)The entire PP tank has been agitated for weeks now - lots of "chasing" each other around, and fighting, and generally being cranky and worked up. Now I know why.
I think the secret as to why this year they are mating and last year they didn't is the excess heat (it's 90 in there today, where they were mating) and the extra humidity from the peat moss substrate. I am very shocked that I have one crab with eggs already and yet they are still mating now. The crab in the diamond cut shell is Mighty Man, who came home last summer. The crab underneath him is a female although I don't know for sure who she is. You can see NINE other males trying to get in there to have a chance with her!
I didn't take any still pictures as I would have had to use the flash and I didn't want to disturb them. They didn't seem concerned about me filming, which was great.
I was a little afraid that being too close would interfere, but it didn't seem to. This all took place on the top left platform, under the fern:
Descriptions of the vids are on youtube. 1 and 3 are long.
Video 1 - The Warm Up
Video 2 - The Actual Act
Video 3 - Post-Copulatory Guarding
I checked her a little bit ago (without removing her from the tank, so no photos yet) and she hung right out of her shell for me and she does have a huge mass of fresh bright-orange eggs!!!!
