Zoea *successful captive breeding & rearing of C. variabilis

This area is dedicated to the pioneers who have captive bred crabs, and for those who wish to learn more or attempt it themselves. Also for inquiring about the gender of your crabs.
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Nat_addicted to HC's
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Re: Zoea

Post by Nat_addicted to HC's » Sat Dec 22, 2012 9:32 pm

So after 2 weeks plus of constant activity with the zoea its reached a point where I'm just watching and waiting, nothing new to report, the megalopae are eating resting eating messing with shells resting eating & spending a fair bit of time rubbing/grooming their legs :) water changes are much easier now thank goodness, although its very sad to see the losses along the way.
it's going to be 40 degrees Celsius here today so some down time will be lovely. I have designed my version of a kreisel tank to build & a way to separate them to meta morph as they are so highly canabalistic I'm sure they will eat each other in the transition tank too! If I manage to pull off some half decent photos I will put them up :)
Natalie van Amstel

Life isn't about how you survived the storm...
it's about how you danced in the rain!

Australia's Online Land Hermit Crab Food,Treats and Accessories Store
CURRENTLY CLOSED SORRY
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Striker0086
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Re: Zoea

Post by Striker0086 » Sat Dec 22, 2012 9:37 pm

You've really taken a different approach to this. This is really amazing. I do have to say for not being prepared you are doing one heck of a job. Not many would be able to pull this off!

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aussieJJDude
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Re: Zoea

Post by aussieJJDude » Sun Dec 23, 2012 5:52 pm

Congrats!
You "have" to get pics up of the new kerisel tank!
Well at lease they are trying on shells - isn't it funny how aussies are so different compaired to oter hermies?
Congrats!
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Rocky
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Re: Zoea

Post by Rocky » Sun Dec 23, 2012 10:16 pm

Do you think some of them are nearly ready to go into the transition tank?
Love the little plants, those are perfect! :D
We're not asked to do great things, we're asked to do all things with great care.
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Careyenz
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Re: Zoea

Post by Careyenz » Mon Dec 24, 2012 10:59 am

I'd love to see some pics of them trying on shells. So sweet! You're doing great!!
Careyenz, mom to Collin-7, Lily-4, 4 Straws, 5 Blues, 2 Violas, 2 E's, 2 PP's, and 3 cats.

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Re: Zoea

Post by Nat_addicted to HC's » Tue Dec 25, 2012 9:50 pm

aussieJJDude wrote:Congrats!
You "have" to get pics up of the new kerisel tank!
Well at lease they are trying on shells - isn't it funny how aussies are so different compaired to oter hermies?
Congrats!
I have not built my kreisel yet :-/ need to get back to work & earn some $
I also need to completely change my idea of the transition tank too......
Natalie van Amstel

Life isn't about how you survived the storm...
it's about how you danced in the rain!

Australia's Online Land Hermit Crab Food,Treats and Accessories Store
CURRENTLY CLOSED SORRY
http://www.ihavecrabs.com.au

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Re: Zoea

Post by Nat_addicted to HC's » Tue Dec 25, 2012 9:54 pm

RockyGurly wrote:Do you think some of them are nearly ready to go into the transition tank?
Love the little plants, those are perfect! :D
They eat each other :( 2 left. i need to redo this transition set up, I think they need a gentle slope, they don't seem to be able to climb up the log :-/ oh this is really hard watching them die........
The little plants look good but serve no purpose.....
Natalie van Amstel

Life isn't about how you survived the storm...
it's about how you danced in the rain!

Australia's Online Land Hermit Crab Food,Treats and Accessories Store
CURRENTLY CLOSED SORRY
http://www.ihavecrabs.com.au

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Re: Zoea

Post by Nat_addicted to HC's » Tue Dec 25, 2012 10:05 pm

So failure is imminent [LOUDLY CRYING FACE]
(this time!)
Feeling quite helpless at the moment.
I made it a lot further than I thought I would.......
I know from megalopae on I need to do things different, they must be separated, they are happy to eat fish flakes, sea vegie flakes & dried krill when they are on their own. They need a totally different transition tank set up. Now I need to put what I've learnt into motion so I'm prepared next time [SLEEPY FACE]
There is 2 left right now, I'm trying......
Natalie van Amstel

Life isn't about how you survived the storm...
it's about how you danced in the rain!

Australia's Online Land Hermit Crab Food,Treats and Accessories Store
CURRENTLY CLOSED SORRY
http://www.ihavecrabs.com.au

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CrabbyMom33
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Re: Zoea

Post by CrabbyMom33 » Tue Dec 25, 2012 10:12 pm

You've done great! This is all new territory so the first attempt isn't always going to work. The key is you learned and have ideas on changes for next time.
Owner of 4 PPs

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Re: Zoea

Post by Nat_addicted to HC's » Tue Dec 25, 2012 10:15 pm

CrabbyMom33 wrote:You've done great! This is all new territory so the first attempt isn't always going to work. The key is you learned and have ideas on changes for next time.
Thank you!
My Sansei would say "failure leads to change, change leads to success"
Natalie van Amstel

Life isn't about how you survived the storm...
it's about how you danced in the rain!

Australia's Online Land Hermit Crab Food,Treats and Accessories Store
CURRENTLY CLOSED SORRY
http://www.ihavecrabs.com.au

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sandra03
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Re: Zoea

Post by sandra03 » Tue Dec 25, 2012 11:38 pm

and if even one of them makes it, it's an amazing feat. but yes if nothing else you (and all of us following the updates) have learned a lot :D
DON'T DRINK THE KOOL-AID!

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aussieJJDude
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Re: Zoea

Post by aussieJJDude » Tue Dec 25, 2012 11:45 pm

Congrats on getting this far! You just went into uncharted waters - literary!
You rock - you are still a heroine! :D
|| Avid Aquarist Addict (2007) || Crazy Crabbing Connoisseur (2012) || Amateur Aroid Admirer (2014) ||

"She’s there, she’s upright, and she’s wigged" ~ Trixie
Infrequently on due to studies

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Rocky
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Re: Zoea

Post by Rocky » Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:15 am

Every attempt, failed and successful, helps so much. It's crazy to think about how much we've learned from people giving it their all, we will all make mistakes and slowly we will learn the secret to hermit babies! Think about it, ten years ago it was believed completely impossible! We've already got more sources of food because of you :D
Don't give up! You've done so much, and it's amazing how far you made it trying out new and different methods :) Thank you!
We're not asked to do great things, we're asked to do all things with great care.
Rocky's Reptile Rescue: https://www.facebook.com/RockysReptileRescue
Stop the demand. End the trade.

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Re: Zoea

Post by Nat_addicted to HC's » Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:38 am

Ok so there is actually 3 left :shock:
& perhaps I've gone completely insane............. I've acted like a giant wave and dumped them on the sand like a retreating tide. If I left them where they were they would have died anyway :( I'm trying to think logically, there is no jar in the wild & no plastic log to crawl up just the gentle gradient of a beach, with sea weed to hide in to keep moist & out of sight, perfectly natural damp substrate/sand high temp and high humidity.
They are actually crawling about! I will be ever vigilant to make sure they do not dry out. The ones I had separated died so I am assuming these reached the point where they needed to leave the water and could not.
Here are my latest pics, hopefully it's not the last time you see these guys
Image
Image
Image
and the transition tank right now
Image
there is, salt water down low in elevation just like the layout of beach (hope this makes sense to you) higher up there is fresh water and on the way there is food, food they've been eating (tropical fish flakes and sea vegie flakes and instead of dried shrimp I've used dried blood worms as they crumble easy, the shrimp needed to soak for a while before they could pull much off of them) cuttlefish, cork bark and a tiny moss pit.
Like I said they are actually crawling about......... for now
Natalie van Amstel

Life isn't about how you survived the storm...
it's about how you danced in the rain!

Australia's Online Land Hermit Crab Food,Treats and Accessories Store
CURRENTLY CLOSED SORRY
http://www.ihavecrabs.com.au

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Rocky
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Re: Zoea

Post by Rocky » Wed Dec 26, 2012 2:48 am

Wow! That's actually a really neat idea, it makes sense :) And they might of just needed a "push" you know? It seems to be working :)
Can they get in and out of the water shells? Maybe a little needlepoint canvas might help? They're so tiny.. :shock: It'd be so hard to accomodate them.
We're not asked to do great things, we're asked to do all things with great care.
Rocky's Reptile Rescue: https://www.facebook.com/RockysReptileRescue
Stop the demand. End the trade.

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