Shellfish Breeding and Hatchery Management (2+1)

10.2.3 Size of broodstock

The size range of male and female brood crabs to be maintained under captive conditions is given below

Size range of brood crabs

Sex	S.tranquebarica	S. serrata
	( Carapace width in mm / Total weight in g)
Males	125-165 mm / 330-685 g		80-135 mm / 90-590 g
Females	129-175 mm / 300-690 g		85-137 mm / 98-340 g

Filtered seawater drawn from a bore-well or from the open sea, with a salinity of 30-35 ppt should be used for rearing crab broodstock. After removing the left-over feed, 60 to 70% of water should be changed daily in the morning. The water level should be maintained at 60 cm if the tank height is 100 cm. Otherwise, if the water level is maintained at 80 cm, the brood crabs may climb out. Water temperature should be 25 to 29⁰C.