Food and Feeding Habits of the Mud Crab, Scylla serrata Forskal Inhabiting the Negombo Lagoon in the West Coast of Sri Lanka

Abstract

The Mud crab, Scylla serrata is an economically important crustacean. inhabiting the lagoons of the west coast of Sri Lanka. Currently there is interest in mass rearing of the species in ponds. Thus, a study was carried out to identify the food and feeding habits of Seylla serrata in the Negombo Lagoon. The stomach contents of crabs of different sizes caught by unbaited gears were screened to identify the food constituents and it wasfound that crabs of medium size (subadults) mainly fed on molluscs and the small ones (juveniles) on crustaceans. Monthly samples were also studied and found that there is no seasonal variation in the food items. Diurnal studies were carried out to determine the feeding time and it became evident that the crabs feed continuously during the night and only at the high tide in the daytime.