How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Non puffer freshwater discussion. Don't tell your puffers, they'll be jealous!
Stratters
Green Spotted Puffer
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:21 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Piggy, a Hairy Puffer
Location (country): Louth, England

How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by Stratters »

I bought 6 crabs. I KNOW I bought 6 crabs, because it's 6 for £x.

Piggy ate one. I removed the remaining 5 from his tank.

Two cooked themselves on the heater. I know this, I removed the bodies.


So how come there's FIVE crabs in Liv's tank?
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. RTR
Stratters
Green Spotted Puffer
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:21 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Piggy, a Hairy Puffer
Location (country): Louth, England

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by Stratters »

They have access to 'land', I made them a floating Crab Island, which they do use. Could they have had babies, there are 2 that are quite a bit smaller than the others.
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. RTR
RTR
Mentor
Posts: 6155
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 4:39 pm
Gender: Male
Location (country): East Coast, USA

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by RTR »

Depending on the type of crab, many to most can be quite reclusive. Beyond that, very few LFS employees give accurate counts of live counts of such critters unless they are individually quite large and expensive. My LFS is quite good, but even though the staff know that I am close friends with the owner, I rarely get an accurate count of such critters. Over-counts of ~50% are common - perhaps they have seen the opwner doing that for me and they are afraid to do less, or perhaps it is just store policy. Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

Most are not particularly fast growing, and they do tend to disappear a few days as they must hide following the molt that allows them to grow. Low counts in their holding tank are common in holding tank from this post-molt vanishing act.
Where's the fish? - Neptune
User avatar
scpion
Fahaka Puffer
Posts: 672
Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:57 am
My Puffers: 23in Mbu, donated to SEA Aquarium
4in Fahaka 150g
Location (country): singapore

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by scpion »

Stratters wrote:I bought 6 crabs. I KNOW I bought 6 crabs, because it's 6 for £x.

Piggy ate one. I removed the remaining 5 from his tank.

Two cooked themselves on the heater. I know this, I removed the bodies.


So how come there's FIVE crabs in Liv's tank?
Wow.. This sound like a math problem sum.. I am getting a headache reading this.... U need someonebwith a math PhD to answer this..
I am not a Troll, I am just pissed..!
User avatar
hadla
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1626
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:33 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: 2 gsps and a big Stars and stripes
Location (country): California
Location: Sacramento, CA
Contact:

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by hadla »

Rotfl at ^

Don't you know that (6-2)-5= -1 which is really 5 because you have to add in the original number(6)?

No wait, I found an error in that equation... It SHOULD be:

(6-1)-2 = 3 but you have to add back in the magic number which in this case is 7 so you add that and get 10 and half of 10 is 5!!!

:ROFL: I crack myself up
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. -RTR
Stratters
Green Spotted Puffer
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:21 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Piggy, a Hairy Puffer
Location (country): Louth, England

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by Stratters »

No, I know I had exactly 6, they were in a clear bag. Definitely only, and exactly 6. This is doing my head in, where have all these crabs come from?

We cleared the tank, Liv isn't as good at hoovering, so once in a while I take everything out, put it in buckets of dirty water whilst the tank settles and then I give it a good hoovering. It's a great time to do a head count, because you can see everyone.

Tank is like a nursery, a million baby snails and guppy fry.
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. RTR
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by Pufferpunk »

Maybe they molted their shell? Are there 5 LIVE ones?
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
Stratters
Green Spotted Puffer
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:21 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Piggy, a Hairy Puffer
Location (country): Louth, England

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by Stratters »

Yep, 5 live all skittering about, 3 big, 2 about half their size. The sanest answer is that someone snuck extra in in the middle of the night.
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. RTR
User avatar
Arny
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1081
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2010 4:33 pm
Location (country): uk
Location: London

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by Arny »

Like pp said are you sure that the dead crabs you removed weren't just their molted shells? I've had crabs do this and the shell looks exactly like a live crab.
Stratters
Green Spotted Puffer
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:21 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Piggy, a Hairy Puffer
Location (country): Louth, England

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by Stratters »

Ahhh <penny drops> do they look pink, like they've been cooked?
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. RTR
User avatar
Arny
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1081
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2010 4:33 pm
Location (country): uk
Location: London

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by Arny »

Stratters wrote:Ahhh <penny drops> do they look pink, like they've been cooked?
From what I can remember yeah, are they red claw crabs?
Stratters
Green Spotted Puffer
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:21 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Piggy, a Hairy Puffer
Location (country): Louth, England

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by Stratters »

Yes, they are. Dear little things, so much cute, I'm SO happy they didn't die just stripped off
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. RTR
User avatar
hadla
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1626
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:33 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: 2 gsps and a big Stars and stripes
Location (country): California
Location: Sacramento, CA
Contact:

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by hadla »

Those things are masters at hiding! Had one ten years ago in a 10g, couldn't find him anywhere until I finally thought to check in the filter where he was just hanging out on the cartridge lol
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. -RTR
RTR
Mentor
Posts: 6155
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 4:39 pm
Gender: Male
Location (country): East Coast, USA

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by RTR »

I could live with the two "dead" crabs on the heater being cast-off shells.
Where's the fish? - Neptune
Stratters
Green Spotted Puffer
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:21 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Piggy, a Hairy Puffer
Location (country): Louth, England

Re: How fast do crabs grow? I am totally baffled

Post by Stratters »

I'm really quite ridiculously pleased :D

Also really quite ridiculously stupid of me to think I could hack feeding cute little crabs to Piggy. Liv knows what I'm like, she KNEW they'd end up living in her tank, no wonder she encouraged me.
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. RTR
Post Reply