LAUSR

Abstract Swimming crab ( Portunus trituberculatus ) as an economic-potential aquatic animal is widely cultivated in China. However, there have been few studies examining the effects of different structures for production of this species of crab. Here we select two types of materials (polyethylene net and plastic basket) as potential shelters to evaluate their effects on the molting, growth and culture performance of swimming crab. Shelter 1 (S1) was made into Z-like shape by polyethylene nets while shelter 2 (S2) was made by a half plastic basket. We find that most of crabs preferred to harbor in these two types of shelters to complete the molting period. Compared with S1, crabs in S2 showed a significantly higher hiding rate and molting rate ( P P 3  RMB/ha far higher than the control (99.9 × 10 3  RMB/ha). Altogether, S2 is worthy of widely being promoted in the aquaculture of swimming crab because of its advantages of low cost, easy operation and high efficiency in the practical application.