A comparison of natural and artificial diets for juveniles of the Australian freshwater crayfish Cherax destructor

Growth rates of juvenile yabbies Cherax destructor fed a variety of natural and an artificial diet were compared under controlled conditions. Newly independent (stage 3) juveniles were reared individually in 1-L pomades for 35 d. The best survival and growth were obtained on live zooplankton, frozen zooplankton, shrimp meal pellets and tubifex worms (survival, 100%; mean weights, 608, 444, 380 and 338 mg, respectively). Intermediate growth and survival was exhibited by crayfish fed chironomid larvae, snails and mussels (survival, 80-100%; mean weight, 138-169 mg). Juveniles fed trout muscle, beef heart and yabby tail gave very poor growth and survival (survival, 50-80%; mean weight, 50-55 mg). The use of shrimp meal pellets as a reference diet for juvenile yabbies is discussed.