Effects of different diets on growth and survival of first feeding second-stage juvenile Pontastacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) (Decapoda, Astacidea)

In this study, the effects of live feed and five different commercial microparticle feeds (300-500 μm) on the survival and growth performance of first-feeding juvenile Pontastacus leptodactylus were investigated for 21 days. Six groups were tested: Group I got the live feed, i.e., Artemia nauplii; Group II was fed Abalioglu feed; Group III got Kılıc feed; Group IV Allotec feed; Group V Inve feed; and Group VI Gemma feed. Twenty-five juveniles of the second developmental stage, with a mean weight of 0.03 ± 0.01 g and mean length of 11.0 ± 0.01 mm were randomly distributed as four replicates into four 70 × 30 × 40 cm aquariums. Accordingly, a total of 600 juvenile crayfish were divided into 24 experimental groups. The diets were abundantly fed over the experimental period. The growth rate and survival rates of the experimental groups were significantly different (). The results indicated that the best diet for feeding the second-stage juvenile crayfish in terms of growth, was the Inve feed.