Feeding history affects the crabseed quality and subsequent culture performance of juvenile Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853 (Brachyura, Varunidae)

Abstract A 6-month feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the hepatopancreas colour, proximate composition, antioxidant capacity, pathogen resistance and growth performance of juvenile Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853 fed either formulated diets (FD), traditional diets (TD) or a mixture feeding of traditional diets and frozen trash fish (TF). The results showed that: (1) The hepatopancreas redness (a*) in the FD treatment was significantly higher than that in the other two treatments ( ). (2) The significantly higher activities of alkaline phosphatase (AKP), acid phosphatase (ACP) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were observed in the hepatopancreas in the FD treatment, while a significantly higher content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was observed in the haemolymph in the TF treatment ( ). (3) FD and TD treatment, respectively, had the lowest and the highest mortality after challenging with Aeromonas hydrophila. (4) Females in the FD treatment had a significantly shorter intermoult period in the indoor culture experiment ( ), no significant difference was observed in weight gain rate, specific growth rate, or survival. In conclusion, formulated diets could enhance the crabseed quality of E. sinensis compared to traditional diets or trash fish.