors.

"I'm considering expanding the farm and developing snail-based products, like smoked snails, which could fetch higher prices," Thai said.

Reflecting on his work, Thai admitted that while snail farming involves working under the sun and getting hands dirty, it’s far less stressful than his previous job as a driver. Plus, he now has more time to care for his family.

Hoai Thanh