Feeding trials were conducted with over 22 different crustacean species to compare the potential use of two diets as Standard Reference Diets (SRD) in crustacean research. The two diets (BML 81 S, a casein/albumin based formula developed at the University of California, Bodega Marine Laboratory, and HFX CRD 84, a crab protein concentrate based diet formulated at the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans Halifax Laboratory) were about equal in performance for most species tested. Though neither diet was an ideal SRD, the HFX CRD 84 formulation based upon a purified protein of marine origin was accepted as the interim SRD for use in aquatic crustacean studies. |