PROPAGATION OF THE BLUE CRAB, PORTUNUS TRITUBERCULATUS (MIERS)

The author succeeded in rearing the young blue crab from the first stage of zoe ato the true crab shape, and during this time he observed their growth and metamorphosis. The relationships between the number of eggs carried by female crabs (E) and the carapace width (C) and body weight (W) are shown as follows: E= 27.9049C-281.8155, E=0.5682 W-116.4606. There are five zoeal stages and a megalopa in the complete larval development of the blue crab. Water temperature in rearing aquaria ranged from 21.4 to . The duration of each zoeal stage was two days on the average. After the fifth moulting, the zoea becomes megalopa and 5 to 6 days later the megalopa moults and develops into the first stage of adult crab shape. The carapace width of megalopa measured about 1.70 mm and the carapace length, from the tip of the rostrum to the posterior dorsal margin of the carapace, was about 2.78 mm on the average. The carapace width and length of the first crab, 18 days after hatching, measured about 4.48 mm and 2.62 mm respectively. After two days, the first crab moulted and grew into the second crab with about 6.47 mm in carapace width and 4.66 mm in carapace length. The larval rearing in the outdoor tank shelved better results than in the indoor aquarium. The highest mortality occurred when the first stage of zoea moulted into the second stage. Percentage of crabs which survived, from the first crab to the ninth crab stages, was about . The relationships between rearing days (D) and the carapace width (C), carapace length (L) and body weight (W) of the crab stages during 40 days of rearing are shown as follows. Carapace width, Indoor: C=1.1250D+1.7227 Outdoor C=1.3465D -0.2449 Carapace length, Indoor: L=0.6654D+1.6712 Outdoor: L=0.7893D+0.6919 Body Weight, Outdoor: Indoor: (9-19 day old crabs) Outdoor: (21-40 day old crabs) During the crab stage, the following relationships between the number of moulting times and the carapace width (C), carapace length (L) and body weight (W) were found as follows: The relationships between the carapace length (L) and the carapace width (C) and body weight (W) of the crab stages are shown as follows: Carapace length, mm Formula 2.62-27.17 L=1.6864C-1.0387 7.47-18.53 22.11-27.17