File :-(, x, )
Red Claw Crab Anonymous
This will sound utterly stupid and I know it already, so don't tell me.

I've spent about forty minutes looking at different pages on Google for information about how to tell if a freshwater crab is sitting quietly and stiffly because he's about to molt, or if rigor pre-mortis is setting in. :C I know he's molted before, because I've seen the empty shells, but I've never actively seen him doing it.

I'm certainly leaning toward the latter, unfortunately, because I found my little guy on his back this morning. He didn't right himself, but definitely flailed when poked at. I turned him right way up and put an algae wafer in front of him, and he ate a bit, but it's as though he didn't have the energy to keep going.

He's been fine for months - at least five since I got him - and I'm thinking perhaps it's just 'his time', because he's heug even for a male, and was already big when I got him. I just want to be sure he isn't about to molt so I can disturb him as little as possible if that's the case.

TL;DR
My freshwater red claw crab, a male, was on his back this morning but has since perked up, just a little. How do I tell if he's about to molt, versus about to die?
>> Anonymous
bumpu? ; ;
>> Anonymous
I cry now.

It's pretty obvious he isn't going to be moving again, but it would be nice to hear from other freshwater crab owners just to hear some personal experience stories or tips.
>> Anonymous
:( no crab experience here. googlefu might assist you though?
>> Anonymous
awwh

poor crab
:(
>> Anonymous
>>235332
no real good news here, back when I tried it was kind of the same story except without the size issue

I tried a crab, it was doing well for about a month and even successfully molted, came in about a month later and it seemed like it was stuck molting, but still alive and ended up dying anyway
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
OP here ... Semi update(?) is that I put him in my quarantine tank since no one else is in there right now ... And it's like his ventral .. erm .. flap thing has popped loose.

AND HE'S STILL MOVING A BIT.

I honestly can't tell if this means he's molting or he committed harakiri when I wasn't looking. Google has provided a modicum of info, but it appears that when they molt the shell splits along the back each, not at the ventral V-shaped area ... :C Though the only 'crab molt' pics of any kind I could find were of larger ones, so I'm not sure if the process is different with smaller guys. I don't imagine it is.

I guess time will tell.
>> Anonymous
>>235372
that's 'edge', not 'each' ...
>> Anonymous
Maybe it's that body snatching crab parasite? Look for an orange growth-like thing.
>> Anonymous
I might cry.
>> Anonymous
>>235401

that barnacle? eep
>> Anonymous
Hmm..this is what I found..sadly it's not that helpful:
http://www.centralpets.com/animals/fish/freshwater_inverts/fwi4673.html

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070328120422AAduMyS
>> Anonymous
hope your crab survives this ordeal
my dog of 9 years just died today, so i'm feeling like shit -- hope you don't have to go through the same experience
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
If it turns out your crab is dieing don't let him go to waste. Do a Homer and get a tasty snack out of it, its the way he (or she) would want it.
>> anononononnmoose
^

lol, dieing. dying lololol.
>> Anonymous
>>235479
Yeah, those links are more or less the same pieces of info I found. He's definitely still alive, but he's normally so active that seeing him slightly stiffened up and not moving and hardly eating is just .. depressing. :C He's such a cute little guy. Defends his algae wafer like a badass. MY COOKIE.

>>235401
I can't tell if you're serious or not, because I've never heard of a parasite like that attaching to a crab. But in any case he looks exactly the same as he always has. I'm really hoping he's just in the process of bringing water into his shell in order to crack it open and molt.

:\

I thought there'd be more crab owners on /an/. COME ON, BITTER. Where's your advice on anything, anywhere, any situation?
>> BitterAnon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>236110
I don't know everything, asshole. I'm "BitterAnon" not "SwissArmyFaggot".

I don't know anything about crabs, std or otherwise, except that I fucking hate crab rangoon things. Get some real food, Chinks!
>> Anonymous
>>236116
Cry.

Cats, dogs, rats, rabbits, wolves ... I'm pretty sure I've seen you go on about fish.

MY HOPES THEY ARE DASHED.

... Meh. I'll let /an/ know what ends up happening in a few days.
>> BitterAnon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>236127

Cats: Yep
Dogs: Yep
Rats: Yep
Rabbits: Don't know wtf you're talking about here unless I told someone their rabbit should be named biscuit..
Wolves: I've discussed pack mentality with regard to dogs but the only wolf comments I recall making was the "circle of life" post..
Fish: I think I said they should be named biscuit and that guppies are pretty.

Just for you though, I will try to be helpful:>>235372
are you sure that is a male? Cause I thought the females had the big full-underbelly flaps to hold their eggs. Maybe you are learning how babby formed!
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
The pic I posted as OP is a male. This one is female. Much much smaller claws and a little smaller overall ... and if you look close this female's harboring an egg cluster.

>>235372
Is also a male's underside. Long, pointy 'V'. Females are more rounded, and wider.
>> Anonymous
>>236131
And since I'm getting tired and read "make sure you are learning how babby formed", not "maybe" ...

I do have a female. They're the only two crabs in there. But this is without a doubt the male. Female is far more skittish. She somehow manages to get up into the filter to sit there and nibble on the stuff collecting there. There's nothing around my filter that she could climb up. It baffles me. Her name is Ninja.

The male, due to his brawny vigilance over his cookies, was dubbed the Mad Russian by a friend of mine. :C
>> BitterAnon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>236140
Well shit, man, I tried. Maybe Ninja was smacking him around and brained him good or something? Or another creature in the tank tried to eat him? Are there crab vets?

I asked my partner cause he goes crab fishing, and he said that you should just toss it in a pot of boiling water because it will die instantly and then he will be delicious. So uh, condolences?
>> Anonymous
"Molting is a very stressful period for crabs and many die under the stress."

:C
>> BitterAnon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>236152
Look, I like you crab dude, cause you are upset about a goddamn crab dying and its adorable, but you have to stop with the..face..things. What the fuck is ":C" supposed to be? A guy with tiny eyes and some kind of facial deformity?

Maybe he would be less stressed if you quit tapping on the glass and going "CRAB ARE YOU OK :O"
>> Anonymous
>>236156
:C
>> Anonymous
>>236156

LAWLZ, I r not crab owner.
>> BitterAnon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>236163
In that case, you don't get a pass. Die in a fire at your soonest convience.
>> Anonymous
this thread now makes me want to own a crab.

>:-|
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>236156
Chick.
Frowny face.
Bite me, o Bitter Anon. I was largely joking when I called upon the depths of your wisdom anyway.

If my crab pulls through ... whatever's going on, then woo! If not, then I'll be sad for a bit and then get over it.
>> A1ice in W0nderland !dNOm0dR3Mc
>>236174
I so want a crab. Crabs are so cute.
>> Anonymous
I know scorpions sometimes take a day or so to molt, if they are having trouble you can mist them with water. I don't know anything about crabs, though, other than that they are ornery creatures that pinch and blow bubbles.
>> Anonymous
MIST YOUR CRAB WITH WATER, IT HELPS.
>> Anonymous
this thread make sme sad...

also

please tell is what has happened!
>> Anonymous
>>236169
>>236187
crabs are fun because they are fun to piss off. i would get a blue crab out of my back yard and fuck with it. i would feed it well but it would be source of entertainment more than affection
>> Anonymous
I know on blue crabs you can look at them and tell from their color cracks etc. Dunno about that kind.