Artemis, Day 14 carrying eggs

[mlakers]

Day Twenty-six, Attempt #2

One of the megalopas died overnight--it was the one that was looking sluggish yesterday. So we're down to only two hardy survivors now. I'm still feeding and changing 30% of the water every three hours. We'll just keep going as long as we can and hope for the best.

My main goal at this point is just to make progress, learn more, and get closer each time I try, and I feel good about this attempt. I learned how to save discarded eggs from the sand and revive them, how best to arrange my setup if I have to be gone for a few days, and I've already gotten more to megalopa stage this time around, (starting with only 200 zoeae) than I did the first time around when I had more than 4,000 to start with. So I'm hopeful that some day it WILL work.

(And I'll keep doing everything for these two, for as long as I can, still hoping to make it work this time.)

[Renroc]

That’s exactly what happened to me. Better success with less. Great attitude to have.


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[mlakers]

Day Twenty-seven, Attempt #2

I'm down to one now. I didn't see it happen, but I'm pretty sure the one that died was eaten by his sibling. He was fine for the first two morning water changes, but by the third, he was only a head. Whether he died and then got eaten, or died as a result of being eaten, I can't determine, but he wasn't acting sluggish or any different, and the survivor had a full, dark belly.

Who knows what will happen to the final one, but we'll see how far we get.

[Renroc]

Had the same sort of thing happen in my adults. Never been any aggression or violence in 5 years. Momma crab has babies..... 3 days later I find her on her back out of the shell being eaten by one of the others.... No idea if she was killed or if she died and then was eaten. Not much damage had been done by the crab eating her. I rescued her just in case she wasn't dead but sadly she was. Took some photos for science as she was stretched right out and you could see bits that are not readily visible. Then put her in with the garlic plants in my herb garden as fertiliser

[mlakers]

Had the same sort of thing happen in my adults. Never been any aggression or violence in 5 years. Momma crab has babies..... 3 days later I find her on her back out of the shell being eaten by one of the others.... No idea if she was killed or if she died and then was eaten. Not much damage had been done by the crab eating her. I rescued her just in case she wasn't dead but sadly she was. Took some photos for science as she was stretched right out and you could see bits that are not readily visible. Then put her in with the garlic plants in my herb garden as fertiliser

Wow! That must have been quite a shock! I'm thinking I read that this happened to someone else after a female had eggs. Maybe the eggs smell like a snack, similar to the exo. I know when my one female in the first group threw them out of her shell, she was surrounded by crabs waiting to help "clean them up."

[mlakers]

Day Twenty-eight, Attempt #2

https://youtu.be/_IS2El6Pfcw

Here's a slo-mo video I took of the lone survivor. All alone, but still kicking. Oh, and as of today, I have now officially gotten farther in this attempt in terms of the number of days of survival (since hatching) than I did during my last attempt. So that's something.

[wolfnipplechips]

Go little dude, go!

Very exciting you got this far! Good work!

[Renroc]

Ok how do you put video on you tube? I’ve got some of my babies currently and don’t want it to vanish like the earlier stuff has done


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[mlakers]

Ok how do you put video on you tube? I’ve got some of my babies currently and don’t want it to vanish like the earlier stuff has done

Sorry, renroc. I was off most of the weekend except for posting. But I saw you figured it out! Your babies are SO adorable!! They inspire me with their little twiddling antennae.

[mlakers]

Go little dude, go!

Very exciting you got this far! Good work!

Thank you! Fingers are crossed for the one little survivor.

[mlakers]

Day 29, Attempt #2

Lone little guy is still alive. He's got some weird little white places on his tail and claws...maybe exo clinging on? I hope that's all it is. He keeps acting like he's cleaning it off. I just hope it isn't a parasite (like ich, in freshwater fish)--the water has been getting cooler overnight now that my house is going down to 62 after midnight. It's still only a few degrees lower in the tank--like 82 or 83, but I have no way of knowing how sensitive these guys are. The open ocean doesn't really change temperature from night to day so it may be an issue.

I thought this was one of the ones already at stage six, but it may have been the one survivor that I found in the hexagonal tank that was behind a stage or two. Hermit crab babies are even harder to tell apart than adults!

I'm still doing a 30% water change every three hours (except overnight, when I let it go for six or seven, depending on how late I sleep) and I've started feeding washed frozen brine shrimp at every change (and removing the old). I change out the jar and clean the bottom shells every day, around mid day, but keep 50% of the old water so it isn't a shock when I move him. I've also put a floating plant in, which he really seems to like. He's grabbing onto it now to stay suspended in the water column but not get thrashed around by the bubbler, which seems to be a good thing at this sensitive stage. The shells are also in there. Hard to tell if there's been any interest in them or not. He's even harder to see/find now that there are objects in the jar, too.

I have to be away over the weekend, so I'm really hoping he's taken a shell by then if he's still alive, but I've been working on a plan if not.

[GotButterflies]

Can't wait to hear how the little guy is doing!!!

[Renroc]

Maybe try dropping the airflow back a bit to give him a chance to investigate the shells


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[mlakers]

Day Thirty, Attempt #2

Sadly, this second attempt is now over, too. The last one died last night.

Both times, I lost the last stragglers around day 28-29, so that's where I will need to focus on changes for my future attempts. I'm still processing my disappointment, so I'm not ready yet for a crabby CSI session about what I did wrong, but I'll get there.

The strangest thing about this loss is how invisible it is to the rest of the world. Or insignificant. But then no one really knows the countless hours and hundreds of dollars and late nights of worry. Even my husband, who has dealt with the emotional and physical fallout doesn't quite get it. But as a crab lover, I guess I should be used to my obsessions being odd to the rest of the world.

Anyway, thanks for all your support, everyone. It's been much appreciated having a place to share and be understood.

[GotButterflies]

Mary - you have done AMAZING!!! Look at how far you have made it!!! You should be proud of yourself!!! I know it is disappointing, but you are doing something us humans just haven't figured out quite yet. Kudos to you for all of your hard work and dedication!!! Your crabbies are lucky to have a dedicated caretaker HUGS!!! We understand how you feel!!!