micro crabs / amarinus lacustris

[Matuva]

yes sure, can be a pain in the a.. if I have to hunt for the crab once inside the tank...

59 minutes ago, waffle said:

Case: Murder of a 1cm ramshorn snail.

Evidence: The victim's body was half eaten and the suspect was seen guarding the corpse before fleeing as investigators approached the scene. 

Do not jail the murderer!

Edited May 26, 2016 by Matuva

[waffle]

I just witnessed one wading through a crowd of shrimplets. It showed no interest in them at all.

[Matuva]

I did catch 5 crabs, 4 larges (around 1.3~1.5 cms wide) and a small one (less .5 cm).

By the time I went back home, I found one of the bigger snacking the small one Cannibal!!!

Though, I decided to put them in the tank, I'm so upset with these  @"! ramshorns ...

After drip acclimatation, I drop them in the tank, and they immediately disappearred under the driftwood.

That was a week ago, and I haven't seen them till this day. Though, everything seems normal, the 4 discus are fine, so are the other fishes and the red cherries.

The positive point is that it seems the ramshorn are decreasing in number. 

I cross fingers.

[llyw]

Any idea what is their life span??

[waffle]

12 hours ago, llyw said:

Any idea what is their life span??

I'm guessing 2+ years, but I'll ask Harrison since he might have a better idea!

[Grubs]

Quote

 In population studies of three hymenosomatid species in non-marine
habitats, Hymenosoma orbiculare, Amarinus lacustris and A laevis, there was basically a
one-year life cycle (Broekhuysen, 1955; Walker, 1969; lucas and Hodgkin, 1970a). In
size-frequency plots the mode of mature crabs virtually disappeared after the annual
period of highest proportions of mature females, and predominantly small immature
crabs remained. For A. laevis in the Swan estuary, Western Australia, the adult mortality occurred in mid-summer; but a few mature crabs survived to a second summer, as
evidenced by a small proportion of individuals with very encrusted carapaces among the
newly mature crabs in early summer. (Because these crabs do not moult after their
pubertal moult, their cuticles become progressively encrusted with epiflora and
epifauna.)

Lucas, J. S., 1980. Spider crabs of the family Hymenosomatidae (Crustacea; Brachyura) with particular reference to Australian species: systematics and biology. Records of the Australian Museum 33(4): 148–247.

 

(bottom of pg 210)

[FMuscle]

Why do I want crabs??

[llyw]

On 18 June 2016 at 3:01 PM, waffle said:

I'm guessing 2+ years, but I'll ask Harrison since he might have a better idea!

Cool Thanks! 

 

On 18 June 2016 at 3:01 PM, waffle said:

I'm guessing 2+ years, but I'll ask Harrison since he might have a better idea!

Cool thanks! Just wondering where can I get my hands on them? Is Harrison still selling by any chance? 

 

[waffle]

Just now, llyw said:

Cool Thanks! 

 

Cool thanks! Just wondering where can I get my hands on them? Is Harrison still selling by any chance? 

 

Sending you a PM!!

[wulilions]

Hi guys

Are any of you still active? I'm keen to get some crabs from Harrison but he doesn't seem to be replying to me :(

 

Thanks 

[NoGi]

1 minute ago, wulilions said:

Hi guys

Are any of you still active? I'm keen to get some crabs from Harrison but he doesn't seem to be replying to me :(

 

Thanks 

Probably because we don't actively promote sales here. You might have better luck on one of the Facebook groups but I haven't seen these available for a little while.

[wulilions]

4 minutes ago, NoGi said:

Probably because we don't actively promote sales here. You might have better luck on one of the Facebook groups but I haven't seen these available for a little while.

Any suggestions as to which Facebook groups I should have a look in?? 

Thanks :) 

[RealSlimSquiddy]

I'm also after some crabbies but can't find any breeders anywhere...


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[Linden]

On 05/03/2016 at 1:24 PM, Baccus said:

Unfortunately it appears that the native micro crabs are only found down south, but there is bound to be a similar species found in our northern waters.

Two of my favourite natives that are harmless in my tanks would have to be Notopala snails and these whopping great black shelled snails.

Hi. These are sometimes sold at pet stores as 'Giant Burrowing Snails'. 

I have them breeding in a small shrimp tank. They're awesome. 

A brown version of a Malaysian Trumpet Snail that gets quite large. Some of mine are almost small thumb size. 

Can uproot new stem plants however. Highly recommended. 

 

Also have heaps of the Amarinus Laevis freshwater crabs. Love at first sight. Creepy clowns really. Good balls. Utterly fascinating. 

Edited October 5, 2017 by Linden
Added compliments to Amarinus Laevis. The subjects main topic.

[Grubs]

50 minutes ago, Linden said:

Also have heaps of the Amarinus Laevis freshwater crabs. Love at first sight. Creepy clowns really. Good balls. Utterly fascinating. 

Did you breed them or go out and catch them?

[Linden]

First time, i bought them. Had some casualties and no breeding.
Second time i bought 300$ worth! Was very detirmined to breed them.
It was about 6-7 months before i saw my first babies. Most didnt survive.
Since adding a small amount of Red Sea Marine Salt and allowing mulm buildup on the coral sand, they breed more and more survive to adulthood.
I now have a continuous supply. But they take months to grow from babies and males are rare or rarely make it to adulthood.

I'm now looking for someone with Amarinus Lacustris, so i can attempt  to breed them and native nerites.

[Grubs]

spectacular.  Well done.   I think we should establish another backup colony at my house in case something ever happens to yours.... if you ever have any to sell.

I had 7 of them for a while, but no berried females.  From my reading I think males only live for one year and females only sometimes make it to a second year... so after mating the males are pretty much done for.

 

 

Edited October 5, 2017 by Grubs

[Linden]

Definitely. I'm more than happy to help and strongly support others making these work and therefore spread throughout the hobby.
Considering how amazing and in my experience hardy they are it surprises me many don't keep them.

Breeding isn't as straight forward as people i think assume. Its not like Neocaridina shrimp. More specific as i found out via trial and error (expensive large losses of crab lives :(  ). Definitely achievable for anyone willing to have 2-3 tanks specifically for them that understands that crystal clean tanks aren't always the best breeding environments for many small creatures, especially scavenging crustaceans. Mmmm mulm buildup and dirty looking (skank) tanks are a pro here.

[inkevnito]

I dont think Harrison is active on gumtree either. You can hit up a fellow named Andrew Lockheart on Facebook, he might be able to get you some @wulilions

[wulilions]

@inkevnito Hey mate, I already messaged Andrew but I'm afraid he only has access to Amarinus Laevis! So the search for Lacustris continues.....

[inkevnito]

@wulilions Ohhhh thats right, you're looking for Lacustris.. Goodluck mate, keep us posted if you have success :)

 

[jonnyking]

Has anyone had any leads on these lately? Im about to start hunting for them in Perth. Figured buying would be easier than catching if there is any on this side.

[Linden]

On 3/5/2016 at 1:24 PM, Baccus said:

 

Amarinus Laevis the Thai Micro crab Australian cousin mating. The male had freshly moulted.
Sometimes I selectively match up pairs instead of the normal harem structure I use (1 personality based chosen male with a dozen equal or larger size females per breeding tank).
 Like here. Males are so aggressive they frequently kill females or at least remove a few of their legs during mating or eating when left to themselves.
 This young one while smaller than the female may have killed her if he wasn't diminished by the fresh moult. Putting them on equal ground. She is clearly quite willing as you can see. However he originally chased her down and mounted her into copulation position. 

You can just see the orange gel sacks on the males claws. They get almost pea size on some adult males. Females don't have them. 

 

Feel free to message me Johhny. 

[Grubs]

Its truly fantastic that you are able to captive breed these guys successfully.   Do they have a planktonic larvae or do they direct develop into tiny crabs?

Edited August 8, 2018 by Grubs

[Rare Aqua]

Hey, I am a breeder and keeper of Amarinus Lacustris, if you want any basic or detailed information HMU