Comparative analysis of growth performance, feed utilization, and antioxidant capacity of juvenile mud crab, Scylla paramamosain, reared at two different conditions

Abstract This study was carried out to analyse the growth performance, feed utilization, and antioxidant capacity of juvenile mud crab ( Scylla paramamosain ) reared in two conditions. Here, a new indoor polypropylene tank culture system and a traditional outdoor pond cage facility were used to perform feeding experiments on juvenile crabs. After eight weeks, the survival rate, weight gain, moulting rate and feed efficiency of crabs cultured in polypropylene tanks were markedly higher than those cultured in pond cages. Moreover, the activities of serum acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and the antioxidant indices including glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), glutathione transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in hepatopancreas were higher in crabs cultured in the polypropylene tank system than those in pond cages. Based on these results, compared with the traditional pond cages, the polypropylene tank culture system is more suitable for the short-term culture of mud crabs.