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Fattening of the Ridged Swimming Crab, Charybdis Natator Herbst

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DOI: 10.4172/2155-9910.1000125

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 Marine Science Soundarapandian et al., J Marine Sci Res Dev 2013, 3:2
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2155-9910.1000125
Research & Development

Research Article
Research Article OpenAccess
Open Access

Fattening of the Ridged Swimming Crab, Charybdis Natator Herbst

P Soundarapandian1*, C Sivasubramanian2 and D Varadharajan1
1
Faculty of Marine Sciences, Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai-608 502, Tamil Nadu, India
2
Department of Zoology, Government Arts College, Dharmapuri, India

Abstract
For fattening three different salinities were tried (20, 25 and 30 ppt). The weight gain of the crabs cultured in
30 ppt was (58.0 g) significantly higher than 20 (46.7 g) and 25 (50.4 g) ppt. The shell was becoming harder in
shorter duration (10.6 days) when the water crabs were cultured in 30 ppt rather than other salinities (20 and 25
ppt). Hence 30 ppt was selected as optimum salinity for the culture of water crabs as evidenced by higher weight
gain and shorter duration for shell hardening.The water crabs offered with trash fish showed a significantly higher
weight gain (50.40 g). The crabs were hardened significantly in very shorter duration when they were fed with trash
fish (14 days). However, the animals were taking longer duration when fed with clam (17.6 days) and oyster (16.6
days). The survival of the crabs was 100% irrespective of the feeds used. So trash feed is recommended as a best
feed for fattening of C. natator.

Keywords: Crabs cultured; Fattening; Trash fish; Clam meat; Oyster

meat

Introduction
In Indian scenario, the consumers mostly prefer bigger crabs
viz., S. serrata and S.tranquebarica. But as far as Parangipettai coast
is concerned the availability of these bigger crabs are restricted only
in summer seasons [1-3]. In recent times the small and medium sized
crabs are processed and finally sold as a processed food [4]. So the
demand for these crabs is increasing day-by-day. Although resources
are available for crab fattening from Nagappattinam to Cuddalore
coastal areas of Tamil Nadu [2,3]. But farmers are not concerned about
crab fattening due to lack of awareness and proper technology. The
fattening of crabs may be economically viable and it will give additional
income for the fisherman. It provides alternative sources of income
especially during fishing holidays imposed somewhere in April-May
and also create employment opportunities for the unemployed youth.
To create awareness among the farmers and fisher folk, fattening
experiment was tried in the crab C. natator.

Materials and Methods

Selection of water crabs
The water crabs of C. natator were collected from the Parangipettai
landing center and the size ranged from 61-65 g. Healthy, live, disease
free water crabs were selected and checked for any loss of appendages.
They were brought to the laboratory by using bucket. When reached
Plate 1: Experimental setup of crab fattening.
to the laboratory they were acclimatized to laboratory conditions
(Temperature 26-31ºC; pH 7.5-8.2; dissolved oxygen 5 ppm).
Before entering into the actual fattening experiment, the animals
were exposed to different salinities to know the optimum salinity. For *Corresponding author: P Soundarapandian, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Centre
this experiment 100 litre fibre glass tanks (Plate 1) were selected and of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai-608
introduced the animal in each salinity. The experimental salinities were 502, Tamil Nadu, India, Tel: 04144-243223; Fax: 04144-243553; E-mail:
soundsuma@gmail.com
ranging from 25-35 ppt . The experimental crabs were fed with trash
fed at 10% of their body weight. Feeding was done twice in a day in the Received March 19, 2013; Accepted June 14, 2013; Published June 20, 2013
morning (6.00 am) and evening (6.00 pm). Weekly sampling was done Citation: Soundarapandian P, Sivasubramanian C, Varadharajan D (2013)
to assess the healthy condition and weight gain of crabs. Fifty percent Fattening of the Ridged Swimming Crab, Charybdis Natator Herbst. J Marine Sci
Res Dev 3: 125. doi:10.4172/2155-9910.1000125
of the water was changed regularly in the morning and replaced with
respective salinities. The crabs were harvested once the shell becomes Copyright: © 2013 Soundarapandian P, et al. This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which
hard [5]. The environmental parameters viz., salinity, dissolved oxygen, permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided
pH and temperature were regularly checked by using refrectometer the original author and source are credited.

J Marine Sci Res Dev

ISSN:2155-9910 JMSRD, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000125
Citation: Soundarapandian P, Sivasubramanian C, Varadharajan D (2013) Fattening of the Ridged Swimming Crab, Charybdis Natator Herbst. J
Marine Sci Res Dev 3: 125. doi:10.4172/2155-9910.1000125

Page 2 of 4

(Erma), Do meter (Deepvision Model 811E), pH meter (Eutech) and

thermometer, respectively.
After knowing the optimum environmental conditions for fattening
they were stocked in tanks and exposed to optimum environmental
parameters (salinity 30 ppt; temperature 26-31°C; pH 7.5-8.2 and
dissolved oxygen 5ppm). The experimental crabs were fed with locally
available low cost feed. The animals were offered with three different live
feeds (clam meat, oyster meat and trash fish) (Plate 2). Clam meat and
trash were purchased from the fisher folk. Oyster meat was collected
from Vellar estuary. The crabs were fed at the rate of 10% of their body
a. Trash fish b. Clam meat
weight daily at dawn and dush. 40% of daily ration were given during
morning and remaining 60% during the evening. Proximate analysis of
feeds was determined. The protein, carbohydrates, lipid moisture and
ash were estimated as earlier.

Gross energy
The gross energy of the feed was calculated from the biochemical
constituents by using the conversion factors i.e., 4.18 kcal/g of
carbohydrate, 9.46 kcal/g for lipid and 4.32 kcal/g for protein [6].
Sampling of crabs was done once in two days to ascertain the
healthy condition, weight gain and hardening of the crabs. 50% of the
water was changed regularly in the morning and unconsumed feed c. Oyster meat
settle at the bottom was removed while water exchange. The crabs were Plate 2: Different feeds used for fattening experiment.
harvested once the shell becomes hard [5].

Statistical Analysis
To know the statistical significance the data were treated with
one way analysis of variance. Differences in treatment means were
determined by Duncan’s multiple range test (P<0.05) using SPSS/PC
+
package version 17.0. Salinity (ppt)
Initial weight (g)
Results Final weight (g)
Salinity experiment Days
Weight gain (g)
The results of salinity experiment are presented in (Table 1 and Survival rate (%)
Figure 1). For fattening three different salinities were tried (20, 25 and
30 ppt). The weight gain of the crabs cultured in 30 ppt was (58.0 g)
significantly higher than 20 (46.7 g) and 25 (50.4 g) ppt. The shell was
becoming harder in shorter duration (10.6 days) when the water crabs
were cultured in 30 ppt rather than other salinities (20 and 25 ppt).
Figure 1: Weight gain and survival of C.natator reared in different salinities.
The survival of crabs was 100% irrespective of the salinities. From the
result 30 ppt was selected as optimum salinity for the culture of water
crabs as evidenced by higher weight gain and shorter duration for shell
hardening.
80
70
Proximate composition of feeds 60
The biochemical composition of live feeds used for C. natator 50
40
fattening is given in (Table 2 and Figure 2). Between 4 feeds used in the 30
present study, oyster showed the highest percentage of protein (48.71%) 20 Oyster
followed by trash fish (48.05%) and clam (46.08%). The percentage of 10
Clam
carbohydrate was highest in the trash fish (6.08%) and lowest in clam 0
Trash fish
(5.89%). The percentage of lipid was highest in trash fish (5.89%) and
)

)
)

)
)

l/g
(%

(%
%

(%

h(
e(

lowest in oyster (4.01%). Regarding ash content, clam meat showed the
ca
re
n

As
at
ei

pi

tu

(K
dr
ot

Li

maximum of 15.98% and the minimum of 15.06% was in the oyster.

s

gy
oi
y
Pr

oh

er
M

The gross energy content was higher in trash fish (3.01 Kcal/g) followed
en
rb
Ca

ss

by clam (2.78 Kcal/g)) and oyster (2.75 Kcal/g).

ro
G

Fattening experiment: The results of water crabs cultured in

Figure 2: Proximate composition of test diets.
different feeds are displayed in (Table 3 and Figure 3).

J Marine Sci Res Dev

ISSN:2155-9910 JMSRD, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000125
Citation: Soundarapandian P, Sivasubramanian C, Varadharajan D (2013) Fattening of the Ridged Swimming Crab, Charybdis Natator Herbst. J
Marine Sci Res Dev 3: 125. doi:10.4172/2155-9910.1000125

Page 3 of 4

Weight gain Survival rate

S.No Salinity (ppt) Initial weight (g) Final weight (g) Days (g) (%)
1 20 65.6 ± 1.52 112.3 ± 2.8 b 15.0 ± 1.0a 46.7 ± 1.20c 100
2 25 61.6 ± 2.05 112.0 ± 2.62b 14.6 ± 0.58a 50.4 ± 2.18b 100
3 30 63.0 ± 4.02 121.0 ± 3.00a
10.6 ± 0.59 b
58.0 ± 3.62a 100
Means with different superscript are statistically different (p<0.05; Duncan’s multiple range test)
Table 1: Weight gain and survival of C.natator reared in different salinities (Values are mean of three values ± SE).

S.No Feed Protein (%) Carbohydrate (%) Lipid (%) Ash (%) Moisture (%) Gross energy K(cal)
1 Oyster 48.71 6.08 4.01 15.06 73.61 2.75
2 Clam 46.08 5.89 4.02 15.98 74 2.78
3 Trash fish 48.05 6.09 5.89 15.9 74.98 3.01
Table 2: Proximate composition of test diets.

S:No Feed Initial weight (g) Final weight (g) Weight gain(g) Days Feed consumed(g) Survival (%)
1 Oyster 64.0 ± 2.00 117.0 ± 2.06a 49.00 ± 2.04 16.6 ± 2.58a 18.0 ± 1.21a 100
2 Clam 65.6 ± 2.34 115.3 ± 1.51b 47.70 ± 1.06b 17.6 ± 1.57a 19.0 ± 2.34a 100
3 Trash fish 61.6 ± 2.07 114.0 ± 1.64b 50.40 ± 2.06a 14.0 ± 2.016 18.0 ± 1.58a 100
Means with different superscript are statistically different (p<0.05; Duncan’s multiple range test)
Table 3: Fattening of C.natator offered with different feeds (Values are mean of three values ± SE).

Feed
Initial weight (g)
Final weight (g)
Weight gain (g)
Days
Feed consumed (g)
Survival (%)

Figure 3: Fattening of C.natator offered with different feeds.

Weight gain: The water crabs offered with trash fish showed a
significantly higher weight gain (50.40 g). However weight gain did not
show significant difference between oyster and clam offered crabs.
Duration: The crabs were hardened significantly in very short
duration when they were fed with trash fish (14 days). However, the
animals were taken long duration when fed with clam (17.6 days) and
oyster (16.6 days). The duration of the clam and oyster fed animals did
not show significant difference.
Survival: The survival of the crabs was 100% irrespective of the
feeds used.
Discussion
Salinity is important parameters to control the growth and survival
of the crabs. Each and every aquatic organism requires particular
salinity for normal growth and survival. If it is exposed higher and
lower from the optimum will affect growth and survival. In higher and
lower salinities, the animals are under stress so it delays the deposition
of calcium on the exoskeleton. In the present study the water crabs were
taking more time for hardening of the exoskeleton when kept in 20 and
25 pp salinities. Whereas it was shorter when the crabs were exposed
to 30 ppt. Soundarapandian et al. [5] conducted similar experiment for
S. tranquebarica. They confirm that 25 ppt were optimum salinity for
S.tranquebarica. Even though they have exposed the crabs with 20 and
30 ppt.
In most of the studies in crustaceans, weight gain was mainly
dependent on the nutritional quality of feeds [7]. Hence the weight gain
was assumed to be improved by offering high quality feeds to the water
crabs. The average weight gain of C. natator noticed in the present
study was directly related to the levels of protein in the diet. Variations
in weight gain were found to be associated with differences in chemical
composition of diets. Water crabs are known to mobilize greater
amount of protein for energy metabolism. Consequently the protein
requirement in the water crabs might be high. The dietary protein
content in the present study was 48.71% in oyster, 46.08% in clam and
48. 05% in trash fish. The weight gain of water crabs fed with oyster and
clam meat did not differ significantly. The water crabs fed with trash
fish showed the highest weight gain. Similar result was reported when
the trash fish offered with P. pelagicus [5]. Kanazawa et al. [8] reported
that the fresh diets of short neck calm (Tapes philippinaruum) gave

J Marine Sci Res Dev

ISSN:2155-9910 JMSRD, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000125
Citation: Soundarapandian P, Sivasubramanian C, Varadharajan D (2013) Fattening of the Ridged Swimming Crab, Charybdis Natator Herbst. J
Marine Sci Res Dev 3: 125. doi:10.4172/2155-9910.1000125
superior growth compared to the compounded diet for P. japonicus.
Similar results were obtained from Forster [9]. Frequent moulting
was observed during feeding with fresh clam meat [10]. One major
nutritional difference between live food organisms and compound
feed is the presence of digestive enzymes in the live food organisms.
These enzymes of dietary origin play important role in promoting the
digestion and growth of crustacean [11].
Feed consumption is not always related to weight gain. In the
present study C. natator consumed more or less same amounts of
oyster, clam and trash fish individually. But weight gain was more
when trash fish feed animals than other feeds. Similar result was
already reported by Soundarapandian et al. [12] in P. sanguinolentus.
Senthilkumar [13] used three types of live feeds viz., clam meat, fish
meat and beef meat for the water crabs of S. serrata. Growth, survival
and production rate was maximized when the water crabs were fed
with combined feeds rather than fed individually. Williams [14] also
suggested that the mixed diets support superior growth. No significant
change was observed in the total weight of S. serrata fed with trash
fish, slaughter house waste and clam meat during fattening [15]. The
survival was 100% irrespective of the feeds used in the present study.
The environmental conditions used in the present study were optimum
(Salinity 30 ppt; Temperature 26-31°C; pH 7.5-8.2; Dissolved oxygen
5ppm) and the water crabs used in the present study was mostly the
same size (61-65 g) with the same degree of shell hardness were stocked
to reduce cannibalism and facilitate easy harvest. This may be one of
the reasons for higher survival in the present study.
References
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Portuns sanguinolentus (Herbst) along Parangipettai Coast, South East Cost
of India.
2. Varadharajan D, Soundarapandian P, Dinakaran GK, Vijakumar G (2009) Crab
Fishery resources from Arukkattuthurai to Aiyammpattinam, South east coast
of India. Cur Res J Biol Sci 1: 118-122.
Citation: Soundarapandian P, Sivasubramanian C, Varadharajan D (2013)
Fattening of the Ridged Swimming Crab, Charybdis Natator Herbst. J Marine
Sci Res Dev 3: 125. doi:10.4172/2155-9910.1000125
J Marine Sci Res Dev
ISSN:2155-9910 JMSRD, an open access journal
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3. Varadharajan D, Soundarapandian P (2012) Commercially Important Crab
Fishery Resources from Arukkattuthurai to Pasipattinam, South East Coast of
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Scylla tranquebarica fattening at Vellar estuary. MSc Dissertation, Annamalai
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