FAQs about Horseshoe Crabs
2
Related FAQs: Horseshoe Crabs 1, & FAQs
on: Horseshoe Crab ID, Horseshoe Crab Behavior, Horseshoe Crab Compatibility, Horseshoe Crab Selection, Horseshoe Crab Systems, Horseshoe Crab Feeding, Horseshoe Crab Disease, Horseshoe Crab Reproduction, & Crustaceans 1,
Micro-Crustaceans, Amphipods, Copepods, Mysids, Hermit
Crabs, Shrimps,
Cleaner
Shrimps, Banded Coral
Shrimp, Mantis
Shrimp, Anemone
Eating Shrimp,
Related Articles: Crustaceans,
Micro-Crustaceans, Amphipods, Copepods, Mysids,
Isopods, Shrimps,
Coral
Banded Shrimp, Cleaner
Shrimp, P. holthuisi
Pix, Mantis
"Shrimp", Lobsters,
Slipper
Lobsters, Hermit
Crabs, Squat Lobsters, Crabs, Arthropods,
Pycnogonids (Sea
Spiders),
|
Need sandy bottoms, of
depth...
|
Horseshoe Crab questions
4/6/15
Hello guys, im Patrik, I have a 40B <G?> saltwater tank that's been running for
a year and a half with a 10 refugium, all levels as low as stability allows
salinity 1.026. The 40 has my salt cat and snowflake eel and the fuge is for my
nems crabs and shrimp, well in my travels I was given a horseshoe crab about the
size of a quarter in a gallon pickle jar. Its molted once in the 8 months I've
had it and is now 2 1/2 inches. He eats shrimp pellets and crab meat and any
krill that are left from the nems and seems pretty happy never had a single
issue with him. In the past month I've noticed he likes to come out around noon
and midnight, so lights on and off, and lay upside down on the sand in one
particular corner with low flow. Im worried because it is strange but he stays
still if I try to flip him
<Don't do this>
over like doesn't react at all for a minute, then even if im still messing with
him he starts wiggling his legs so maybe sleeping or something and I have a 4'
by 4' pool for him to grow into one day so id like him to live as long as
possible.
Any and all help is very much appreciated, thank you.
<See (i.e. READ) on WWM re these animals.... You likely have a cold water
(temperate) species (there are tropical ones though)... NOT suitable for a
tropical setting. Bob Fenner>
horseshoe crab, fdg., sys. gen.
2/5/13
I have been reading and researching your site on horse shoe crabs and
had a few things i wanted to discus with you. I have a little horse shoe
crab
<The eastern seaboard species I'll assume>
in a 10gal salt water tank. he was about 2 inch's when i
got him, and now he is about 3 to 3 and a half. I have had him in the
tank for about a year at this point and he has not
starved to death. My salinity is between 1.024 and 1.025, ammonia and
nitrites are both at 0 or close to, my nitrates are kinda hi, but they
have always been high in my tank and despite anything i do i cannot get
it to come back down.
<Not so important w/ these relic species>
So far the only adverse affects to the high nitrates is a bit more red
hair algae than i would like (the snails keep in under control for the
most part) and my plant seems to like it as well (not sure what kind,
obviously saltwater plant, its kind of like a vine and it raises
little stocks that disk shaped "leafs" grow on).
There is a very healthy bristle worm population in the tank as well as
he seems to enjoy algae wafers made for Plecos and other such fish as
well as high protein wafers made for catfish and other bottom feeders.
He does seem to come out and eat with everything else in the tank and
chasses around bits of flake food but his favorite seems to be Hikari
Multi-Vitamin Enriched Brine shrimp. As for the trace elements in the
tank, i use Kent Marine Nano Reef two part supplement. It is recommended
for use every day, but i don't use it that way, i add that about one a
week, sometimes twice if I'm feeling spunky. Tank mates include
a mis-bar clown fish, a blue-green Chromis, peppermint shrimp, two
Astrea snails, two dwarf blue legged hermit crabs and a group of about 9
Zoas. There was at one time a mini brittle star that came in
with the Zoas, but i have not seen hide nor hair of that little guy in
over 7 months so i think he died and got ate, or just got ate. There was
a narsis snail and another Astrea snail, but the hermits wanted bigger
shells and they didn't like any of the upgrades that i provided for
them.
There is about 6 to 7 pounds of live rock, and about 20 pounds of live
sand to make a sand bed of about 3 inches deep. The sand is larger
grain, not fine grain, but he really does not seem to mind. I really
love this little guy, he is awesome and by far the best purchase i have
made. Hours of entertainment watching him walk around the sand eating,
and swimming (not very well) upside down around the tank. And yes i know
how big they get, i have already located tanks that he can be
transferred to as he grows, including a fine grain, 6 inch deep sand bed
in a 180gal tank with plenty of Spionid worms for him to break up and
eat. I guess what i want to know is is there anything else i need to be
doing for this little guy?
<Doesn't appear to be; no>
As i have stated he has had no problems so far, but i want to keep him
this way. I have not found anything on your site with anything i really
need to change so I'm just double checking that i have not over looked
anything. its hard to know what your looking for when there is no
problem to solve. thank you for your time and for your help! i greatly
appreciate it.
<Well, the other life, fishes and invertebrates would likely appreciate
lower nitrate... not easily done in the size/type setting w/ the
horseshoe... All will appreciated the larger habitat. Bob Fenner>
Re: horseshoe crab 2/6/13
Thank you for the quick reply! any quick tips for lowering nitrates in a
small tank other than moving them to a big tank? i would like everything
to be as happy in the tank as can be.
<Read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nitratesmar.htm
and the linked files above. The mechanisms, techniques of nitrate
control are the same regardless of size of the system. BobF>
Re: horseshoe crab 2/6/13
thank you very much!
<Ah, welcome. B>
Touch Tank:
Limulus polyphemus 6/17/11
Greetings,
<Salud>
To whoever receives this e-mail, I am seeking advise from the knowable
marine invert expert who wrote the Horseshoe crab article here
(http://www.wetwebmedia.com/hshoedis.htm) . If you could point me
in his/her direction I would very much like to ask him my quick
questions:
<Okay>
I work at a museum that acquired a touch tank through the program
(Touch Tanks for Kids) and want to use it to house horseshoe crabs from
our local Chesapeake Tank. I have been placed as one of the lead
members of this project however I have no experience with these
magnificent animals and recently became aware of their intense upkeep.
I was hoping that you could assist me in this matter because written
below is what we have been brainstorming so far:
The tank is a little over a 100 gallons so we will keep one crab in at
a time and rotate every other month or so.
<Mmm, I'd do this more frequently... even daily. Very stressful
to be touched, confined in such a small volume>
Also since museum hours are noon-4pm we figured their stress levels
wont be as high as other major aquariums. But the tank came with large
rocks and we will remove it and add fine gravel/sand so the animal can
dig.
<Good>
We don't want to add sand in from the Chesapeake because we fear
the microbes, worms and algaes will clog up the protein skimmer and
filter units quickly (hundreds of dollars down the tubes).
<What will the animal/s eat then?>
The crabs in the main tank right now feed off the bottom as normal, but
when they switched into the touch tank we will feed them bloodworms and
diced molluscs. The tank has a chiller unit but I am thinking that a
sudden change in temperature may shock the guys so we will try to make
the touch tank only a few degrees cooler than the main one. This is as
far as I have gotten, I do not know what sorts of chemicals to look out
for or if we need to grow a bacterial culture for nitrates,
<What sort of filtration system does this unit have? You need
circulation through this, to measure, assure that this system is
cycled... Ammonia, nitrite>
also if adding other smaller life forms like shrimp or oysters could
affect their oxygen requirements.
<Mmm, yes>
Any info you can add would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
--
*John C*
<John... there is a bit of a steep learning curve ahead of you... I
would ask for assistance from an aquarist/docent... Hopefully one with
coldwater, local sea life keeping experience. Are you familiar w/
written works of David Wrobel re these? Please do a search for: Keeping
Native Marine Fish in the Home Aquarium
Bob Fenner>
help ! What you
find on/at the beach, stays at the beach...
8/20/09
Hi WWM crew,
This past Sunday morning about 7:30 am, I found a large
horseshoe crab on the beach of Stone Island N.J. It was still
alive and had just been washed ashore. I thought at first it was dead,
but after I picked it up to look at it the legs moved a little and I
walked back to show my family. This thing is so incredibly awesome and
I want to save it's shell but how do I do that ?
<The shell or the whole animal? Take it back>
Is it too late for some one to use it for research ? It looks very old
and it is 23 inches long and seems to have sandy looking disease on the
top along with other spots and marks. Right now it stinks and I put it
in a bag to toss but I'm sure some one can guide me to preserve the
shell. The entire crab is intact. Also , can a disease be passed to
humans from a sick sea animal ?
<... Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/hshoecrabsart.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
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
its a clean and dry shell, Id 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), Id find the nearest anthill and let the ants do the job. If you
dont 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, Id 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>
Horseshoe crabs
keep dying, 5/20/08 Hello. I purchased 27 horseshoe crabs at
the end of April and am keeping them in a 270 liter tank with sand and
water made from Instant Ocean. <Not nearly large enough for one
crab, let alone 27.> Since purchasing, 13 have died. I feed them a
diet of algae pellets and shrimp pellets with occasional frozen mysis
shrimp. <Not appropriate food and likely indigestible by them.>
The water temp is 74-76*F. <Too hot for most species.> The
salinity is 25-30ppt. I haven't had any hits on the water quality
and do water changes every other week. <Parameter numbers
please.> The tank is filtered with 7 corner filters spaced evenly
throughout the tank. Of the 13 that have died, at least 3 have had
black book gills at time of death. Also, some have a white spot located
near the compound eyes. I am not sure what it is or if it is harmful. I
looked at my notes from my marine invert class but we looked at adults
not juveniles so I have no clue of what it is. Is there anything you
can think of that will save the rest of my horseshoes? <A very
large, specialized tank.> I hate seeing them die and can't
afford to have them die since I am studying them for my thesis. I can
attach pictures if necessary but I'd have to resize them and
don't have access to them from this computer. Thanks for your time.
Whitney <Please see here for more on these crabs, they have very
specialized needs and do poorly in captivity.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/hshoecrabsart.htm .> <Chris>
Re: horseshoe crabs keep dying, 5/20/08 I am moving
them to a 2000L tank with sand and real seawater. Do you think that
will help? <As stated in the article linked in the previous e-mail,
it will help, each crab needs about 10 square feet to feed from.> As
far as the food goes, the company I purchased them from feeds them
algae pellets and they apparently do fine. Why are shrimp pellets and
frozen shrimp not appropriate food and how does it make it
indigestible? They seem love it and its always gone in a few minutes
and they're pooping it out so obviously they're digesting it.
<Also posted in the article, mostly eat small crustaceans from the
sand, and have mouth parts appropriate for this, not larger shrimp
pellets and algae wafers. Takes most about 1 year to stave in
captivity, so difficult to determine what they are actually eating.>
The water temperature is the temperature of the water right now in
Florida. They crabs came from Florida so they're use to it but what
do you suggest it being? <Most species prefer cooler water, and are
just temporary visitors to the warmer parts.> When you say "a
very large specialized tank" what do you mean? I know specialized
for horseshoes but what should it include? <Lots of live sand, DSB,
little rockwork to get in their way, also listed in the article.>
Thanks for your time. Whitney <Please read here
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/hshoecrabsart.htm >
<Chris>
Preserving a
Horseshoe Crab Shell - 4-11-08 Hello. I recently found a horseshoe
crab shell. When I found it in our barn, it was filled with dust , dirt
and some cobwebs. I rinsed it off with some cool water and set it out
to dry. Now it is completely dry and looks very dull. How is the best
way to care for the shell. I think that it will make a great addition
to my sea shell collection and would love to preserve it. Thank you.
Carolyn <Mmm, once you get it very clean and dry, I'd
"spray lacquer" it... Do see the paint area in a good-sized
hardware store, or a paint store period... re various
finishes/reflectivities... I'd go with something with a low
sheen... make a "box" of sorts to keep down errant spray, and
apply in a few coats/passes outdoors on a nice day. Bob
Fenner>
Horseshoe Crab: Feeding Frequency
-12/17/2007 Hey Guys, Quick question, I have a 2 inch horseshoe
crab. How often do you think I should directly feed him with meaty
foods (ex: krill, Mysis, carnivore preparations)? Thanks!!! <Hmmm...
how often does one feed a giant prehistoric predatory marine arthropod?
Good question. I presume it will feed as it wishes (as much as it can
find - both on the food you try to give it and on your benthic critter
populations) despite whatever schedule you try to put it on. In any
case, what will you do with this beautiful creature once it's the
size of a small cat? Best,
Sara M.>