Growth Performance, Molting Frequency and Carapace Coloration of Two Different Size Classes of Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) Fed with Different Diets

Abstract

In recent years, the number of ornamental aquarium feeds has been increasing and species-specific rations have been formulated. However, there are limited studies on the efficiency of these feeds. In this study, the effects of three different commercial aquarium feeds were tested on the growth performance, molting frequency, and carapace coloration of red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in two different size classes (1.5 and 3.5 g). For this purpose, six experimental groups were formed according to crayfish size (S1: Size 1 and S2: Size 2) and feed type (BF: bottom food, CF: cichlid food, and CG: crustacean granules) as S1BF, S1CF, S1CG, S2BF, S2CF, and S2CG. The final mean weight (FMW) of the S1CG was higher than the S1BF (P