Porcelain crab spawning

[DaJMasta]

Will start a breeding thread if I can keep the larvae, but until then, the event:

Had a camera setup in the tank to see if I could catch the mandarins spawning (they did 3 days in a row, then not for several...), and almost immediately I saw one of the bigger porcelain crabs on the top of the rocks, ready to release its larvae.

I collected them in a strainer by waiting for them to come towards a flashlight and then scooping them up in a cup, and for the first half an hour or so, their spike is still soft, like a noodle.

 

These ones are twice as long as the little ones I had collected earlier (these are almost an inch long!), and I put them in a kreisel to attempt to keep them alive.  I don't know if they're bigger because the mother crab is a big one or because they're a different species.

[roni]

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

[lynn.reef.nerd]

Very awesome. 

[Salty Rambler]

The footage of the larvae was awesome.  Thanks for sharing.  Good luck!

[lowsingle]

Nice work!  Keep us posted on how they develop……

 

Darren

 

[SkiCurtis]

yes very cool. thank for sharing. let us know the process.

[JRollman]

So cool, thanks