Date: Sun, 2 Mar 1997 15:40:11 -0400 From: Rand Nicholson <writserv@nbnet.nb.ca> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg778$foo@default> Subject: Re: FW:
>----------
>From: Brian Kitchen[SMTP:kitchenb@pilot.msu.edu]
>Sent: Friday, February 14, 1997 3:21 PM
>To: Jeff
>
>Crayfish And Hermit Crabs
>
>Hermit Crabs
>
>While true crabs are contained in the order Brachiura containing the
>short-tailed crabs, hermit crabs are often considered to be classed in the
>order Decapoda - the long-tailed ten-legged crustaceans including lobster,
>shrimp and crayfish. While lobster, shrimp, crayfish and true crabs have a
>protective armored plate covering their abdomen, hermit crabs have none.
>While the lobster has special appendages around their tail used to propel
>themselves through the water, in the hermit crab, this appendage has become
>modified to enable the crab to hold onto an empty shell which it uses to
>protect its vulnerable hindquarters and soft belly. Like all Decapoda
>members, the hermit crab has five pairs of legs.
>
>
>
>Housing and Feeding Your Hermit Crabs
>
>You will need a small tank lined with aquarium gravel or coarse sand. (Some
>people use corncob litter and Astroturf. While Astroturf will work fine,
>corncob should be avoided due to the growth of bacterial and fungal
>organisms when the cob is wetted by food and feces.) You can provide a few
>decorative rocks. For water, provide a flat dish with water in it,
>something on which the crab can easily crawl into and out of. Keep it
>filled with fresh water.
>
>You will need to provide new shells for your crab to move into as it grows;
>marine snail shells should be available at aquarium supply stores selling
>hermit crabs. Shells you collect in the wild must be first soaked for 24
>hours in bleach water, then thoroughly rinsed. Keep in mind, though, if
>they are not the kind of shells the hermits normally use is the wild, they
>probably will not use them in captivity. (In the wild, hermit crabs will
>kill a mollusk in order to take over it's shell; if you keep more than one
>hermit crab, be sure to provide extra shells for them all to grow into.)
>For food, offer poultry mash, soaked or finely ground monkey chow or dog
>chow, leafy dark greens, shredded fruits and squash; avoid citrus fruits.
>For a treat, offer crushed Vanilla Wafers. (Believe it or not, the results
>of a study conducted by Florida Marine Research showed that this was the
>hermit crabs favorite food! As this is not a highly nutritious food
>product, do not feed in excess!)
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