EGG DEVELOPMENT TIME AND STORAGE FOR REDCLAW CRAYFISH CHERAX-QUADRICARINATUS VONMARTENS

Eggs stripped from redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus, were incubated at constant temperatures within the range 10-37-degrees-C. Hatching only occurred between 22 and 32-degrees-C, and full development took 30 days less at 32-degrees-C. Surface treatment of eggs, using chlorine or a mixture of malachite green and methylene blue, was necessary to prevent microbial destruction of eggs. Attempts to store eggs at low temperatures, 5 and 10-degrees-C, were unsuccessful.