Arrow Crab Sex

[chloenh]

Is anybody able to offer any advice on sexing arrow crabs to be male or female? And has anyone had any success breeding them?

 

[Lev F.]

Arrow Crabs in general are difficult to sex. The females are larger than the males. Breeding them is difficult because their larval stage is long and they apparently use lunar cues to settle.

 

[spawner]

Lunar cues, what? They are majids, all majids have 2 zoea stages and one meglapoa. Not that easy to rear, but only about a 10 day larval stage.

Very easy to sex, as with almost every crab, rounded abdomens that are wide are females, and narrow abdomens that make a triangle at the tip are males. I've had a pair or two from time to time.

Do a google image search on blue crabs male and females you find tons of photos giving you the general morphology of a crabs abdomen.

 

[Lev F.]

I am such an idiot! I was thinking about Lysmata Shrimps. i'm trying to breed those right now and can't seem to think of anything else. Sorry for my misinformation.