Abstract

The parastacid freshwater crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus (von Martens) is a promising candidate for aquaculture both in Australia and overseas. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of temperature and salinity on the growth and survival of juvenile C. quadricarinatus under laboratory conditions. Ninety-six hour survival trials showed that survival was best between the temperature range of 10-30°C and the salinity range of 0.3-20 ppt. Mortality was 100% at both 4 and 40°C and 85% at 35°C. Only 16% of juvenile C. quadricarinatus remained alive after four days at 30 ppt and all had died within 24 hours at 40 ppt. Growth of juvenile C. quadricarinatus was found to be significantly greater at 25 and 30°C compared with 15 and 20°c over a 12 week period. No difference in weight gain was evident amongst treatments at the end of 12 week salinity growth trials conducted at 0.2, 2, 8 and 14 ppt. Compared with other species of Cherax with aquaculture potential, C. quadricarinatus is able to survive and grow at relatively high temperatures but performs poorly at lower temperatures. The response of C. quadricarinatus to salinity is in line with the general findings for Cherax destructor Clark and Cherax tenuimanus Smith, which are also able to tolerate elevated salinity levels.

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