Breeding Journal, Species: Lybia tessellata (Pom Pom crab)

General
Species:  Lybia tessellata
Social Structure:  Multiple individuals in the tank
Size of Individuals:  ~1 inch carapace width
Age of Individuals:  Unknown
Date added to Tank:  Three added around September 2013, but one died when I accidentally siphoned it out during a water change (it had just molted).  Third was purchased in Early December 2013 with a large batch of eggs

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  12 gallon biocube
Substrate Details:  None
Filtration Details:  Sponge filter
Water Changes:  ~25-50% once a week or every two weeks
Water Temperature:  ~80 F
Lighting:  CFL
Lighting Cycle:  6AM to 9PM
Other Tank Inhabitants:  Yellow stripe clingfish, scarlet hermit crabs, green banded gobies (two)

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  Spirulina enriched frozen artemia, live artemia, nutramar ova
Feeding Schedule:  At least twice a day

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn: 
Spawn Time of Day: 
Dates of Consecutive Spawns: 
Courtship Details: 
Egg Size: 
Egg Color: 
Egg Count: 

Hatch Details
Hatch Date:  12-16-2013
Hatch Time of Day:  ~8:30 PM, only 30 minutes or so after lights out
# Days after Spawn: 
Larvae Description:  To the eye they look like a white ball.  When they stretch out there is a round head and a small tail.  They are attracted to light after hatch


Larval Tank Details
Temperature:  ~80 F
Size of Larval Tank:  17 gallon BRT, only partially filled
Substrate Details:  None
Other Tank Decor:  None other than the heater and airstone
Filtration Details:  Live phyto
Lighting:  Fluorescent strip light
Lighting Cycle:  6AM to 9PM
Water Changes: 

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types:  Euterpina copepods, L strain rotifers, and nhbbs enriched with live phyto in the tub 
Feeding Schedule:  Constant

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start: 
Days after Hatch: 
Date of Settlement End: 
Description of Fry: 

Grow-Out Tank Details
Temperature: 
Size of Grow-Out Tank: 
Substrate Details: 
Other Tank Decor: 
Filtration Details: 
Lighting: 
Lighting Cycle: 
Water Changes: 
Size at Transfer: 
Age at Transfer: 

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types: 
Feeding Schedule: 

Additional Information
(No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please)
Miscellaneous Information: 



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Here is the female with the eggs:

They are bright bright orange, then a couple days before hatch they darken.  When I noticed that they had darkened I moved her to the hatching chamber where she stayed for two nights (she released the second night she was in there).  When I moved her, a couple eggs dislodged so I snagged them and tried to get a pic, but it didn't turn out the best:

 
She released the larvae very shortly after the lights went out.  I saw her over by the rigid airline tube for a bit and then saw the larvae in the water.  I bastered them out and put them in a BRT with about 2 gallons of broodstock water and then started dripping in about 2.5 gallons of new ASW.  I added Euterpina, L strain rotifers, nhbbs, nanno and iso to the tub.  They seem smaller than the M. forceps larvae so I was concerned about the nhbbs being too large...but then again, hermit crab larvae are pretty small and they get by just fine on nhbbs, so perhaps it won't be a problem.
 
I took these pics about an hour after hatch.



 
This morning I added some more nhbbs and also another gallon of ASW.  The BRT has a heater and an airstone as well.

I already think the BRT was not the best choice for these guys...they don't seem to stay up in the water column very well.  At least, I don't think they do; it's hard to spot them.  Tonight I may pull everything out and switch them over to some inverted 3L bottles if there are any left.

Last night I moved each one out of the BRT and into my preferred 3L bottle...very time consuming.  There were more than I thought; they are super hard to see compared to Mithraculus species.  Perhaps they would have been fine in the BRT, but oh well.  I gave them more nhbbs and iso and also some apocyclops.  Unfortunately, they are at room temp for the time being since I didn't have a great place to put them at the time.  I think later today I will try to find a heated location for them. 
 
I pulled a couple and snapped some pics.  They have gotten more reddish/pigmented, but still seem to be in Z1.


The second image is of one curled up with it's face/head facing the slide and the tail closest to the camera.