Mithrax Repro F

FAQs about Emerald Green, Mithrax/Mithraculus Crabs: Reproduction

Related Articles: Mithrax Crabs, Arrow Crabs, Crabs,

FAQs on: Emerald Green Crabs 1, Emerald Green Crabs 2,
FAQs on: Mithrax ID, Mithrax Behavior, Mithrax Compatibility, Mithrax Stocking/Selection, Mithrax Systems, Mithrax Feeding, Mithrax Disease,

LTA wound pic + bonus, Decapod spawn release 6/27/09
Hi Bob,
<D-ster!>
Once the lights went out I was able to get a shot of the injury I mentioned in my previous email.
<Good pic>
While I was at it I saw this too. Holy Stomatopod banquet Batman! Is that an M. sculptus spawning?
<Appears so>
It was standing there like that for about 10 minutes, shakin' its booty. If so, can I expect lotsa little crabs?
<Mmm, highly doubtful... may not be fertile, and even is so, the young going through instars/developmental phases aren't likely to survive recirculation, the skimmer... and what to eat?>
By the way, the mantis lives in a small hole just below the crab's leftmost foot - it didn't seem interested. There was a note on the hole that read, "out for lunch."
<Me too>
D
PS - I've got a 6-pack of Tiger here for you the next time you're passing through Kuala Lumpur. Shoot me an email.
<Dang! I was supposed to be there till 6/21... another story, time>
PPS - I hope approx. 200K is not too big a pic for your inbox.
Apologies if so, I wanted to sent fairly resolved images.
<No worries Darryl. G'night mate. BobF>

Emerald Crab Spawning Event 5/7/07 I happened to see one of my emerald crabs releasing a large number of tiny little white "things." I'm thinking they were eggs but I've never seen this before. All of the fish were gathered around and wildly eating them as the crab released them. Were these actually eggs? Is that normal for the crab to release them that way? <Yes sounds like a spawning event, a good natural food source for your aquariums denizens, enjoy.> TCP <Adam J.>

Emerald crab larvae feeding 7/25/04 Hi, excellent web page - I read it very often... <Thanks! Good to hear!> I have noticed one of my 4 emerald crabs releasing larvae yesterday 1:00am night and I have collected some of them for further observation... I have no idea how to feed them so I would ask for your advice... Is it now more than 30 hours from the hatching moment and they are alive and kicking. <Many larval organisms feed on phytoplankton and then zooplankton (rotifers can be a fine substitute). Many have very specific requirements.> So far I tried dropping some "Coral & Clam Diet" (semi-live phytoplankton concentrate from Mariculture.com) I gave them a little of live rotifers and some of freshly hatched Artemia. <I suspect the Rotifers and BBS are too large at this point, and there is no way to be sure that they will feed on phyto.> I do not see any feeding under my 10x magnifier glass. Looks like the algae is to small particles and rotifers are too big, - not even mentioning Artemia nauplii... Any ideas how to feed them? Any hope they might benefit from the phytoplankton mixture? Any idea when to expect first molting and how many molts they go through 1st week? I looked into breeders registry but could not find any breeding reports for this crab... Do you have any experience? Greetings from very hot Chicago, Przemek <I have not heard of anyone breeding this crab. There are manuals for breeding and rearing Lysmata shrimp, and some of the techniques may be transferable. Keep in mind that some larval organisms live on their yolk sac and don't feed for some time. I am sorry for not having better info, and good luck with your pursuit! In the mean time, be grateful for the free coral food! Best Regards. AdamC.>
Emerald Crab Larvae Unfortunately all larvae are dead. <So sorry to hear this.> I came from work about 6pm 7/23rd and saw them all dead. Last time I saw them alive and kicking was 1:00 am 7/23 - then I fed them with some drops of algae. The same morning, around 8:00 am I added other drops of algae and rushed to work little late without paying close attention to their health. There were rotifers and Artemia still alive in the container. <Really too big for the larvae at this point in their development I think.> Also, ammonia was almost not detectable, <If there was any ammonia at all it was too much for larvae.> no nitrites so I would say not the pollution was the fatal factor here. <Larvae are so delicate that you need to have pretty much pristine tanks with no signs of anything.> Since I have not seen them eat any food I have provided, (algae concentrate, rotifers L, Artemia nauplii) I would assume they all starved. <Very possibly. I would think they would need nutrients similar to that raised in green waters.> No idea what could be good diet for them - I would guess shellfish algal diet was sufficient but it looks like it was not... <I think what you tried to feed them was too large. I believe what they would begin to eat would be very very tiny foods. I know people producing some in refugiums. And other people that are raising several types of green water and cultivating things like DT's to get tiny foods.> Other explanation would be that I feed too little algae and after introducing live zoo-plankton concentration of algae decreased even more... Maybe rotifers/Artemia have eaten all algae crab larvae supposed to eat? <Definitely a possibility. But the big thing is that the rotifers and Artemia are just too large at this point in their development.> Next time I will have a chance to breed them I will hold with zooplankton until I will see some progress in larvae development fed on algae concentrate only. <You might talk to some of the companies developing these larval foods to see what's the smallest food you can find.> Any other thoughts/suggestions? <I may have missed it but what type of container did you put them into? I'm thinking that something that keeps the water moving gently would help them greatly. Just a thought, MacL>

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