Hermit crab spawning

I watched one of my hermit crabs spawn last night.  It was pretty cool.  I had seen small bugs swimming around my tank every so often at night and wasn't sure what they were, now I know.  I hope to catching on video some time.

I believe that would be Hermit Crabs hatching. I believe the spawning may occur when we see Hermits "fighting". According to Wikipedia, Hermits hatch from their egg in the 3rd stage of their life as larvae called Zoea.

We are lucky when we catch Zoea being released from eggs harbored on the parent. Several times I have received bags of Red-leg Hermits with the Zoea having been released while in the bag. These had an orange-red tinge to them and were about 100 microns in size. The chances of their survival in our tanks is slim to none. When they reach the adult stage, they need pretty small shells.

I searched and found several Youtube videos which were erroneously labeled Hermit Crab Zoea but were actually adult Mysid Shrimp. Here is something about Land Hermit Crab Zoea: http://crabstreetjournal.org/wp/blog/2013/02/21/hermit-crab-zoea/

Jeff, you could be the first to post Clibanarius spp. Hermit Crab Zoea on Youtube.

Aloha,
Mark


Edited by Mark Peterson - January 21 2014 at 8:18am

Thanks for the link. Did yours do that movement to kick the kids out?