The chitin and astaxanthin recoveries by lactic acid fermentation of shrimp wastes (Litopenaeus sp) were conducted in bed-column reactors at 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45°C. The response surface methodology showed that the fermentations carried out in the 27–36°C temperature range with lactic acid above 0.319mmol/g resulted in the highest demineralization. The maximal deproteinizations were attained from 30 to 40°C. The extraction of free-astaxanthin did not present significant differences between 20 and 35°C and the proportion of cis-stereoisomer forms increased with temperature. The growth rates of Lactobacillus plantarum were estimated in the 15–45°C range and analyzed by Arrhenius and square root models. The cardinal values were 3.94 and 51.7°C for minimum and maximum temperatures, respectively, with activation energy of 43.38Jmol⁻¹.