Your Newly Bred Hermit Crab Babies

!: Your Newly Bred Hermit Crab Babies

Baby hermit crabs are usually hatched in the wild, as they require ocean conditions that are difficult to recreate in captivity. Dedicated breeders have done in-depth research on the breeding habits of these creatures, and also have studied the nutritional needs of baby hermit crabs, with the goal of creating a captive breeding program.

Hermit crabs have reproductive organs located at the base of the back pair of walking legs on the male, and on the first segment of the middle walking legs on the female. The male taps on the female's shell to invite her to mate, and the two emerge from their shells far enough to align their legs. The male deposits spermatophore into the female's two genital openings, called gonophores. The female then produces a large number of brick red eggs - how many is determined by the size of the female. She uses her gill grooming equipment to attach the eggs to her pleopods, which are feathery appendages on the left side of her abdomen, inside the shell.

During the next month, the eggs change in color, fading from brick red to gray, which indicates that the babies have depleted their yolk supply. The female then makes contact with salt water, causing the eggs to burst and release the baby hermit crabs into the ocean. The hatchlings are called zoeae at this stage of their development and float at the water's surface, along with plankton. Over the next two months, the larvae will metamorphose into the next stage, a megalopa, which resembles a lobster more than a Hermit Crab. That makes sense when you realize that they are biologically closer to lobsters than they are to true crabs.

The larvae now look for their first abandoned mollusc shells to call home. They will spend more and more time on land, as their modified gills gradually adapt to breathe air. Finally, the larvae submerge themselves in the sand, and emerge as a baby hermit crabs. They are land animals now, and can no longer remain indefinitely in the water, or they will drown.

There have been only a few Cases where breeders have successfully raised baby hermit crabs. In addition to the usual requirements of de-chlorinated water, saltwater and the ideal temperature, the hatching tank will also require a pump to spray water, simulating a natural ocean environment. Another need is the perfect mix of nutrients - enough to nourish the baby hermit crabs, but not so much that the decomposing matter creates ammonia.

These babies cannot eat large foods when they are in their larval stage, but must be fed "marine infusoria," which are the single-celled, microscopic organisms that grow on marine algae. If the babies survive to be a week old, they may be fed baby brine shrimp coated with a pinch of Spirulina, which is a blue-green algae that grows in both the ocean and in fresh water. Spirulina is readily available in health food stores, since many people take it as a dietary supplement.

At 14 days old, tiny shells must be provided for the baby hermit crabs to continue their development. An artificial beach must be created, with sand that is deep enough so that the larvae can bury themselves for their final metamorphosis. Shallow dishes of fresh water should also be provided.

At this point, captive breeding programs are not successful enough to be used for stocking pet shops. The Hermit crab seen in a pet shop has been captured from the wild and transported a long distance. The poor creature goes from having entire beaches to explore with a large colony of friends to solitary confinement in a cramped cage, without the variety of foods to which it is accustomed. A successful captive breeding program on a large scale would at least alleviate the need to remove wild creatures from their island paradise. In addition to pressuring pet stores to improve their treatment of these fascinating, long-lived creatures, it is essential that advances be made in the captive breeding of baby hermit crabs.