Crayfish

1.Morphological characteristics
Crayfish is like shrimp and has hard crustaceans . The length of Adult body is about 5.6~11.9 cm,
the overall color including red, red brown, pink. The back is dark red sauce, with both sides is
pink, orange or white spots. The part of the shell is near black, with a wedge of stripes on the back
of the abdomen. Young shrimp body is a uniform gray, sometimes with a black ripple. Long and
narrow. Mesh like crustacean central gap is not separated, obviously with particle shell. The
amount of lateral spine or Kendo sword tip with the amount of nicks. The claws are dark red and
black, with bright orange red or reddish nodules. The background color of the claws of the larva
and the female can be dark brown. Tip of the head, often with a slight thorn or nodule, usually
with a sharp, pointed spine.
There are 3 pairs of crayfish head tentacles, tentacles near the head of coarse, small and sharp
tip. In the border of the outer edge of the head of a pair of antennae thick long, than the general
body long 1 / 3; in the middle of a pair of long tentacles for two pairs of short tentacles, a length of
about half the body length. Habitat and crawling normal when six tentacles were outstretched. If
frightened or attacked, two long tentacles bend toward the tail, to prevent the rear under attack.
There are 5 pairs of feet in the chest, the first 1-3 feet is in the shape of a clamp on the distal end
of the foot, and the second leg of the foot is in the shape of the 4-5 feet. The 2nd pair feets is
specially developed and become the great chela, male chela is more developed than the female and
male lobster front edge have a bright red film, very conspicuous. The female is not the red film, so
it has become an important feature of gender difference. Tail 5 strong action tail fan, parent shrimp
in holding the egg stage and incubation period, tail fan were inward bending, crawling or by the
enemy, to protect the fertilized eggs or juveniles from damage.

2.Habitat Environment
Habitat for permanent streams and swamps, temporary habitats, including ditches and ponds. In
the stream and they usually plant or woody detritus mixed together, will disrupt and weaken the
bank. Areas in which the flood waters receded can be found in a simple cave. Live in shallow
water, abundant water wetlands, lakes and rivers.

3.Living Habits
Crayfish has wide adaptability, suitable growth temperature is wide, when water temperature is
10-30 degrees can be normal growth and development. Also high temperature cold tolerance to
high temperature above 40 DEG C, but also in the temperature of -14 DEG C under the condition
of safe wintering. Procambarus clarkii rapid growth, under suitable temperature and adequate food

supply, after more than two months of breeding, can reach sexual maturity, and achieve the
specifications of commodity shrimp, generally male prawn growth fast in female shrimp,
commodity shrimp specifications also than female shrimp. With many crustaceans, crayfish
growth is also accompanied by molting. Molting and look for hidden objects, such as water in the
grass or leaves. After ecdysis maximum weight increase volume can reach 95%, the molting
generally 11 times can reach sexual maturity, mature individuals can continue molting and growth.
Its service life is not long, it is about 1 years. However, in the case of lack of food, low
temperature and relatively dry conditions, the maximum life of up to 2-3 years.

4.Mode of Reproduction
Crayfish perennial can breed with the 5-9 month peak. Crayfish gonochorism, and has
significant secondary syndrome. Can be from abdomen swimming leg shape to distinguish
between, the male shrimp abdomen first swimming limbs specialized for Spicular, and female
shrimp first swimming limbs specialized nano precise hole; secondly, two cheliped with
significant difference, male chelipeds coarse, chelipeds outside of the two ends of the have a
bright red warty projections, and the female shrimp chelipeds is relatively small, wartlike
projections is not obvious; the third, male shrimp chela foot than female shrimp gross, individual
is greater than that of the female shrimp.
Crayfish ovarian development continues for a long time, usually after mating, depending on the
different water temperature, ovarian need further development of 2-5 months to mature. In
production, de novo chest and abdomen joints were observed, according to the color of the ovarian
judge gonadal maturity, the ovary development is divided into pale, yellow, orange, brown (brown)
and dark brown (mauve) etc. stage. Pale is the gonads of immature shrimp, small, months before
they reach maturity; orange is basically mature ovaries, mating after 3 months or so can ovulation;
Tan and brown black is mature ovaries, breeding broodstock ideal type. The smaller in ponds,
generally with mature ovarian synchronization. In the United States the main crayfish production
area. In general, the gradually discharged dry pool, to stimulate the Cherax quadricarinatus
gonadal maturation, promote broodstock spawning mating.
Crayfish can almost year-round mating, but the annual spring peak. Mating generally in the
open area of the water, mating water temperature range, from 15 to 31 degrees Celsius can be
carried out. When mating, the male shrimp will be injected into the female crab (shrimp) in the
sperm of the seminal vesicle, sperm in the sperm in the seminal vesicle for 2-8 months, still can
make the egg fertilization. After mating, the female shrimp gradually dug into the hole, and when
the eggs matured, the process of ovulation, fertilization and larval development in the cave.
Reproduction of the crayfish, most of the reproductive process is completed in the cave, so in
the normal production difficult to see berried prawns. Ovary after mating to 2-5 months before the
final maturity, and ovulation fertilization. Fertilized eggs to reddish brown, adhesion in abdominal
appendages swimming setae, ovigerous shrimp often abdominal close to the water inside the cave,
to keep the eggs in the wet state. Crayfish small amount of eggs, depending on the size and

amount of eggs in 100-700 grains, with an average of 300 grain. Incubation time is about 14-24
days, but at low temperature, the incubation period can be as long as 4-5 months. Crayfish larvae
during development, do not need to any external nutrient supply, newly hatched larval shrimp to
the abdomen of parent shrimp stay around a few months, from the mother. If the conditions are not
suitable, in caves don't eat not to drink a few weeks, when the irrigation pond, larval shrimp and
shrimp in succession from the cave climbed out of, natural distribution in the pond, sometimes
broodstock will carry the larvae into the water, then release the larvae. Crayfish although less egg
hatching, but the survival rate is very high. Due to the size of the seed production limited the
breeding habits of procambarusclarkii dispersed, to adversely affect the intensive production.

5.Species Harm
Crayfish has a breeding in the world, and the formation of a large population of wild. China
introduced from Japan in twentieth Century 30-40, Japan introduced from the United States in
earlier period, mainly used as food and pets. Crayfish often polyculture in crops (such as rice
fields). Do not need artificial incubation, once the pond put in the original species may be
self-sustaining, after harvest, do not need to put in stock. Escape the individual to survive a hole in
the dam. They can survive in the temporary water body, and they are widely used, and the
establishment of the population is extremely fast and easy to spread. Of local fish, crustaceans,
aquatic plants perilous, damage to the local food chain; because of its feeding roots directly on
crops, especially in rice and other aquatic and semi aquatic plants) and natural vegetation have
destructive disaster; build points caused by destruction of the loss of irrigation water and land; by
crayfish diet is very complex, to fry flooding and an age of fingerling cultivation has a certain
degree of influence and damage to artificial breeding of the young mussels.
Since crayfish adaptability, resilience and strong, feeding a broad, population growth speed, often
cut the crops, especially rice crop, and may compete with local freshwater crayfish species.

6.Breeding Technology
1)Seedling cultivation
Cultivating pool area of 20-40 square meters, water depth of 0.6-0.8 meters of cement pool
mainly, but also can choose close to the water quality of the pond, built drainage and anti escape
facilities. The seedling pool strict disinfection, fertilizers provide bait for cultivating plankton,
aquatic plants area accounted for 30% of the water transfer. Per mu dropped 0.8 cm juvenile
shrimp 10-15 million tail, early in the natural food based, appropriate feeding milk and fish, with
individual size with artificial feed mainly.
2)Pond culture
Per mu put shrimp 1-1.5 million tail and periodically splash of lime increased the content of
calcium in water, increase the night feed, to match the feed mainly

3)Rice Field Culture

Choose good water quality, no pollution sources around, higher water holding capacity,
convenient irrigation and drainage, from flooded farmland paddy shrimp, along the rice field
ridges around the inside to excavation shrimp ditch, ditch 1.5 meters wide, 1 meter deep, farmland
area larger, but also in the field ditch excavation in the middle of the field, field ditch 1 meter wide,
deep 0. 5 meters, shrimp ditch and field ditch area accounted for about about 20% of the total area
of paddy field. The ridge 3 meters wide, 1 meters high ridge. In at 1 m from the ridge, every three
meters a 1.5 meter high pile, erection of bamboo, in the side of the ridge melons, beans, gourds,
etc., be vines shelves, in the hot summer to summer shade. In the shrimp ditch and field in to
transplanting plants, such as Vallisneria spiralis, Hydrilla verticillata, Ceratophyllum demersum,
submerged plants, grass coverage to 30% is appropriate and to the scattered, as well, which is
conducive to shrimp ditch flow smooth without blocking. Tian Sizhou used plastic film, cement
board, asbestos or calcium plastic plate escape proof wall, to prevent the escape of crayfish.
4)Seed stocking
Crayfish stocked want to test the water, water safety, can put shrimp. Crayfish stocked in two
ways: one is in early September after the rice harvest will shrimp species directly put in the rice
field, so that the self reproduction, according to the actual situation of paddy field culture, general
stocked per acre individual in 40 grams / only crayfish more than 20 kg, male and female sex ratio
3: 1. In May two after rice transplanting, delivery specifications for 2-4 larvae are 1500 - 2000 cm
tail or 30 kg / mu / mu. Crayfish in the stocking, attention should be paid to the quality of juvenile
shrimp, stocking size the same cropland to neatly as possible, stocking a put. In the morning,
sunny or rainy days stocking, stocking shrimp with salt water bath 3% to 4% minutes to wash the
10 disinfection.

7.Main Value
1)Watch value
Because most of the crayfish anti pollution is very strong, so in the containing water of high
pollution of toxin, can still survive. Stocking in the aquarium, but also can effectively remove fish
excrement and moss, on hydrological environment remediation have very large contribution.
2)Nutrition value
Crayfish body has a high protein content, and the flesh soft, easy to digest, physical weakness
and disease need to be nursed back to health is an excellent food; shrimp meat is also rich in
magnesium, zinc, iodine, selenium and other, magnesium on cardiac activity has an important
regulatory role, can protect the cardiovascular system. It can reduce blood cholesterol levels,
prevent arteriosclerosis, also can dilate coronary artery, is beneficial in the prevention of
hypertension and myocardial infarction. Crayfish containing astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is a strong
antioxidant, Osaka University scientists have discovered, astaxanthin helps eliminate caused by jet
lag "jetlag". In addition, crayfish can be used as medicine, can Huatanzhike, promote myogenic
healing of the wound after the operation.

Some pictures of delicious crayfish in China