Effects of background color on growth performance and carotenoid content in different body color strains of the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis

Although crustaceans exhibit heritable variations in body color, the effects of body color and background color on culture performance and color parameters remains largely unexplored. Thus, this study investigated the effects of background color (white, black, and green) on the culture performance, color parameters, and carotenoid content of three different body color (red, white, and green carapace strains) juvenile Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis). The results showed that the body color significantly influenced body weight (P < 0.05), whereas the background color did not exhibit any notable influence on the culture performance. Body color and its interaction with background color significantly altered the lightness (L*), redness (a*), and yellowness (b*) of the carapace (P < 0.05). Moreover, body color and background color significantly affected the carotenoid content in the carapace (P < 0.05), although only body color exhibited a significant effect on total carotenoids in the inner membrane (P < 0.05). In conclusion, these findings highlight the importance of background color and provide new insights into the variations in body color of E. sinensis.