I am getting pictures developed of the snorkeling in Florida so I will post them later. My question right now is how do we take care of the baby crab we brought home? He is in a large plastic box with tons of holes in the lid to get air, and about 2 inches of sand covering the bottom of the box.
Ghost crab
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Marines_Wife
Reef enthusiast
Well......Ok Im just going to say it once and get it over with so please dont take offense....
As someone who lives at the beach I simply hate it when tourists come out and treat the beaches and tide pools like their personal gift shop. We live here and you love to visit here for a reason and from ANY beach I have been to it is strictly prohibited from taking any of the wild life or even touching it. Alot of damage gets done because if tourists takes just one....well do the math 200 tourists on one beach each taking something home....thats a lot of wild life.....
That being said I would get on the internet and do some serious research about the animal, what it likes and doesnt like in the wild and try to replicate that the best you can but please try to save it. It shouldn't die because you took it as a souvenir. :( :(
As someone who lives at the beach I simply hate it when tourists come out and treat the beaches and tide pools like their personal gift shop. We live here and you love to visit here for a reason and from ANY beach I have been to it is strictly prohibited from taking any of the wild life or even touching it. Alot of damage gets done because if tourists takes just one....well do the math 200 tourists on one beach each taking something home....thats a lot of wild life.....
That being said I would get on the internet and do some serious research about the animal, what it likes and doesnt like in the wild and try to replicate that the best you can but please try to save it. It shouldn't die because you took it as a souvenir. :( :(
Marines_Wife
Reef enthusiast
And thats why people on the beach arent as friendly to tourists as to others.
Dont take so much offense dude and go look it up but would you condone taking a fish out of the ocean as well?
Marines_Wife
Reef enthusiast
From the minimal investigation I have done into your new "pet" you need to supply it with enough sand so that it can burrow, there has been some success feeding it things like apples and other veggies however since they arent really being sold as pets the knowledge is limited.
Hopefully someone here can chime in and help you out otherwise I would say find its closest relative and go off of the care for that.
Hopefully someone here can chime in and help you out otherwise I would say find its closest relative and go off of the care for that.
AmberSunrise
Reef enthusiast
It will starve to death or die of ammonia poison in a couple weeks.
Marines_Wife
Reef enthusiast
Thats what I was thinking :(
I see people do it all of the time. I am at the beach every day and all day on the weekends. It is posted EVERYWHERE that it is strictly prohibited from taking marine life from the beach/tidepools/water.
I hate seeing these beautiful creatures that I watch every day die because people want a souvenir. This is the BIGGEST reason why I look for locals only spots that tourists know nothing about and we all keep these beaches closely guarded secrets.
Recently one of my most favorite beaches was invaded by the hotel across the way. Since it has been the amount of life I have seen disappear from it has been startling.
AmberSunrise
Reef enthusiast
We have no local only spots in florida LOL
irensing
Controversial Reefer
I lived on the beach in Florida near Patrick Airforce Base (now I live 10 mins away). Mostly locals. There are about 8 billion ghost crabs there. Most people run away from them or can't catch them or simply use them for bait. We're not going to miss one of them. Also, ghost crab tunnels become death holes for turtle hatchlings. I've saved lots of turtles stuck in ghost crab holes.
Marines_Wife
Reef enthusiast
No offense but nothing deserves to be brought from its natural habitat to an almost certain death because we think its pretty. There are a hell of alot of tangs to but if I put one in my 30 gal everyone here would freak because its cruel. Hows this different?
irensing
Controversial Reefer
oh no, not the tang thing again :frustrat:. I believe you said it best,we are somewhat hypocritical simply engaging in this hobby. I get what your saying about certain death and cruelty, but if his daughter got some joy from it and then learns a lesson why you don't take wildlife then I say the ghost crab sacrifice was worth it.
Marines_Wife
Reef enthusiast
LOL hahahahaha its funny but true
I guess like I said, as someone who lives at the beach and sees this happen every day the sacrifice for this lesson is a lot bigger then you would think :(
I take a lot of other wild life out of the habitats also, usually tho they are put directly in my freezer. So is it ok for us to buy pets(fish, birds, mice, turtles, and god only knows what else) that have been captured in the wild for the sole purpose of someone to make a buck????? Sounds a little hypocritical to me to be griping at me about a crab when I'm sure all of us have fish that have been caught in the wild(removed from there natural habitat) and placed in our tanks. I'm just sayin ........
Marines_Wife
Reef enthusiast
Where the hell are you getting your pets the amazon? I dont know about you but I have yet to buy a bird that hasnt been bred and raised here in someones care. Kinda the same with mice an turtles....
Im not saying its right and yes our hobby is a bit hypocritical however at least we make a solid effort to put together the most natural habitat we can for our pets. Not go diving, catch them put them in a tank with NO idea how to care for them and then try and figure out how to care for it. Would you advise that with your fish?
And just out of curiosity, is it legal to take it from the beach?
Marines_Wife
Reef enthusiast
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I am putting that on my sig now.
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