Horseshoe crab, leave at the beach  8/9/09
Hello,
<Hi>
I have questions because of a very stupid situation, as probably evidenced by the title, that I need to resolve.
<Ok>
Recently my family brought home a live horseshoe crab this past Friday (along with about a dozen horseshoe crabs which died upon the touch of chlorinated water-- the horseshoe crab I managed to get some spring water for which I added salt).
<They are very sensitive to water chemistry, unless the salt levels are at the appropriate level, 35PPM, pH, and composition (marine salt not table salt) then they will quickly die.>
He is literally surviving in a clear plastic storage tub over this weekend, and we attempted to dump some sardine in there and now a piece of chicken, as well as one of the dead hermit crabs.
<I would not try to feed him, more likely to just foul the water.>
There is no sand of which to speak and I have changed the water twice since then. We are hoping to get him back to the beach today but we are wondering if we will end up shocking the crab, as many marine animals get easily shocked by temperature changes.
<Getting him back to the beach is his best and probably only chance, a difficult species to keep even or dedicated hobbyists.>
I've put the crab out on the fire escape in the hope that the water will more closely match the outside (I realize this is unrealistic but I still feel it's better than my guesswork).
<Temperature is probably the least of his concerns to be honest.>
Since I am assuming he ate neither the sardine or the chicken, we are also wondering how long he can go without food, and have we inadvertently debilitated him too long to survive upon his return.
<He can go several days at least without food, best to just get him back to the ocean as quickly as possible.>
Regards,
Joseph
<Chris>
Re: Horseshoe crab, 8/10/09
Thank you very much for your advice. He was returned today, and very quickly burrowed himself into the sand of the wet shore, which I assume means he is healthy enough to recover speedily.
<A good sign.>
<Chris>

Horseshoe crab; taxidermy - 01/26/09
 My granddaughter found a horseshoe crap <crab> fully intact on the beach at Clearwater FL..she would like to be able to preserve it for a school project..she would like to be able to keep it intact but is afraid it is going to start to smell...is there anything we can do to prevent that from happening... any help would be greatly appreciated..thank you!! Cheri
<The horse shoe crabs I have prepared myself were more than 250 million years old, I used hammer and chisel. But, I have also tried to preserve dead aquarium crabs. On large crabs it is useful to cut the body open, remove the internal organs in order to avoid smell, stuff them with some man-made fibre wool that does not rot. Smaller crabs can be dried on a radiator as a whole without much smell. Another method to avoid smell is injecting 50% denatured alcohol and 50% dry preservative with a syringe prior to drying. Parts falling off during the drying process like legs have to be clued, e.g. with epoxy glue. After the drying process the specimens can be protected by clear lacquer, but only airbrush or other paint applied prior to the lacquer will keep them colored for many years. A internet search for "taxidermy crab technique" will bring up more ideas, there are actually many ways to do that, some easier, some for professionals, some incorporating more toxic substances like formalin. Cheers, Marco.> 

About Horseshoe Crabs  12/11/08
I understand that they need a large environment to survive, however my question is about the possibility of raising them in an aquarium to be released back into the oceans, and whether this would in some small way help populations.
<Mmm... not wanting to encourage this sort of well-intentioned activity... Such efforts are not only almost always unsuccessful (the animals aren't "well-adapted" to wild living conditions, the root problems with the environment aren't solved thereby... And the hypocrisy of using other resources to favor some other species... Better to advocate longer term real fixes... Like our species getting out of the death business (more than a quarter of collective GDP is spent/wasted on "defense") and improving the life still here... including urging other humans not to reproduce... Really>
I realize that they lay thousands upon thousands of eggs, but due to their rapid declines in numbers it would seem logical to assume that if many could be kept from predation, raised to a suitable size for survival, and then released, it could help their numbers. So here are the questions:
1. How large would a H.S.C. need to be to have a good chance of surviving (or how old/many moltings)?
<... this information is available on the Net>
2. Would it be best to release them in warmer weather, and on beaches to avoid temperature shock?
<It would likely be illegal to introduce any cultured animal thus... Please, don't do this>
3. Out of the four surviving species are any capable of survival in salinity deprived conditions (freshwater) or in Salt Lakes (such as the famous Salt Lake in Utah)?
<Not as far as I'm aware... and again... not only is this an extremely poor idea in terms of likely success, ethos, but also likely criminal... Release NOTHING cultured or non-indigenous to ANY environment>
4. Are any found on the West Coast of the United States - as I have yet to find any material mentioning whether they are off the coast of California to Washington, and only one species is mentioned as being around the United State's East Coast and Gulf Coasts.
<None on the west coast>
5. If any are on the West Coast would it be Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda, rather than the listed species of Limulus polyphemus in the Atlantic and Gulf - and if none are, could they be introduced to possibly help the other Horseshoe Crab species since they are already in the Pacific (same would apply for both Tachypleus tridentatus and Tachypleus gigas)?
<Please...>
Sorry for the many questions, but for years I have been fascinated with what is likely the oldest species living on the planet,
<Not the oldest species...>
unchanged and living since the rise of the Synapsids some 300 or more million years ago.
Thanks!
<I do want to encourage you to further consider, re-direct your efforts... What can we do to preserve what is here? Bob Fenner>

How to preserve a Horseshoe Crab – 7/14/08
<Hi Bill>
Please let me know.
<If it’s a clean and dry shell, I’d spray it with a few coats of clear Polyurethane (or similar lacquer-type product) in the sheen/finish of your choice. Just make sure you get the non-yellowing variety. If the crab still has soft tissue and is starting to decompose (as in extreme pew), I’d find the nearest anthill and let the ants do the job. If you don’t have an anthill nearby, just taking the carcass out into the backyard should be enough to bring in every ant, bug, and fly within a three mile radius. Together they should make fairly quick work of the crab. Unfortunately, the smell may also attract any number of varmints (domestic and otherwise), so keep that in mind. Another alternative method that I’ve heard people use involves burying the carcass and letting whatever assorted life forms/bugs that are in the soil do the job (but it could take a while). Either way, once all the tissue is gone, I’d scrape/clean out the shell, let it dry completely, then spray it. I really have my fingers crossed for you that what you have is an already clean shell!>
Bill Hurley
<Take care and good luck! -Lynn>