Woohooo! Two females with eggs! Update P.6! BABIES! (PPs)

[wolfnipplechips]

I got a picture of a molt! Like a really clear picture! I sort of succeeded in getting tail shots to confirm they're in stage 3, too. It seems most of them are, but they would not really cooperate with me and the camera. Got mostly side shots today. Got some semi-clear shots I can show of the tails, though. Just gotta sort through 275 pic now.

They are becoming stronger swimmers in this stage. Also, I gave them another round of spirulina because the brine shrimp seem to not be hatching as well. They ate spirrulina this time, maybe because they were just really hungry? I dunno. But I was happy to see them eat something. Those brine shrimp better start hatching better! It seems some days there are zillions, and then others, there are like 3 or 4 I can spot.

[wolfnipplechips]

Here is the molt pic. Not as clear as I thought, but hey, I got a pic...

In this one, you can see he has some spirulina in his mouth.








And watch for the tails...they have extra lobes which means they are in stage three!!












After the water change, I can see my baby numbers are starting to dwindle. There is still a lot, but just a small fraction compared to what I started out with. I just wish they could all live. I wish hermit crabs just popped out a few tiny hermit crabs like mammals do.

[Skymall007]

AMAZING PICTURES! That is so exciting that they are in stage 3!!!!! Also, I think their eyes got bigger lolz

[Crabbielover1031]

Their eyes are definitely growing together and elongating! They are adorable! I honestly do think some will make it! How many do you have left? 500? 200? How old are they now too?

[Happy Crabber]

Great pics! They just get more interesting each time!! I wouldn't worry too much about the deaths. I'm sure that is normal. I was reading a picture book to my daughter about sea turtles. It starts with the mother laying 100 eggs in the sand at the beach and then it goes through all the different things that happen to the eggs and the hatchlings, and there ends up being only 1 baby turtle at the end! Kinda dark for a kids book, but realistic.

Looks like you are doing amazing work. You should be so proud of yourself, regardless of what the final outcome is. WE ARE!!

[ceo1282]

I would love to have your camera...great shots They really have come a long way, it's amazing to see! I assume they die in large numbers in the wild as well, probably part of the reason they lay so many eggs to begin with.

[Rocky]

I assume they die in large numbers in the wild as well, probably part of the reason they lay so many eggs to begin with.

That's exactly the reason critters who lay or give birth to swarms of babies are generally the ones who expect to lose the most, like spiders, sea turtles, etc. So I really think that some will make it! I'm beyond excited for you, wolf Even if one baby makes it, it'll be a miracle, and you'll go down in crabby history Like annopias blueberry (who I think is captive bred? ) and if not, you've got years and years to try again, and you'll have more experience under your belt each time
I wonder is SojMad has seen this, I wonder if she'll be jealous if you break her record She doesn't seem the type though.

[Careyenz]

They are amazing! What stage did Sojmad get to with her babies? I'm sure you will get some to make it to land! My little boy is loving your baby crabbie pics. He's truly amazed by them. This has been such great education for us all!

[deesjebeesje]

They are so amazing, and yes there eyes are bigger :p

[wodesorel]

Wow. I'm just excited that they are eating!! That is the most important part of all of this - figuring out how we can feed them while they grow.

Heavy losses should be expected with that many young. It may very well be that we would need a kiddie pool and either constant water changes or a fully cycled and ready place for them to be when they're laid for all of them to make it. More kinks to work out down the road, but you are so amazing for what you are doing!!

Do you have an estimate of how many are left, and how many haven't been making it through the molting stages? Do you think it's molting trouble?

[wolfnipplechips]

I'd say there are 250-350-ish swimmers?? It's really hard to tell. Around molting time so far, that's when I lose a whole bunch of them, so I'm betting it's a hard process just like for the adults. Normal daily losses (dead+dying) are around 50, and based on the past two molting episodes, there is a three day period where it looks like I loose (dead+dying) 100+ per day, but it might take them a couple days to die because while they are dying they still follow the light, so they don't get sucked up during water changes.

Lately I've had seemingly "healthy" swimmers NOT follow the light, and it makes me so mad because I have to do bucket checks that take about 15 minutes rescuing healthy babies that got siphoned out. I know my husband won't do that on his own. I keep telling him, "they could be the next Godzilla!"

I'm going to make the sandbox ramp today I think. The sun came out today, but they were supposed to pave the apt parking lots, so I didn't want to do it today. Turns out the pavers never showed up (the manager was very angry), so I am going to go for it after their water change.

I think I am also going to start hatching my brine shrimp outside the tank. The water just started to smell too funky during water changes, so I decided the less organics I put in there, the better. It's just more of a hassle hatching them externally because I don't have an air pump to spare (adult crabs will be without a bubbly fresh water pool for a while), and I am very clumsy when it comes to open containers of water sitting out! I spill them every time!

[Shivering Isles]

Wow! Incredible pictures, as always! This is truly amazing!

[wodesorel]

Remember how I said you probably wouldn't need to add iodide? If you're loosing that many during molts it would be a good idea to start using it. In shrimp and other closely related organisms it's usually a lack of iodine (witch the iodide provides safely) which causes molt issues.

I'm also trying to come up with alternatives that would be inexpensive and mimic larval rearing set-ups for shrimp and lobsters. What I'm thinking is using a thick (4 to 6 inch) PVC tube that is glued to the bottom of the tank and is a few inches shorter than the surface of the water. Then use a foam or micro-sized filter ring at the top so that it prevents larva from getting in to the tube but still allows water to flow inside. Inside the tube use a submersible pump and a tube that pushes the water up and out, and a heater would fit in there as well to prevent burns. Water changes could also be done from inside the tube so that there's no risk of removing the larvae.

Or, making one of these: http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f6/bi ... 70135.html

[wolfnipplechips]

That's fancy! I can't wait for your babies!! (crosses every finger and toe you'll get some good ones) Quite an ingenious idea, too. I love learning stuff about aquariums. It's like a whole new world to me. So many smart things.

I'll bring up iodide purchase with my husband when his tummy is full. He'll probably be more open to it then. Can I find it at petco? Is it like...a liquid? Sorry if you already said this. My memory is pretty bad.

[wodesorel]

http://www.petco.com/product/4540/Kent- ... ement.aspx

If we even can. I'll definitely try with what I have so far, but I'm not sure if we can get something new set up for this summer. You guys are busting your butt and scraping together whatever you can to do it, and it's an inspiration to us to try and do the same. It's a bit hard with two kitties with serious health problems, which of course was completely unplanned. It always is unplanned, but so were hermit babies. (Ned is hanging in there and is recovering somewhat, but whatever is causing his white blood cell hike - either cancer or an infection - isn't going to go away and he'll need treatment for the rest of his days. And Clio has been on organ anti-rejection drugs for a week and still isn't showing any improvement with her breathing. Sigh. Oh, and fleas. We thought we licked them this spring, but they are back with a vengeance. Sigh. Our flea budget would have covered the hermit baby costs!)