Abstract

Cherax destructor juveniles (0.015 g) were stocked into 16 sections of experimental earthen ponds at 10 and 20 m^-2, with either crayfish pellets or luceme hay as food and with or without shelters, and their growth and survival followed over a 21 o day period. lnitial growth was significantly better in the lucerne-fed treatments with mean weights of crayfish from trap-caught samples after 115-118 days of 27.6 g and 22.7 g in the lucerne and pellet treatments respectively. Survival was low, 6.5 to 27.1%, and was inversely related to stocking density; at the higher density shelters increased survival. Reproduction occurred after only 3 months, providing a second cohort of juveniles. Average crayfish weights at the final harvest ranged from 21.1 to 26.6 g and final densities were from 1.3 to 3.2 crayfish m^-2. This modest growth and low final density produced low yields of from 300 to 740 kg ha^-1.

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