spinman
Aquarium Advice Freak
All,
my work buddy fishes off the rock jetties in Jersey and told me about this small crab that was introduced from Asia. Below is a description of it.
Could a few of these work in my tank?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Japanese Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) has arrived by way of ballast in ships and poses a threat to the natural balance of life in the Bay. This species is an opportunistic omnivore, feeding on macroalgae, salt marsh grass, larval and juvenile fish, and small invertebrates such as amphipods, gastropods, bivalves, barnacles, and polychaetes. The Asian shore crab is highly reproductive with a breeding season from May to September, twice the length of native crabs. The females are capable of producing 50,000 eggs per clutch with 3-4 clutches per breeding season. The larvae are suspended in the water for approximately one month before developing into juvenile crabs. Because of this, the larvae have the ability to be transported over great distances, a possible means of new introductions. This versatile crab inhabits any shallow hard-bottom intertidal or sometimes subtidal habitat. They can live on artificial structures and on mussel beds and oyster reefs. They also tend to aggregate at high densities under rocks where they overlap habitats with native crab species. Hemigrapsus can tolerate wide ranges of salinity and temperature as well as damp conditions in the upper intertidal regions.
Hemigrapsus was first recorded in the United States at Townsend Inlet, Cape May County, New Jersey in 1988. This species is now well established and exceptionally abundant along the Atlantic intertidal coastline of the United States from Maine to North Carolina.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike
my work buddy fishes off the rock jetties in Jersey and told me about this small crab that was introduced from Asia. Below is a description of it.
Could a few of these work in my tank?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Japanese Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) has arrived by way of ballast in ships and poses a threat to the natural balance of life in the Bay. This species is an opportunistic omnivore, feeding on macroalgae, salt marsh grass, larval and juvenile fish, and small invertebrates such as amphipods, gastropods, bivalves, barnacles, and polychaetes. The Asian shore crab is highly reproductive with a breeding season from May to September, twice the length of native crabs. The females are capable of producing 50,000 eggs per clutch with 3-4 clutches per breeding season. The larvae are suspended in the water for approximately one month before developing into juvenile crabs. Because of this, the larvae have the ability to be transported over great distances, a possible means of new introductions. This versatile crab inhabits any shallow hard-bottom intertidal or sometimes subtidal habitat. They can live on artificial structures and on mussel beds and oyster reefs. They also tend to aggregate at high densities under rocks where they overlap habitats with native crab species. Hemigrapsus can tolerate wide ranges of salinity and temperature as well as damp conditions in the upper intertidal regions.
Hemigrapsus was first recorded in the United States at Townsend Inlet, Cape May County, New Jersey in 1988. This species is now well established and exceptionally abundant along the Atlantic intertidal coastline of the United States from Maine to North Carolina.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike
