Zeaxanthin

Julia_Crab · Post by **Julia_Crab** » 20 Nov 2005, 08:28

I'm reading Crustacean Nutrition by the World Aquaculture Society. It's a hard slog, let me tell you. But I have finished the chapter on carotenoids. I will be writing an article on all the information found in that chapter, but I think for the time being, it's very important that people are aware of a couple of things.

Astaxanthin is the critical carotenoid as far as crustacean health is concerned. It is 10 times more potent than the next most powerful carotenoid, and that is the form that crustaceans can use most efficiently. They can convert other carotenoids into astaxanthin, but it costs them in efficiency. It turns out that beta carotene is actually one of the weakest carotenoids as they affect crab health and biology. Zeaxanthin is a better substance if you cannot get astaxanthin, it is the quickest to convert biologically to astaxanthin. Beta carotene requires time and several oxidative steps to achieve the same end.

Krill, krill oil, copepods, spirulina (even more than you serve already), capsicum (red bell pepper), and xanthophyll-containing foods such as oats, wheat and corn are very important in crustacean diet. Crayfish are high in astaxanthin as well. "Biosynthesis or deposition of carotenoids may be adversely affected by poor lipid nutrition." More oily foods -- fresh seafood would be better than dried. It appears that good feed ratios of astaxanthin are about 1% - 100 mg/100 g of diet. This is for prawns, but can be applied to our crabs as well. They should have constant access to low levels of astaxanthin, or at the least, slightly higher levels of zeaxanthin.

I just compiled a list of zeaxanthin-containing foods. Refer to:

http://www.epicurean-hermit.com (Link updated by Wai)

Post by **Wai** » 20 Nov 2005, 21:41

Great find! I'll sticky this one...

hermiesrokmysox · Post by **hermiesrokmysox** » 21 Nov 2005, 03:23

i saw you post this one the CSJ too!
by the way, why are there "sticky"'s anyway?

Julia_Crab · Post by **Julia_Crab** » 21 Nov 2005, 03:53

Stickys stay at the top of a particular forum so they don't get lost in the day-to-day posts.

Post by **Wai** » 21 Nov 2005, 17:02

As Kerie explained, Stickys are made for important topics containing very useful information that everyone should read about.

hermiesrokmysox · Post by **hermiesrokmysox** » 22 Nov 2005, 10:11

o, i get it!
that's a good idea.
(sticky=sticky notes)
:D

I_love_my_hermie23 · Post by **I_love_my_hermie23** » 23 Oct 2006, 06:27

So Whats bad n whts good

Post by **Wai** » 10 Jun 2009, 17:17

Just to bump this topic, I am a bit worried that my hermit crabs don't have any astaxanthin in their diet. I'm not sure if Eris's recent colour change from his moult is a positive indication of his dietary astaxanthin levels.

I don't want to resort to raw supplements from vitamin stores, so what crab-friendly sources of astaxanthin are there?

ladybug15057 · Post by **ladybug15057** » 11 Jun 2009, 03:06

For those who would like a listing of foods where they do not need to join to view, please see:

http://www.hermitcrabcuisine.com/

Wai at one time the food listings use to be viewable by the public, but for over a year now one needs to be a member to view them.

CrabbyJo · Post by **CrabbyJo** » 11 Jun 2009, 06:35

Wai, you will notice that Julia Crab listed in her article above some of the foods rich in those substances. I wrote some down, intending to make up a mix for my crabs.
I'm going to grind up: oats, wheat, corn meal, some dried (from fresh if I can find them) mealworms (as the copepods part of the list) and some spirulina. Hopefully the crabs will like this.

I have to find a local source for the mealworms, and am not sure where to look. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

Zeaxanthin

Zeaxanthin

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