Woohooo! Two females with eggs! Update P.6! BABIES! (PPs)

[Skymall007]

I'm sorry so many died =( Probably in the wild that is normal. I imagine in a single clutch very few actually make it. You are doing a fantastic job! You should really be proud of all the work you have been doing. I think it's amazing that thus far they are still alive and eating. I can't wait to hear more. =)

[wolfnipplechips]

Wheee! I officially am like 99% sure I am seeing some molts floating around! I noticed some look a bit bigger, so I thought there had to be some molts, but I didn't see any until after I changed the water (must have stirred them up). I'll try to get pics, but no guarantees because they are like ghost versions of the babies (tail and head area, not just head like the adults), but with no dark eyeballs to help my camera focus. They are hard to see even with my eyeballs.

[wodesorel]

Yay for growing babies!!!

It would really neat if you could get molt pics, but I can't imagine trying.

It sounds like they're following the timeline of the journal papers - first zoea stage lasted 3 to 5 days. So at least there's a guideline on how long of a process it is!

[CrabbyMom33]

Wow! I wouldn't have expected them to molt this soon, but it sort of makes sense given that the smaller the crab the more frequent the molt.

[SoulLonely]

wow, that's awesome to hear about the molting So exciting!!!

[HermitHoarder]

I think sojmad got to something like 17 days before all hers died?? I think that might be a record that I know of in just a hobbyist.

I read somewhere that around 14 days you should add the tiny shells for them, then they will start to go to land? Does anyone really know how old they are before they take to shells?

[wolfnipplechips]

I think it takes about a month. Not sure. I guess today or tomorrow would be a good time for me to study up. I always study last minute.

Probably will add shells at their megalopa stage. They will be recognizable at that stage because they will have actual legs instead of feathery paddles.

[wolfnipplechips]

Just looked it up. It can take about 20-30 days for 6 larval stages (thought they had 5...), and then another 30 days in glaucothoe (same thing as megalopa, just specific to hermit crabs) form. If any survive, I'll have to build a sandbox thingy with a ramp. I have a plan involving plastic, aquarium silicone, and sand.

[wodesorel]

Two part or marine epoxy works so much better and it'll be much more textured so they'll have an easier time getting traction. I attempted the silicone and sand for the fids, and I had to redo it with the epoxy. (Which was good, because it came out just like a natural sand slope.) Washing the sand you plan on using helps a lot as well as that way you've got just sand crystals sticking to the ramp rather than the too fine dust. Plexi glass will bend with the aid of one of those long-handled tube lighters, so you can do really neat things with it!

Wolf, did you ever find out just how long they should be carrying eggs for? Hubby and my mom are bugging me constantly about when Holo will drop. I told them it's like 4 or 5 weeks. I really don't care cause I'm still on daily egg check in case I missed one, but it would be nice to give them a solid answer!

[wolfnipplechips]

You're awesome. I would have never thought to wash the sand. Where do I get epoxy? And it's aquarium-safe and everything? I'm not very knowledgeable on glue-type things. I just know I glue my fingers to stuff a lot.

It takes about 25-30 days. I think Cat was 25 days, and Big Mamma would have been about 28 if they were viable. Still bummed something went wrong with them.

[wodesorel]

What stores do you have up there? That'll help in narrowing down what you can get that's reef safe. I used a craft epoxy that is also available at some hardware stores, and a small amount is about the same cost as aquarium silicone.

The problem will be the cure time. Everything, including silicon, is going to take a few weeks to cure enough to be safe in the water. If you need something quick then honestly Locktite super glue would probably be your best bet as it's used inside (seriously, using the glue under the water) reef aquariums for gluing coral frags in place.

[wolfnipplechips]

Hardware- Home Depot, Lowes
Craft- Micheals, Joanns
Pet- Petco, some fish store run by a mean dude who thinks he is the god of fish keeping (don't make me go in there!)
Misc- Walmart

I could probably construct it this weekend if it takes that long. Otherwise, I can try to find that superglue. Will the hardware stores custom cut me some plexi? I was just going to cut some hard plastic for a ramp, but maybe plexi would be better? I'm worried about chemicals from the plastic.

[wodesorel]

Our Lowes and Home Depot will not do custom cuts on plexi anymore, but I don't know if that's a national thing. The cutters are under $5 and aren't that hard to use - clamp a solid straight edge like a drywall square or heavy metal ruler to make a straight edge and run the cutter a bunch of times along it before snapping it apart. I used whatever the cheapest form of plexi that had at the length I needed. Hard plastic should be okay but there's always the chance of weird chemicals- the land section in fid tank is a Sterilite container that's mostly bare. I wouldn't try the lighter trick on that though! Plexi here is expensive, so can only imagine what it would be like up there.

In reef keeping, what you're trying to do (and what I did for the fid tank) is known as a "faux sand bed". It's a hard, non-moving, realistic looking layer of sand mounted on something solid that can be removed and/or easily cleaned. Sand and epoxy has been used for decades safely, but like I said it can take a week or two to cure enough to be safe. In the meantime - store it outside out of the sun so that it airs out. You will get a buzz from it!

Michael's is supposed to carry the Envirotex that I used: http://eti-usa.com/envirotex-lite/
(This is where I got the original idea: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showt ... p?t=392144 )

Lowes should have: http://www.glazecoat.com/GlazeCoat.htm
Also known as being reef safe and comes highly recommended.

You won't need much if you're only doing a thin ramp - maybe 4 or 8 ounces. It will keep for years, so if you have extra it can be used on other projects. WEAR GLOVES! Paint or smear the epoxy onto the ramp, and then pour on and press in dry sand. Wait 15 minutes, and pour on more sand and press in. Wait an hour, and do the same thing. If as it cures after that it starts to look wet just keep pouring and pressing more sand on top to keep it looking like it's covered in dry sand. If you don't do this it'll be a slippery epoxy coat on top of the sand. If you do keep adding more dry sand to the top then the top layer will be a perfect layer of "normal" looking sand.

Silicone won't hold the sand in at all, meaning you just have a layer of silicone on top. (And it won't stick to plastic, either.)
This is what it looks like with silicone and sand: http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k104/ ... ofsand.jpg
And with epoxy and sand: http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k104/ ... deview.jpg Those "dry" areas are glued on tight!
I stole the lower ramp for use with any hermit babies I do get. It's the perfect size for use with the 10 gallon, and the fids never used the lower ramp anyways.

[parrothead]

Hey girls... just wanted to add/confirm two things.. Neither Lowes or Home Depot do custom cuts anymore I went through that fiasco when I made my pools. I ended up driving downtown to a custom class shop and they did it cheap. I doubt you have one Wolf since you're so close to 'Russia' hahahaha (couldn't resist the Sarah Palin joke) anywho. The other thing is that, yes, you can in fact use super glue, I use it to attach coral frags to my reef all the time. I have even used it in my crabitat. However, it MUST say 'gel' on it. I can't remember why that is but the LFS said to use 'gel' kind... Hope this helps.

[wolfnipplechips]

Thanks for your help, ladies! I appreciate it very much!

Should I do the epoxy stuff outside? (that's probably a dumb question) The problem is that it has been raining like non-stop for a week, and the only outdoor area we have is not covered. And the sun only hit's it for a few minutes at like 11pm. Of course. Could probably use a buzz at this point... The babies' one week anniversary is tomorrow!