SINGLE-O-SHELTER HUNA (Cherax albertisi) AND REDCLAW (C. quadricarinatus) CULTURE
Abstract: Many hatcheries
successfully produced and sold cherax as ornamental crayfish. The attempt to
culture cherax in earthen pond to produce consumable size yabbies facing the
fact that cherax is a good hole digger and usually escapes through the hole in
dyke. Single-o-shelter meant to provide shelter for every single spawner as
well as hideout for the juvenile produced. The shelter for spawner was a 25
inches long and 2.0 inches diameter PVC pipe randomly spread on pond bottom.
Aquatic weed (Vallisneria torta) grew in the shallow part of pond to provide
hiding place for juvenile. The species stocked is huna and redclaw, each at
density of 2 and 6 sets of spawner. One set of spawner consists of 3 males and
5 females weighing averagely around 20 g each. The experimental units are
randomly selected to facilitate random block design in 2 rearing period as
replicate. The pond dimension is 10x10 m, divide into 3 compartments i.e.
feeding, ground, nursery ground and harvest ditch. Water depth at nursery ground
was 30 cm and at the other compartments at 60 cm. Follow gravity force, the
water in ponds flows at 50—100 L minute-1. Self-made diet distributed into pond
twice a day to meet 3% daily feeding ration. Survival rate and specific growth
rate of spawner as well as juvenile produced and number of gravid female
checked at the end of each rearing period or every 3 months. After 6 months,
average weight of redclaw and huna reaching 146.12 ± 34.47 g and 103.7 ± 29.83
g, respectively. Redclaw produced progeny of 5 size groups and huna produced
only 2 groups. Respective to the species, average weight of the first offspring
batch was 39.03 ± 5.33 and 26.83 ± 2.09 g. Redclaw at 2 sets of spawner and
male grow faster than of 6 sets of spawner and female. No survival rate
significant difference among ponds indicates that single–o-shelter technique
provides sufficient shelter for spawner to grow and reproduce. Male monosex
redclaw culture in earthen pond seems to be more promising than mixed-sex and
female monosex culture for consumable size production of either huna or
redclaw.
Keywords: single-o-shelter;
cherax
Author: Taufik Ahmad, Lilis
Sofiarsih, Nuryadi Nuryadi, G. Apriyana
Journal Code: jpperikanangg070016
