According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistics, mud crab Scylla serrata aquaculture production in 2017 in South East Asia was of near 100,000 tonnes, equivalent to US$ 866 million. Major producing countries in the region are Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia. Mud crab aquaculture is at an early development stage and the use of formulated feeds is still in its infancy. Hence, crabs relying only on artificial feeds have been facing some issues, such as slow growth, faded color, deformities and molting difficulties, possibly related to nutritional unbalance and deficiency. The development of mud crab feeds aims at promoting crab growth, as well as healthy molting, enhanced coloration and reduce deformities by making use of carotenoid pigments, phospholipids, and essential omega 3 fatty acids.
Fourteen juvenile mud crabs were individually housed in floating plastic containers in a water recirculation system and fed one of the four experimental diets: (1) commercial grouper extruded feed; (2) commercial grouper feed with beta-carotene and vitamins; (3) commercial shrimp feed; (4) gelatinized feed containing phospholipids, omega 3 fatty acids and astaxanthin. Crabs will be fed for 8 weeks and weight gain and carapace width measured. It is expected that such additives will enhance mud crab coloration, increase survival and growth.