Shelling is very important for river crabs. If river crabs are not shelled well, they will not grow well. If there are many foot pulling crabs, they will die due to shelling failure.
How do river crabs shell? Where did its shell come from? The shell of river crab is secreted from the dermis epithelial cells under it, which is composed of upper epidermis, outer epidermis and inner epidermis. It can be roughly divided into shelling interval, early stage, late stage and subsequent stage.
The time required for crab to molt varies with individual size. The smaller the individual, the faster the molt. Usually, it takes about 15-30 minutes to molt smoothly at a time, and sometimes even 3-5 minutes to molt the old shell. If the molting process fails, the molting time will be prolonged, or even die due to failure.
The new crab is black in color, soft in body and pink in claw foot hair. It is used to calling it “soft shell crab”. Therefore, in the process of molting and shortly after molting, river crabs have no ability to resist the enemy, which is a dangerous moment in their life. Before and after the river crab sheds its old shell, it is necessary to increase the calcium content in the water body. Potassium dicarboxylate and calcium propionate are poured out. 30.1% ionic calcium is convenient for the river crab to absorb and improve the blood calcium concentration.
Key points of management during molting period:
During the shelling interval, the crab shell calcifies and absorbs calcium and trace elements. The river crab will eat a lot, accumulate energy materials and trace elements, and prepare materials for shelling.