Crab ID please.

[peasofme]

blue crabs are awesome. they can swim. they swim to catch fish. i had one from the asian fish market. it only lasted a month. you're lucky to have one that actually has a chance at survival. they are sort of brackish i think.

 

[jerseypete]

Just got up at 4 and hes waiting for his krill. dont know why its not letting me post pic at the moment. But hes prob. 3-3.5 in right now

 

[jerseypete]

Here is the pics from earlier

 

[Betta132]

Ooh, he's getting pretty!
They don't get all that active, from what I've seen. Does he move around much?

 

[jerseypete]

Hes out at 4am when i get up. Most of the time hes behind a rock in my fuge. When i lower a krill in the tank he attacks it. Put it on a skewer. But most of the time when im home the fuge lights are off. So i feed him every morning when i get up. ran out of krill the other day and i fed him mysis feast out of a pipette. Was like a baby with a bottle. LOL

 

[Betta132]

Good, sounds like you have an inactive one who can live in there for a while.

 

[jerseypete]

Well he digs himself in the sand now. He jumps out and attacks when i put a krill in. Kinda neat to watch. Now i know why i find my mangroves floating all the time.

 

[sam.basye]

How much bigger has he gotten??

Looks like he has turned more of a green than blue.

 

[jerseypete]

Hes gotten a little bigger. Hes close to maybe 4 in. He seems a pale greenish color. But his legs are orange /blue.. his shell seems thicker. But watching him dig in is cool. It takes him like 2 sec and hes buried with just the eyes sticking out.

 

[MBK]

Just read this thread. Very irresponsible to release it. If it really is the crab you think it is and there are thousands already there you are not helping the species survive but could be endangering it. If it does have some disease it could spread exponentially through the existing crab population which has not been exposed (no the fact that your fish are not sick does not mean another crab could not get sick from it - different pathogens for different species). Not worth the risk.

 

[jerseypete]

Just so everybody can stop with the comments about releasing him. Hes not going anywhere. But he is getting to big for my fuge. And now he is burying himself in the sand. The sand bed is 6in deep. Hes digging up my mangroves daily. Starting a sand storm daily. I have 2 lfs that i deal with. Both said no to taking him. I didnt catch this thing and put him in my tank. The first time i saw him he was tiny and transparent. Didnt know what kind of crab he was. Would have got rid of him then. He has kinda grown on me. But i cant keep him. Now even more so. When he digs himself in sand goes everywhere. My fuge feeds my sump right next to return pump. I know ill be getting sand in there also. Im just going to have to put him down when the time comes. So if anybody in new jersey would like him your more than welcome to pick him up.

 

[sam.basye]

Very neat! Almost an emerald color. It's cool how the swim back into the sand.

 

[peasofme]

just set up a 10 gallon for him. i do hope someone takes him.

 

[jerseypete]

Would love to set up another but i cant. I have 2 already. Reef and planted tank. Also have a tank for culturing pods. hardly have time to take care of them.

 

[jerseypete]

This is amazing how they molt and keep their shell intact

 

[Betta132]

Cool!
You can dry that shell and keep it, it won't stink or anything. Be careful with the crab, it's going to be very soft for at least a day. I do suggest lightly touching its back, though, soft-shell crabs feel really weird. It can't pinch you, it's all soft and mooshy.

 

[jerseypete]

This is about the 5th time he molted but the first time i got the shell intact. Must have just molted when i seen this. He didnt eat the 2 days prior. He just pushed the shrimp away. Didnt eat today either. I bet tomorrow morning he'll be waiting at the glass for somthing.