Zoea *successful captive breeding & rearing of C. variabilis

[aussieJJDude]

I so happy for you!
I can barely stay still about aussies breeding in captivity! It is so awesome

[Rocky]

Maybe try fishing out any dead ones and placing them on black construction paper for photos? My camera would never pick up something so tiny.. let alone something tiny AND moving.
This is seriously awesome I'll be rooting for you and your babies And I'll be jealous when all the Aussies get them since you can't export them

[aussieJJDude]

LOL, I am jealous that you guys can get PP's, E's and Straws I we aussies can

[Nat_addicted to HC's]

Maybe try fishing out any dead ones and placing them on black construction paper for photos? My camera would never pick up something so tiny.. let alone something tiny AND moving.
This is seriously awesome I'll be rooting for you and your babies And I'll be jealous when all the Aussies get them since you can't export them

Great Idea! & Thank you!
Hopefully if this turns out successful then exporting shouldn't be too hard since we wouldn't be harming the wild population, certainly something to work towards of the next 5 years
AussieJJDude - we can get straws, Seen them in Queensland at a pet store online a few years back.

[aussieJJDude]

I heard Wai (from HCP) seeing some at the pet stores, but they are so rare here!
If I see straws I would give them to you, you would have a whole batch of eggs!

[wodesorel]

The time frame might be quicker than 25 days. Wolf's developed faster than what the papers stated.

So exciting!!!

[Nat_addicted to HC's]

We have megalopa! wow wow wow
I have tried so hard to get a decent shot of them for you all

& closer

Unfortunately yes they do eat each other, well they eat the undeveloped zoea, I have moved some of them to the other jar with brine shrimp eggs and tropical fish flakes and Im about to put some mixed sea vegie flakes in to see if they are happy to eat these instead of each other.

[wolfnipplechips]

Holy crapola that was fast!!

Good luck!!

[Happy Crabber]

Wooo hooooo! So excited for you!!!!!

[Nat_addicted to HC's]

Thank you!

Eeeeeek it is all happening so fast! who would of guessed Id be this close now....... not me.
Loving every second of it, that's for sure!
Ok so my plan is to get the transition tank ready today, that way I can make sure I've got it set up right in advance ie Temp & humidity, like I said I have to do it with what I already have, no more purchases unless Its something very important. I do need to get another light though. I'm trying to work out where in our home I can put it (I'm thinking in our bedroom next to my bedside table so I can watch and sleep lol).
The other really important thing I need to do (with your help) is a work out what things I need to record regarding their transition, molts etc. Can everyone please brainstorm on this as I don't want to miss something really important, this is important for the whole crabbing community to have this as a freely available reference sheet for the future.
Also I just want to add... It feels like Im cheating somehow with our variabilis having such an abbreviated aquatic stage.

[Nat_addicted to HC's]

note to self - keep all dead zoea to feed megalopa. They are eating the flakes but prefer their own.

[wodesorel]

note to self - keep all dead zoea to feed megalopa. They are eating the flakes but prefer their own.

>< Yikes. Good to know, but.. yikes.

[Rocky]

I think separating them will really increase your chances-wolf's problem was that they all ate eachother, and for some reason the 6th stage babies only lasted a day or two (good idea about the dead ones, maybe try tweezers to make them wiggle around in the water and seem more appealing to the big guys?)
Wow! This is happening so fast! I've got my hopes up seriously high for you! If you want to record things, maybe a diary would be a good idea, like what curlz did? Did you ever get to see hers? It would just document what happened on a day to day basis, what she did differently and how they were behaving. I think that would help future breeders alot, because they would know what to expect during certain stages Also keep a record of how many you had at certain times.
Speaking of which (and forgive me if it's somewhere and I just haven't noticed it) how many do you have left? How many days has it been?

[Nat_addicted to HC's]

I think separating them will really increase your chances-wolf's problem was that they all ate eachother, and for some reason the 6th stage babies only lasted a day or two (good idea about the dead ones, maybe try tweezers to make them wiggle around in the water and seem more appealing to the big guys?)
Wow! This is happening so fast! I've got my hopes up seriously high for you! If you want to record things, maybe a diary would be a good idea, like what curlz did? Did you ever get to see hers? It would just document what happened on a day to day basis, what she did differently and how they were behaving. I think that would help future breeders alot, because they would know what to expect during certain stages Also keep a record of how many you had at certain times.
Speaking of which (and forgive me if it's somewhere and I just haven't noticed it) how many do you have left? How many days has it been?

Alive - over a hundred stage 2 zoea and 9 megalopa at this stage, I have separated the megalopa, day 11
where do I find curlz diary? Now my records aren't exactly a work of brilliance as I seriously didn't expect to get this far This thread really is my record I guess. I will start a diary now

[Nat_addicted to HC's]

aha I have curlz diary saved in my google account! thought Id seen it but just wasn't sure, I've read so many papers and threads in the last 8 days