Effects of aquaculture water color on survival, growth and body color of Cherax quadricarinatus juveniles

In this study, transparent aerated running water was used as the control group, and artificial pigments were added to regulate the color of aquaculture water (yellow, blue, green) to explore the effects of aquaculture water color on the survival, growth and body color of juvenile Cherax quadricarinatus. The results show that the survival rates of the control group, yellow and blue experimental groups were all about 50%, while that of the green experimental group was lower (33.33%, P<0.05). The weight gain rate, specific growth rate, body length and body width of the green experimental group were the highest, significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the yellow and blue experimental groups and the control group (P>0.05). The body color of the blue experimental group was blue (∆E=21.35), yellow (∆E=18.23) and green (∆E=17.35). There were significant differences in the body color between different parts of the juveniles, and the lightness value of carapace (L^*) was significantly lower than that of the claw and tail; the redness value (a^*) of carapace was higher than that of claw and tail; the yellowness value of tail (b^*) was higher than that of claw and carapace. Blue water can improve the b^* value of carapace significantly.