Holy moly so many questions...
Thanks everybody.
@hermitnewbie2011:
Nobody truly knows for sure what the people that get eggs do different. It might not be anything, really. Wodesorel hypothesized that maybe we luckily have crabs that came from the same area, and annopia thinks maybe it's because we have our tanks to almost the crowding point. I really don't have my own hypothesis.
The different colors mean different ages. They turn from pink to red, back to pink, and then grey from what I saw last year. Big Mamma's were just produced that day, so were lighter, and Cat produced her's yesterday, so they darkened up. If they remain red through the month, and don't turn grey, it means they aren't fertilized.
If they're fertilized and hatched in my SW pool, I am going to try to keep them in a 20ga with SW, air stones, sponge filter, and feed them brine shrimp eggs, and do lots of water changes. I am going to try to follow what these people did to hatch coconut crabs.
http://biodiv.sinica.edu.tw/~coconutcra ... ost_a.html I don't expect to be able to raise any to adulthood (this time) since I will be going out of town in early August for two weeks. I knew if my crabs had eggs, I would not be able to be here the whole time, and my husband would have to take over (and they will be surely doomed
). I have an elderly dog back home that I think deserves more than two weeks of time with me, so my priority is to see him as much as I can, since I have a whole lifetime to attempt to raise babies.
Females are in season in early summer every year, assuming they are comfortable (or whatever) enough to breed. It takes about a month for the eggs to develop, and they are hatched in mid july-early august. But some breed outside this window, as annopia had babies already this year!
I check for eggs after the males show no more interest in the females. It means the deed is done, so they should have eggs!
@lizardlady:
That was Tammy from THCP.
I talked to her last year. Such an awesome lady!
@meldamiriel:
Yep. Sojmad did, too! She kept them alive for a bit over a couple weeks! I was out of town last time when mine hatched.
My husband took pics and washed them down the drain, because we didn't have any way to try to raise them. But I made some money with my harvestables that year, and purchased some equipment for next time.
@kip:
Yeah, I'm going to try as long as I am in town. If I have any luck, I'll have my husband take over while I am out of town for two weeks. I don't expect to succeed, but it will be fun, and a great way to learn for next time.
@Squeaky:
Only a few will make it to the last larval stage to take shells. Maybe 1% or less. If I ever get to that point, I actually have hundreds of teeny tiny "turbo" shells that I painstakingly collected from the beaches in Juneau, AK. They are actually sitka periwinkles. So I'm good on shells.
I have a whole range of sizes from smaller than a sugar ant to larger than a pea.
Woah. 
It's just so interesting...esp for someone who has only been at this for about a year! I wish you the best w/the babies 
I agree 100% w/your decision to spend time w/your dog. We have an elderly dog (12 or 13 yrs old. We're not sure since she was a rescue) that has cushings disease. It's kinda odd, but knowing "that time" is approaching seems to make you appreciate them a little more 
Who knows... 
Wanted to get an update on her eggs.
"Here you go, you know what to do with it"
