Day 39, 6, and 3

Day 39 megalopa from Mary Akers on Vimeo.

Made time for a seven mile hike in the woods today. My son was home and fed them halfway through the time I was gone. After getting home, I was reminded how important those little trips away are for me. Not only so I don’t spend all day walking between the crab room and the sink but because it clears my mind and allows me to step back and reassess my methods in a way that I can’t seem to do when faced with the constant checking on them and tweaking of conditions.

As a result, I’m feeling better today than I have in a while. I’ve finally figured out something about the megalopa that has been stressing me. They’ve been trying to leave the water without a shell. Obviously, that’s not a good idea—but!—with this new pool I made yesterday, not only can I actually see them, finally, but the paint trays, if I fill them deep enough, give the megalopa a sandy slope, very shallow, where I can deposit tiny shells right at the water line. Instantly, I had two streakers checking out shells. Whew! Such a relief. You can see one in the video, actually turning the shell (like an adult crab) and checking it out. ❤️🐚

I’m slowly adding the newest spawn to the two kreisels. I thought about it a lot, but I just can’t see a way to keep them separate and do right by them. They aren’t staying suspended in the 2 1/2 gallon tank and as a result aren’t doing well. So I’ll just have “three generations” sharing the tanks. I’ll vary the pipettes and eyedroppers according to the sizes and it will be okay. If, in fact, I end up with some Es, it will just have to be a pleasant surprise once they are big enough to ID.


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