Development of nursery culture techniques for the mud crab Scylla paramamosain (Estampador) |
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| Authors: | Vu Ngoc Ut Lewis Le Vay Truong Trong Nghia & Tran Thi Hong Hanh |
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| Institution: | College of Aquaculture &Fisheries, Can Tho University, Can Tho, S.R. Vietnam; School of Ocean Sciences, University of Wales Bangor, Anglesey, UK |
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| Abstract: | Cannibalism is one of the main causes of mortality in the culture of the mud crab Scylla paramamosain, particularly in the early post‐larval and juvenile stages when the densities of hatchery‐reared crabs may be very high before stocking into ponds or release into the wild for stock enhancement. In a series of experiments investigating cannibalism mitigation, the influence of stocking density, the effectiveness of sand substrate, brick and shell shelters and feed type were compared in culture of crabs from instar 1 for short nursery periods of 15–30 days. Inclusion of brick and shell shelters significantly increased survival over sand substrate alone. However, inclusion of shelters did not affect growth rates. In scaled‐up nursery production in lined‐ponds, with shelters, live Artemia biomass and fresh chopped shrimp or tilapia were found to be equally effective feeds for juvenile crabs stocked at a density of 70 m?2 from instar 1 and grown for 30 days 52–66% survival, 21.6–24.6 mm carapace width (CW)]. In an extended nursery period for a further 30 days, crabs of 22 mm CW, stocked at 30 m?2 in the same ponds, attained a final size of 34.5–36.2 mm CW with a survival of 64.3–67.0% using the same feeds. |
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| Keywords: | Scylla paramamosain nursery shelters stocking density cannibalism |
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