Water Temperature and Practical Feeding Regimes Interact to Affect Growth, Enzyme Activities, and Histological Characteristics in Juvenile and Sub-Adult Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis).
4 affiliations
- 1Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bioindustry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, China.
- 2Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, China.
- 3Jiangsu Sihong County Jinshui Special Aquaculture Co., Ltd., Suqian 223900, China.
- 4State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquaculture Germplasm Innovation and Efficient Aquaculture, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China.
Abstract
The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is commonly cultured using compound feed or iced fresh fish, but its performance may vary with water temperature and developmental stage. This 28-day indoor study evaluated the interactive effects of feeding regime and water temperature on growth, pooled survival (reported descriptively), apparent feed disappearance, tissue enzyme activities, and qualitative intestinal and gill histology in juvenile and sub-adult E. sinensis. Crabs were assigned to compound-feed or iced-fresh-fish regimes at 20, 24, 28, or 32 °C. Significant feeding regime × temperature interactions were detected for growth traits in both developmental stages. Under the present experimental conditions, the highest numerical juvenile body-weight gain was observed under the compound-feed regime at 28 °C, whereas the highest numerical sub-adult body-weight gain was observed under the compound-feed regime at 24 °C. Apparent feed disappearance was generally higher in the iced-fresh-fish regime but did not consistently correspond to greater growth. Linear mixed-effects models revealed tissue- and stage-specific enzyme responses, including significant feeding regime × temperature × time interactions for selected metabolic, ion-transport, and immune-related activities. Qualitative histological observations showed treatment-associated structural changes in the intestine and gill. Because the two regimes differed fundamentally in moisture content and nutrient density, our results reflect responses to commercial feeding practices rather than an evaluation of nutritionally equivalent diets.
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BibTeX
@article{wei2026water,
title = {{Water Temperature and Practical Feeding Regimes Interact to Affect Growth, Enzyme Activities, and Histological Characteristics in Juvenile and Sub-Adult Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis).}},
author = {Min Wei and Yuyan Sun and Xinran Yin and Yijin Zhu and Yansong Zhang and Yi Xu and Zhongwei Li and Chao Guo},
journal = {Animals : an open access journal from MDPI},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ani16193141},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883110},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Water Temperature and Practical Feeding Regimes Interact to Affect Growth, Enzyme Activities, and Histological Characteristics in Juvenile and Sub-Adult Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis).
AU - Min Wei
AU - Yuyan Sun
AU - Xinran Yin
AU - Yijin Zhu
AU - Yansong Zhang
AU - Yi Xu
AU - Zhongwei Li
AU - Chao Guo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
DO - 10.3390/ani16193141
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883110
AB - The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is commonly cultured using compound feed or iced fresh fish, but its performance may vary with water temperature and developmental stage. This 28-day indoor study evaluated the interactive effects of feeding regime and water temperature on growth, pooled survival (reported descriptively), apparent feed disappearance, tissue enzyme activities, and qualitative intestinal and gill histology in juvenile and sub-adult E. sinensis. Crabs were assigned to compound-feed or iced-fresh-fish regimes at 20, 24, 28, or 32 °C. Significant feeding regime × temperature interactions were detected for growth traits in both developmental stages. Under the present experimental conditions, the highest numerical juvenile body-weight gain was observed under the compound-feed regime at 28 °C, whereas the highest numerical sub-adult body-weight gain was observed under the compound-feed regime at 24 °C. Apparent feed disappearance was generally higher in the iced-fresh-fish regime but did not consistently correspond to greater growth. Linear mixed-effects models revealed tissue- and stage-specific enzyme responses, including significant feeding regime × temperature × time interactions for selected metabolic, ion-transport, and immune-related activities. Qualitative histological observations showed treatment-associated structural changes in the intestine and gill. Because the two regimes differed fundamentally in moisture content and nutrient density, our results reflect responses to commercial feeding practices rather than an evaluation of nutritionally equivalent diets.
SN - 2076-2615
ER -