I think I just saw my crabs doin' the dirty! BABIES!!!

[IBlab crab]

Nice variety of tiny shells. What kind of crab is (was) that? Sharp nails.

[SoulLonely]

OMG!!! was it still alive when the shells arrived?????????

[wolfnipplechips]

It's some kind of marine hermit crab. And no, it was long dead. I put him on my shelf so that he can live with me forever. I felt so bad for him.

[wolfnipplechips]

I just peeked at the eggs! They are tan-ish and they have a black dot on each of them. Maybe I can get a photo later today or tomorrow.

[SoulLonely]

It's some kind of marine hermit crab. And no, it was long dead. I put him on my shelf so that he can live with me forever. I felt so bad for him.

aw, that's definitely sad!

and kool you can see a black dot in the eggs! fun!

[wolfnipplechips]

Got a photo of the eggs. Sorry it's kind of out of focus, but she would NOT come out any further than this. You can see the little black dots!! And they are obviously lighter colored!!

[Kristy]

wow how kewl! i can see the little dots and the eggs have def changed colors! good luck!

[SoulLonely]

man, she need to shave her legs..... j/k! hehhe I couldn't resist

[wodesorel]

Wolf - the above ground area I was talking about would be something like an above-ground turtle topper. These are obviously for turtles, but imagine if you were to move the basking area and the doorway up so that there could be 4 or 5 inches of sand, and replace the ramp with something that reached to the bottom of the tank.
http://www.turtletimes.com/forums/topic ... ral-setup/
http://www.turtletimes.com/forums/topic ... area-pics/

I was thinking something like a deep sterilite container that could be filled with moist sand and placed on top of the tank (using the sides of the tank for support), with a doorway cut on the side that faces the water, and a ramp made of a skinny long sterilite container with the short ends cut off. (Siliconed and sanded on the bottom.) They wouldn't be able to climb the plastic of the ramp or container so no worries of them falling. I just thought that may be safer than trying to silicone in a divider in the actual tank between water and sand as so many people have developed leaks by doing this. A flood with little babies would be devastating, and it would be impossible to find them to safely move them.

Or you could try to find one of these used, as they are wicked expensive (but would be perfect!):
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/Entry ... lzZSI7fQ==

I can't believe the eggs have eyes already! It's so wonderful and yet so sad.

[wolfnipplechips]

Ahhhhh! Thanks for clearing that up. The photos on the links really helped. I bet I could find a perfect container at the store.

I also like those turtle tubs! I saw petco has them for $76 online (free shipping right now). I am a bit worried about chemicals from the plastic going into the water, though. Would glass be safer? Or would the filter work on that kind of stuff? I wouldn't buy the kit, so I would still get a sponge filter.

[Disgruntled Crab]

Is their any how to do the hatch lings or what not? Im kind of curious

[wodesorel]

It's supposed to be a safe plastic. I can definitely understand wanting to be careful though! Adding carbon to the filter (if possible) will remove a lot of free chemicals in the water, but the carbon has to be replaced every few days to work properly. (I've heard between 3 and 5 days.)

At least two of my new fiddler crabs have eggs, and hubby immediately wanted me to try hatching them out. They're free-floating zoea for over two months, and require changing levels of salinity through the process, but are otherwise just like raising hermit babies. (Though much smaller at first, requiring rotifers for food.) I showed him this thread and he got kind of down but agreed that we just couldn't do it right now either.

[wolfnipplechips]

Wow! Her eggs are really changing quickly!! I leave for Juneau in 4 days, though.

[Gab33]

Those pictures are really cool!

Shame on the bad timing, though. Maybe it'll happen again?

[wodesorel]

Before I forget again - have a safe trip! I hope everything goes well.