A 12-week experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of diets containing 0 (CD), 40 (X1), 80 (X2), and 120mg/kg (X3) xanthophyll on the growth, body color, and blood chemistry of the Chinese soft-shelled turtle Pelodiscus sinensis. Four hundred and eighty turtles with initial weight of 37.90±0.26g were randomly stocked equally in 12 cement ponds (4.0×5.0×0.8m) to form four groups in triplicate. The turtles were fed one of the four diets (crude protein 48%, crude lipid 6%) twice daily, with the feed amount set at 3% of their total bo...