Why do they need lids? Because the devils will jump out and follow you into the kitchen, that's why.
For those who may not know, I have a small tub set up for a young European green crab, Carcinus maenas. He's a couple inches accross the carapace (~5cm). This is the second true crab my husband and I have kept over the years, and he and I have always joked they sometimes look like they want to climb out of the tank and have a go at us. However, the tank has very high walls above the water, and all climbing attempts I've seen from this green crab over time failed almost immediately. I have seen very small hermits manage it quickly, but this crab just didn't seem built for climbing straight up with arms only. He'd always slip and plop right back down.
Tonight I went into the fish room and observed the crab in his tank. He was dancing around begging for food. I walked a few feet over to check on another tank and then walked straight out of the room. I started to go into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, then realized my coffee mug was elsewhere and headed into the living room. Just as I started to leave the kitchen, I heard a "rustle rustle" from near the entry to the kitchen by some bags of recyclables. I thought "great, it better not be a rodent" and went to get a flashlight. The "rustle rustle" continued along behind the recycling for a ways. I moved a bag out of the way to see what kind of vermin was about while my husband went to get something to whack it with if needed. And there it was...
CRAB.
Seeing that, I apparently produced such a creative string of swearing that my husband was wondering if he really wanted to come back over.
Fortunately, after some amount of bothering about, we were able to net the crab and get him back in the tank (which now has a large lid firmly clamped down). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's unharmed. He was happy to rip some fish from my hands and eat it right after being put back, so everything seems alright as far as I can see. Only time will tell really, since I don't know if there was anything bad chemical-wise he could have gotten into on the kitchen floor.
Anyway, what makes this whole thing incredible to me though is the timing. I saw the crab in the water immediately before leaving the room. For the rustling to start when it did, the crab must have climbed close to a foot of power cord straight up and been down onto the floor in only a couple of seconds. The floor is carpet so I wouldn't have heard him land. After that, he would have had to follow pretty much right behind me out of the room, turned left down the hall, and headed over to the kitchen. There are so many other places he could have gone exploring that would not have involved following me, many of which wouldn't even involve leaving the room. This is the kind of strangeness I would expect from something like an octopus, not a crab!
If someone had told me "oh yes, green crabs can climb cords that fast when motivated" I might have believed it. However, "they'll follow you right out of the room too" would've seemed a stretch - until now!
So there's my crazy marine story/lesson for the day: SECURE LIDS - tanks with true crabs need them. Otherwise, you never know...they might get out and kill you in your sleep or something.
For those who may not know, I have a small tub set up for a young European green crab, Carcinus maenas. He's a couple inches accross the carapace (~5cm). This is the second true crab my husband and I have kept over the years, and he and I have always joked they sometimes look like they want to climb out of the tank and have a go at us. However, the tank has very high walls above the water, and all climbing attempts I've seen from this green crab over time failed almost immediately. I have seen very small hermits manage it quickly, but this crab just didn't seem built for climbing straight up with arms only. He'd always slip and plop right back down.
Tonight I went into the fish room and observed the crab in his tank. He was dancing around begging for food. I walked a few feet over to check on another tank and then walked straight out of the room. I started to go into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, then realized my coffee mug was elsewhere and headed into the living room. Just as I started to leave the kitchen, I heard a "rustle rustle" from near the entry to the kitchen by some bags of recyclables. I thought "great, it better not be a rodent" and went to get a flashlight. The "rustle rustle" continued along behind the recycling for a ways. I moved a bag out of the way to see what kind of vermin was about while my husband went to get something to whack it with if needed. And there it was...
CRAB.
Seeing that, I apparently produced such a creative string of swearing that my husband was wondering if he really wanted to come back over.
Fortunately, after some amount of bothering about, we were able to net the crab and get him back in the tank (which now has a large lid firmly clamped down). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's unharmed. He was happy to rip some fish from my hands and eat it right after being put back, so everything seems alright as far as I can see. Only time will tell really, since I don't know if there was anything bad chemical-wise he could have gotten into on the kitchen floor.Anyway, what makes this whole thing incredible to me though is the timing. I saw the crab in the water immediately before leaving the room. For the rustling to start when it did, the crab must have climbed close to a foot of power cord straight up and been down onto the floor in only a couple of seconds. The floor is carpet so I wouldn't have heard him land. After that, he would have had to follow pretty much right behind me out of the room, turned left down the hall, and headed over to the kitchen. There are so many other places he could have gone exploring that would not have involved following me, many of which wouldn't even involve leaving the room. This is the kind of strangeness I would expect from something like an octopus, not a crab!
If someone had told me "oh yes, green crabs can climb cords that fast when motivated" I might have believed it. However, "they'll follow you right out of the room too" would've seemed a stretch - until now!So there's my crazy marine story/lesson for the day: SECURE LIDS - tanks with true crabs need them. Otherwise, you never know...they might get out and kill you in your sleep or something.
