Adaptation of Crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus Eschscholtz, 1823) to aquaculture environment in Bafra fish lakes (Samsun-Turkey)

In this study, it was aimed to adapt the crayfish obtained from Bafra Fish Lakes (Samsun-Turkey) to the aquaculture environment. Weight gain (%), specific growth rate (%g/day) and daily live weight gain (g/day) were determined during the adaptation period. At the initial and final of the study, the average length of crayfish was 11.06±0.14-13.04±0.17cm, carapace length 50.98±0.77-60.82±1.25mm, carapace width 28.23±0.43-33.36±1.12mm, abdomen length 53.89±0.76-64.55±1.24mm, abdomen width 25.92±0.52-30.69±0.67mm, claw length 39.08±1.59-46.25±5.13mm, claw width 15.71±0.47-18.52±1.58mm, weight 42.45±1.90-57.37±2.22g. The average weight gain of crayfish was 35.14±3.21%, the average specific growth rate was 0.30±0.01% and the average daily live weight gain was 0.04±0.03%. As a result, it was determined that the growth values of the adapted crayfish were low due to feeding, and the mortality rate was high during the stressful periods when the water temperature started to rise and the shell change occurred.