My crab is in labor...

Nicole · Post by **Nicole** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 3:59 pm

Ocean was my first 'pregnant' crab this year; she should drop her eggs by tomorrow or the next day at the latest. You can see the grey mass of eggs on her lefthand side.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 4:36 pm

Congratulations! Thats pretty cool, your crabs must be pretty happy if they get that far in their repro cycle. How big are the girls usually at this point, or does it not matter? And where do they drop them in your tank? Dont they scatter them in the sea for hatching?

gsgirl19(: · Post by **gsgirl19(:** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:59 pm

congrats! that is very exciting

Frostfire · Post by **Frostfire** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 3:22 am

Have you decided if you'll attempt keeping the eggs? Or are you going to skip the drawn out heart break...

Shelly · Post by **Shelly** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 4:05 am

awwwww,you've been having pregnant hermies for a couple years now right?

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:26 am

I believe the females have to be about golf ball size or a little larger before they can start producing eggs.It was either Nicole or CA who posted about the same thing this time last year and decided to keep the eggs but couldn't keep them alive for very long....

Mayhelie · Post by **Mayhelie** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:07 am

How cool! I think I have all males XD so neat!Would setting up a tank like you would for hatching brine shrimp work for the crabs eggs? Just curious...

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:57 am

No not that I know of as the zoea require the phyto-nutrients found in the ocean to eat on and survive and there are not many crabbers who could replicate this in an indoor setup which means it's unlikely that we could do it.I think Tammy at the Hermit Crab Patch has started an indoor program for this but I haven't heard any more info about it since last summer.

Mr. Crab's mom · Post by **Mr. Crab's mom** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:21 am

I read that Tammy got close but still haven't succeeded in keeping them alive. As far as I know Tammy has gotten the closest to keeping them alive the longest.

KittyCaller · Post by **KittyCaller** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:22 am

I think that if someone with extensive marine tank experience teamed up with a good crabber, it would be possible.

dylan644 · Post by **dylan644** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:46 pm

It's gotta be possible, just haven't got there yet.

Nicole · Post by **Nicole** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 3:07 pm

She still hasn't dropped the eggs that I can see, but sometimes it takes a while. I wish I lived near the Florida Keys so I could just toss the eggs in the warm water and give them a fighting chance, but I simply don't have the resources here to care for them. Plus with all eight females gravid there would be a whole lot of baby crabs to tend to. It's sad, though. They either lay them right in the sand or in the salt water dish. This is my third summer having crabs with eggs (and my eighth year of crabbing); it started about when they hit golf ball-sized so I figure they are in their teenage years now.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 3:23 pm

I agree with you KC but finding someone with the tech, time and knowhow would be hard but it would be a worthwhile venture.I've read that there were two Marine Biologists who started a captive breeding program somewhere in the Caribbean I believe and they were graduates from Florida State who said that they want to find a way to breed hermit crabs in captivity and keep the eggs alive through their full cycle so that they could obtain ultra micros but the program was dropped back in 06 due to their inability to get grants to fund the project. This was in an article I found while at the Daytona Beach Turtle Rescue last year on vacation.The article was titled along the lines of Natural supply drying up what to do?Local publication only and I couldn't find it online when I got back just a bunch of pics and info about the inter-tidal hermit crabs on the Gulf Coast during the oil spill crisis.The publication may have been pulled by the college because I haven't been able to locate it doing a Daytona Beach specific search either.One of the interesting things the article made mention of is that in the past females that were laden with eggs were excluded during the harvesting process in an effort to keep the cycle going so that a large supply would always be available but in the recent years that policy has stopped and even the previously excluded crabs are being harvested to the detriment of the species.The number of adult females dropped about ten percent over the last ten years due to regional issues and because the available ones are being taken now the populations are growing ever slimmer.I was shocked by the article to say the least and wanted to share it in it's entirety with you all but I haven't had any luck finding it and now with the sudden emergence of E's everywhere I'm beginning to think there was some truth to the story because it's as if pp's who were once the only available species are starting to get rarer to find and the once elusive e is popping up every where.hmmmm

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 4:57 pm

What an interesting project! Especially if the wild population is starting to suffer. I wonder, could you be successful with an in door setup if you don't live near the keys? Our home would seem a good candidate for the experiment. We have over a thousand gallons of marine water in our system, including several overflows etc. One tank has very few animals in it and is used to grow plant life for the other tanks. They are all incorporated so everyone gets the same water chemistry and nutrient load. (Reef tanks are my husbands passion, that is why we named our daughter Coral ) Our "nursery" tank would be such a nice safe little crab nursery too. Anyway, intriguing idea.Carrie

dylan644 · Post by **dylan644** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:01 pm

All I have to say about this is that it isn't good. A way to be able to get hermit crabs to be able to breed from captivity has to become a posibility. I hope that Tammy will be able to finaly be able to breed hermit crabs. And I agree with Crabber85. It is odd that E's are popping up everywhere *from what we are hearing*........