im not sure who everyone goes thru for fiddlers but i have been going thru sachs for a while now....no complaints yet but i have just found a guy on ebay that is selling them for cheap. hes part of this big property that seems to be like a wildlife refuge.they harvest them and are selling 100 for $35 and 1000 for $325. i haven't got my order in yet but it should be arriving shortly but so far its way cheaper and the service has been great. the website is http://www.unboundground.com/ and there ebay name is "ubgsports". i don't mean to advertise for this company but they are offering a great price for bigger quantities!:roflmao:

I am considering collecting European green crabs on the west coast and offering them for sale.
Since getting into the ceph game I share everyones need to provide quality food for our animals.
These little guys are considered a nuicense species and range in size from small to XL.
I've fed quite a few of them to Creepy and he seems happy with them so far.
I'm sure they will ship well and seem very hardy, also the area I caught them seems to be pollution free.(Bodega Bay)
California Dept. of Fish and Game considers them a nuicense species and allows people to take them.
I may be able to customize orders for a specific size.

I would not be able to move on this until after my daughters 18th B-Day and High School Graduation which happens early next month, but I need to know if this is worth pursuing.
Any feedback would be appreciated. I'm sure there are a thousand things I havent considered, but it sounds like it could be fun.

Griffen,

You would need to research price for West, Mid and East US to give us the chance to know if this would work. I suspect anyone near by would be delighted but can you ship them reasonably to the east coast?

i might even be intersted if like dwhatley said, if the price is right...im on the east coast also. with shipping i dont think i would pay anything over a doller a crab...

Ya ....your right , shipping is the key to making it worth it.
I still have alot of research to do but these crabs seem perfect in every way. I can also offer custom sizing which might make things a little more attractive.
Plus I'm doing this for the love which goes a long way in decision making.
Thanks for the encouragement!

I think you could sell them. It's almost impossible to find live crabs other than fiddlers, which are a little small even for an adult bimac or other -sized octos.

How big are the crabs?

Nancy

Yes, these crabs come in almost any size, the average size from my latest trip is a body size of 2" wide with a total width (including the legs)of about 5".
For larger Octos these seem to be ideal.
There is no shortage of much smaller crabs too.
I predict that these crabs will ship well, I've read that they can tolerate large temperature and salinity changes and about 6 of them are living and eating daily in my support tank.

I contacted Calif. Fish and Game and they are perfectly fine with the collection of these animals. I learned that they were introduced via the shipping industry and have flourished to the detriment of the native species who are not quite as hardy as these little invaders.

You will prolly be able to ship these guys 2nd or 3rd day air which will drastically cut down on shipping charges.

Ive caught these green crabs as well for larger octos or cuttles. Unlike the other shore crabs I get, these can lift light lids on containers and escape!. For months I found dried up crabs in my old apartment. I used to live with 3 females. It was not uncommon to hear a random scream every now and then! :lol:

Yes...these are wiley little guys!
However they are no match for a hungry octo.
One of the smaller ones came right up the rock face to where Creepy was perched, when he saw what was there he leaped off the rock and started swimming frantically to get away. Creepy was all over him before he hit the bottom.
Where was my camera when i needed it. LOL

Would anybody be interested in sandfleas from fla. ?
is there laws on shipping live animals?What would you ship them in?
my octopus loves to eat them i feed him sandfleas and beach crabs.

Thanks Jason

sandfleas would be awesome to get ahold of.

I don't know what the laws are exactly, however people do it all the time.
I will be certinely checking this out.
I've recieved live animals through the mail recently and they were in a cardboard box with an inflated plastic bag with styrofoam pellets with some water.
The outside of the box did'nt have any warnings or message that read "Live animals".
It was shipped from someone who most of us buy from and they all arrived intact and alive.

I'm willing to ship a batch to someone and see if they arrive alive. If interested send me an email at raudy@bellsouth.net.
Jason


Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Subphylum: Crustacea

Class: Malacostraca

Order: Decapoda

Infraorder: Anomura

Family: Hippidae

Genus: Emerita

Thats nice of you, I'll be doing the same when I'm ready to get started.
I'll even pay the shipping cost.

Wild collected specimens would be awesome. Does anyone know what salinity these particular fiddlers come from? Or should I be e-mailing those who run the research station?

These guys were collected directly from the seashore, so whatever salinity level you get is just that. I'll have to check it the next time I go.
There are about six living in my support tank which has a 1.023 sg @ about 75 degrees celcius.
They seem to be doing well. I've recently read that one of the problems with this species being on the west coast is that they can tolerate wide fluctuations in water conditions and quality.

Check the rules for live fish food rather than live fish. I believe the rules are less stringent and I get my shrimp marked that way.

they came in and they are HUGE! A lot of them died, actually about 50% died during shipping but he shipped on a Saturday and Sunday was an unnecessary day in the box. the guy was more than willing to send more and hes got an unlimited supply! check out the pictures, these guys are 3x the size of the other ones i've been getting...

They're about the size of some of our shore crabs.........love that claw though!

j

griffin- about how far away from vacaville is bodega bay? I go to school in Davis and plan to have an octopus when I move back up. Is it very far? glad to hear theres a local source. Have you ever been to the bodega marine lab?

Lets see... Bodega Bay is about 84 miles from Vacaville. Last trip took about 1.5 hours (taking my time) to get there.
I have not been to the marine lab, however if this crab thing works out I will definetely check out the local scene.
I wont be able to really get things going until after my daughters H.S. graduation (June 9) but I will need to make a quick trip before then because I am just about out myself.
That being said...anybody in the Sacramento/Bay Area that needs shore crabs can send me a PM and I'm sure we can work something out.
The ones I collected on my last trip have worked out very well, they tolerate the warmer water of my support tank and eat fresh/frozen shrimp readily.

I would be very interested as well. Especially if you would do 2nd or 3rd day air. As stated before, It would all be about the shipping costs. right now I am getting fiddlers for 40-50 cents each.