Ecdysis Patterns and Glucose Fluctuations in Mangrove Crabs Across Salinity Levels

Mangrove crabs (Scylla sp < em>.) have become one of the important fishery commodities in Indonesia. However, the cultivation of mangrove crabs still faces challenges due to the lack of understanding the biology of these crustaceans. Ecdysis, commonly known as molting, is a characteristic of mangrove crabs. This lifelong activity needs to be studied because it is closely related to the aquatic environment, such as salinity parameters that exhibit significant fluctuations, consequently impacting the physiological processes of aquatic organisms. For instance, the test crab species used ( Scylla olivacea) weighing 70-90g each were kept solitarily in aquaculture boxes. They were fed at a rate of 5% of their body biomass per day. Four salinity treatments (21, 24, 27, and 30ppt) were employed, each with three replications. The research findings indicated that salinity significantly influenced the molting progress of mangrove crabs, and the tested salinity levels were deemed suitable for mangrove crab cultivation. The salinity level that resulted in the lowest glucose utilization and supported accelerated molting was 24ppt.