Reference diet for Crustaceans : principles of experimentation

— As a result of discussions among crustacean nutrition researchers at the annual meetings of the World Aquaculture Society (WAS) in 1984, feeding trials were conducted with over 22 different crustacean species to compare the potential use of two diets as Standard Reference Diets (SRD) in crustacean research. The two diets (BML 81 S, a casein/albumin based formula developed at the University of California, Bodega Marine Laboratory, and HFX CRD 84, a crab protein concentrate based diet formulated at the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans Halifax Laboratory) were about equal in performance for most species tested. Though neither diet was an ideal SRD, the HFX CRD 84 formulation based upon a purified protein of marine origin was accepted as the interim SRD for use in aquatic crustacean studies. As a further aid in making comparison among species and laboratories, it was proposed that standard sets of experimental diets be produced and distributed to various laboratories around the world. The first such set of 12 diets was produced in 1987 and contained varying levels of protein, lipid and carbohydrate to evaluate optimum protein/energy ratio. Feeding studies have been completed with these diets being fed to Homarus americanus at the DFO laboratory in Halifax, and Penaeus orientalis at the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute Laboratory at Qingdao in China. Studies are in progress with Astacus astacus at the University of Stockholm in Sweden. These diets have also been supplied to researchers working with several other species of crustaceans. Although many aspects of experimental design are controlled by unique biological and behavioural characteristics of each crustacean species, it is recommended that careful consideration be given to proper standards for all aspects of research on nutrient requirements of aquatic crustaceans including water systems design, water quality control, environmental conditions, pre-experimental culturing conditions, statistical methods of data analyses and reporting results. As a further aid in improving the methodology and experimental design used in crustacean nutrition research, it is recommended that researchers in this field form an International Crustacean Nutrition Working Group to review existing information on nutrient requirements and research techniques and in developing improvements.