Blue Crabs

[John B.]

I live near the Chesapeake Bay where the blue crab is native and an
important part of the culture. I was wondering if it might be possible to
keep one of these wonderful (and delicious!) creatures in an aquarium. If
so, what sort of setup would be involved, and since the Chesapeake is an
estuary, what type of water conditions would be necessary?

Thanks,
John

[Billy]

"John B." > wrote in message
...
|I live near the Chesapeake Bay where the blue crab is native and an
| important part of the culture. I was wondering if it might be
possible to
| keep one of these wonderful (and delicious!) creatures in an
aquarium. If
| so, what sort of setup would be involved, and since the Chesapeake
is an
| estuary, what type of water conditions would be necessary?
|


Research. Get several samples around the area you plan to get the
crab over a couple weeks, monitoring such things as salinity, alk,
etc. Temperature will be low, as you're aware, so you're going to
need to invest in one heck of a chiller. That alone could set you
back 700 dollars, as you're going to need to do some serious
chilling. <g>
Myself, I would fill the tank with NSW from the bay itself, and
do water changes with baywater as well, but install a UV filter to
guard against random nasties.

All this in mind, the Bay Estuary is heavily protected, with many
groups lobbying for even more protection. Be vary careful to check
all local laws about removal of water, rock, and critters, as you
don't want to find yourself behind bars, and not sand bars, either.

[John B.]

Here in Maryland, there are crab houses that sell steamed crabs year round.
You can also purchase the crusteceans live for steaming at home. Being lazy
and not wanting to tangle with the DNR, I figured I would just buy a dozen
and give one a reprieve! :-)

John

"Billy" > wrote in message
...
>
> "John B." > wrote in message
> ...
> |I live near the Chesapeake Bay where the blue crab is native and an
> | important part of the culture. I was wondering if it might be
> possible to
> | keep one of these wonderful (and delicious!) creatures in an
> aquarium. If
> | so, what sort of setup would be involved, and since the Chesapeake
> is an
> | estuary, what type of water conditions would be necessary?
> |
>
>
> Research. Get several samples around the area you plan to get the
> crab over a couple weeks, monitoring such things as salinity, alk,
> etc. Temperature will be low, as you're aware, so you're going to
> need to invest in one heck of a chiller. That alone could set you
> back 700 dollars, as you're going to need to do some serious
> chilling. <g>
> Myself, I would fill the tank with NSW from the bay itself, and
> do water changes with baywater as well, but install a UV filter to
> guard against random nasties.
>
> All this in mind, the Bay Estuary is heavily protected, with many
> groups lobbying for even more protection. Be vary careful to check
> all local laws about removal of water, rock, and critters, as you
> don't want to find yourself behind bars, and not sand bars, either.
>
>

[Billy]

"John B." > wrote in message
...
| Here in Maryland, there are crab houses that sell steamed crabs
year round.
| You can also purchase the crusteceans live for steaming at home.
Being lazy
| and not wanting to tangle with the DNR, I figured I would just buy
a dozen
| and give one a reprieve! :-)


Great idea! Good luck, and post progress!!!

[Kevin & Donna Sanders, M.D.]

Blue Crabs range from Main to Florida and tolerate a wide range of
salinities. I live near the mouth of the Chesapeake bay where the water is
almost sea water and have a house on the Potomac River where it about 50/50
and both places have plenty of crabs. Remember they are very aggressive
against other fish and corals. Also remember its OK to catch them and steam
them but keeping them as pets is illegal. Just like a squirrel or deer.
There was one guy in VA Beach who would go out and scuba dive in the
Atlantic and capture tropical fish which get swept up in the gulfstream and
destined to die if they don't make it back south before winter. You could
order online an he would get it for you. The Government shut him down.


"Billy" > wrote in message
...
>
> "John B." > wrote in message
> ...
> | Here in Maryland, there are crab houses that sell steamed crabs
> year round.
> | You can also purchase the crusteceans live for steaming at home.
> Being lazy
> | and not wanting to tangle with the DNR, I figured I would just buy
> a dozen
> | and give one a reprieve! :-)
>
>
> Great idea! Good luck, and post progress!!!
>
>

[Billy]

"John B." > wrote in message
...
| LOL...that sounds like our govt. at work. :-)
|
| I would also like to put a couple oysters in there with the crab.
Should be
| safe in their shell I suppose. (can get those live too at the crab
houses).
| Since oysters are filter feeders, I was thinking about feeding them
with
| phytoplankton that can be purchased in a bottle. Anyone try keeping
these
| succulent bivalves in a tank?
|


At the risk of continuing a discussion in a public place about
illegal activities, I suggest you turn to Google for information on
keeping cold-water bivalves.

Again, are you prepared to spend 700+ on a chiller?

[John B.]

LOL...I doubt that keeping a crab and an oyster in a fish tank is illegal.
Every Giant supermarket I have ever visited in the past 20 years has had a
tank full of crusteceans on display. I got the idea from a web site at the
Chesapeake Bay National Esturine Research Reserve in Virginia which has a
very detailed set of instructions on the topic of Esturine Aquarium Keeping,
which includes some information on keeping blue crabs, et. al in an
aquarium. Doubt that they would be propagating information on "illegal"
activities. http://www.vims.edu/cbnerr/education/aquarium.htm

The instructions in the 19 page .pdf are certainly detailed enough. I was
mostly interested in whether others had practical experience in the matter.

Thanks Again,
John


"Billy" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> "John B." > wrote in message
> ...
> | LOL...that sounds like our govt. at work. :-)
> |
> | I would also like to put a couple oysters in there with the crab.
> Should be
> | safe in their shell I suppose. (can get those live too at the crab
> houses).
> | Since oysters are filter feeders, I was thinking about feeding them
> with
> | phytoplankton that can be purchased in a bottle. Anyone try keeping
> these
> | succulent bivalves in a tank?
> |
>
>
> At the risk of continuing a discussion in a public place about
> illegal activities, I suggest you turn to Google for information on
> keeping cold-water bivalves.
>
> Again, are you prepared to spend 700+ on a chiller?
>
>

[Kevin & Donna Sanders, M.D.]

I stand corrected.

According to Virginia code 4 VAC 15-360-10 You are allowed to keep up to 20
individuals of any single native or naturalized as defined by 4 VAC 15-20-50
species of aquatic invertebrates. There are other exclusions such as
threatened or endangered species. That guy who was catching things in the
Atlantic was probably busted under 29.1-103 & 23.1-521 which prohibits
buying, selling offering for sale any wild animal unless specifically
authorized by law. For a good summary see.
http://www.dgif.state.va.us/wildlife/regs/wildlife_laws_educators.pdf
Of course your state laws may differ


That being said I have had Blue crabs in my sump and they lived for a couple
years. I found an oyster once that lived for a few months although the
barnacles on the shell died within a few weeks and have rescued a couple
long neck clams from the steamer that also lived for about 6 months. I
didn't feed them phyto religiously so that may make a difference. Also the
bay temps max out in the upper 70's . Also the oysters may have a parasite
Dermo and MSX and we just had "record" oyster harvest in Virginia because of
all of the rain diluted the bay and rivers preventing the parasites from
killing the oysters and they predict with return of the dryer weather the
oysters will begin dying again.

A little off track but I saw a truck the other day with a bumper sticker "
Oysters Nature's water filters" on the back of the Hampton Roads Sanitary
District ( Sewage Treatment for our area) truck :( yum-yum










"John B." > wrote in message
...
> LOL...I doubt that keeping a crab and an oyster in a fish tank is illegal.
> Every Giant supermarket I have ever visited in the past 20 years has had a
> tank full of crusteceans on display. I got the idea from a web site at the
> Chesapeake Bay National Esturine Research Reserve in Virginia which has a
> very detailed set of instructions on the topic of Esturine Aquarium
> Keeping,
> which includes some information on keeping blue crabs, et. al in an
> aquarium. Doubt that they would be propagating information on "illegal"
> activities. http://www.vims.edu/cbnerr/education/aquarium.htm
>
> The instructions in the 19 page .pdf are certainly detailed enough. I was
> mostly interested in whether others had practical experience in the
> matter.
>
> Thanks Again,
> John
>
>
> "Billy" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>>
>> "John B." > wrote in message
>> ...
>> | LOL...that sounds like our govt. at work. :-)
>> |
>> | I would also like to put a couple oysters in there with the crab.
>> Should be
>> | safe in their shell I suppose. (can get those live too at the crab
>> houses).
>> | Since oysters are filter feeders, I was thinking about feeding them
>> with
>> | phytoplankton that can be purchased in a bottle. Anyone try keeping
>> these
>> | succulent bivalves in a tank?
>> |
>>
>>
>> At the risk of continuing a discussion in a public place about
>> illegal activities, I suggest you turn to Google for information on
>> keeping cold-water bivalves.
>>
>> Again, are you prepared to spend 700+ on a chiller?
>>
>>
>
>