Rearing Mithraculus sculptus?

I get eggs from a friend down here, and last night he caught some Mithraculus sculptus larvae. Has anyone attempted to raise this kind of larvae? And what should I do for first foods, algae or pods?
 
 
Thank you,
 
 
Amphispur

I'd try algae first, then go from there.

Should I through in a whole bunch of algae a I have just in case? I've got iso, tetra, and nano culturing ATM as well as a few other algaes I haven't figured out what they are yet.

NHBBS:
 
http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/31813/31813.pdf
 
See also:
 
http://www.aquariterranee...ornamentaldecapods.pdf
http://www.aquariterranee...odcrustaceanlarvae.pdf
 
 

And you want them in something like a goldfish bowl kreisel or black round tub. I'm thinking about working on them this year as I have plenty o' bubble algae for them to nibble on. Good luck!

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

Would a 2.5 g grey Walmart container work?

No clue. Sorry.
 
The idea is that you are trying to make an environment where the invert larvae don't bump into much. Their appendages are really delicate. They often will get replaced when they molt, but too much damage can kill the larvae or delay the larvae from getting to later development stages.
 
Andy Rhyne was, I think, rearing them in rounded cones (as opposed to cones with straight sides like funnels). That's what you want to aim for. Bigger is better so the larvae can spend lots of time away from the air bubbles or whatever you are using for water motion.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

I worked with Peppermint Shrimp for some time last fall following Calado's papers.  I had no luck at all using BRT or fishbowl kriesels.  It seems like raising Peppermint Shrimp and Emerald Crabs are quite similar.  I'm going to build an upweller one of these days...

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

Anybody have any luck with these yet? My emerald crab released larvae last night and im curious as to how often they will do this? Any information you have would be very helpful. Thanks,
Greg

We raised some of the red species (M. ruber) in glass aquariums. They have a pretty short larval period (~10 days if I remember?)
http://sealifeinc.net/cat...=39&products_id=85
The tank was greened and fed a small amount of rotifers and artemia. A couple of weeks later, we saw newly-settled crabs on the bottom. The trouble was getting larvae reliably--we got them a few times by collecting larvae from a reeftank, but I think there's potential with these guys since there aren't any major challenges for rearing.
 
Matt C.

Great info! If you don't mind me asking, what did you feed the emerald crabs to induce spawning? Mine didn't last long (lack of notice truly) but I might wanna hit these guys while I'm on the inverte side.

Other than grazing algaes within the tank, they mostly got whatever the fish missed (mysis, brine, gelatin food, pellets, etc). Diet is probably important with these guys and may have helped to get more frequent/healthy eggs, but it wasn't something we worked on specifically.

Ok thanks! I'll probably set up a tank with these guys soon to see what happens, with maybe some different crap species depending on what I can find locally. Do you know of any way of sexing crabs? Or is it just a game of chance/hermaphrodites?

If you look at the underside of the crab, the pleon (telson/abdomen, the part folded underneath the crab) is narrower in males and wider/rounder in females. Just don't put too many craps in one tank; could get messy

So no kriesel was needed?

I'm probably going to still try a kriesel when I get mine, just to see what happens, whats your say Matt? Is it worth the effort?

Well mine made it nine days then all died. The female is carrying more eggs so I will try again. Better luck next time, hopefully.

Cool! Good luck with that second batch!

A Kriesel wasn't necessary (we used standard 15g tanks), but it might result in higher yields or better growth, so if you have something available, I'd say try it!
 
 

Just thought I'd put this out there if any of you guys are interested, found a good paper on Mithraculus sculptus's larvae development with very detailed pictures:
 
http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/31813/31813.pdf