I’ve been keeping Geosesarma crabs now for many months, and they’ve been steadily reproducing in the paludarium. But except for one rare occasion, I haven’t actually seen them complete the mating ritual. This weekend, I was lucky enough to catch them on film.

The eggs have been in a 2.5 gallon tank with an air driven sponge and powerhead for the past week, with water pouring over them. They generally take around 10-12 days to hatch. Today, the first of the bunch started hatching out.

In the photo above you can see the tail of the first one to hatch, as it is struggling to escape it’s shell. Below, a video of the same scene, in which you can see several individuals twitching.

Interestingly enough, the hatch is starting today on a full moon, and started late in the afternoon. Being a thorough fishkeeper, Ricky has tracked his last few hatchings, all which have fallen within 24 hours of a full moon. Makes you wonder…

Msjinkzd.com

ARS Technica has an article about Jumping spiders, and a study that investigates how they see their prey. A very interesting read, check it out.

Jumping spiders pounce using blurry green images of prey

I was just checking out this great video showing the benefits of starting planted tanks from marginally grown wabi-kusa. Who’s got a link to the substrate mix?

ADA View 46

It already seems so long ago that the massive earthquakes struck Japan last March, and it’s impossible to imagine the condition that the most affected regions must still be in. What you might not realize about the event, was that it kept going, and going. The area continued to quake all year long, at what would seem like an elevated rate after the March event. The video above is an excellent visualization of the activity over the year and really illustrates how much pounding the Japanese coast has taken in the past 12 months.

And as a bonus, here’s a video I found on Youtube of the crabs in the wild in Java.

Find out more about this marginal stem plant from Cuba over at AquariaCentral.com.

The fourth and final installment of Adventures in Aquascaping hit the shelves this month, with the release of the August issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist. Available now online, and in stores in the first week of July. I’ve just finished a 45 gallon paludarium for my new Geosesarma Crabs. This month, check out the finishing touches, planting, and the introduction of crabs and shrimp.

If you are a TFH Digital subscriber, the digital magazine page is http://www.tfhdigital.com/tfh/201108#pg39 but for anyone without a subscription, you can also find it at Barnes & Noble, and on select news stands nationwide. For all you iPhone fans out there, you can also read the article via TFH’s new iPhone app, which is free and comes with 3 free issues!

Don’t forget to check out the TFH AIA Blog for a full tank shot and a quick plants list. And if you missed last months article, check out how I used cork to build up the hardscape.

Keep an eye out for continued coverage, including more photos, video, and a review of the Reef Brite LED fixtures that I’ve been testing. And if you like plants, take a peak of the list of plants I posted, along with links and photos.

There are many things to consider when building a paludarium, but I think one of the most important aspects to any habitat is the choice of plants. The 45 gallon tank I’ve been building for my Red Devil crabs contains over 30 species of tropical plants, including ferns, mosses, orchids and many creeping vines. I’ve compiled a partial list here, with a few links to information and pictures around the web that are a good starting point, to get to know some of these fantastic plants. I’ll be adding links as I find interesting information, let me know if you’ve got anything good for me to read or add. Thanks to all of the growers who, in one way or another, contributed plants to this project. They come from magical, distant places, like Hawaii, New Jersey, Ohio, and Times Square.

See a list of the plants, and a gallery of photos, after the jump…

Terrestrial Plants

Aquatic Plants

The third installment of Adventures in Aquascaping hit the shelves this month, with the release of the July issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist. Available now online, and in stores in the first week of June. I’m building a 45 gallon paludarium to house a gang of Geosesarma Crabs. This month, see how I cover the plumbed insert with cork bark and prepare it for final planting. If you missed last months article, check out a few photos of the plumbing.

If you are a TFH Digital subscriber, the digital magazine page is http://www.tfhdigital.com/tfh/201107#pg35 but for anyone without a subscription, you can also find it at Barnes & Noble, and on select news stands nationwide. Don’t forget to check out the TFH AIA Blog for a few other details this month, including the problem I had with my float away island. The remedy: Gorilla Glue!

Keep an eye out for continued coverage, including my upcoming plant list with links and photos galore and a review of the Reef Brite LED fixtures that I’ve been testing.

An interesting article about the Asian demand for live reef fish and the aquaculture market that is rising to try and meet the needs of Restauranteurs throughout the region.

The demand for live coral grouper completely exceeds supply. If demand keeps up, you won’t see this species in the wild in three to five years.
- Lloyd Moskalik, OceanEthix

My Buddy Ricky has some amazing fish, and has really turned me on to a few of my now favorite species. His Sicyopterus have started showing their breeding colors, after 2 years of waiting. This video is not to be missed!
http://youtu.be/trADVwjIpK4

And check out more of Ricky’s amazing 90 gallon Goby tank over at his thread on Aquaria Central.

Check out this sneak peak, and keep an eye out for more crab photos in the near future.

If you are a TFH Digital subscriber, the digital magazine page is http://www.tfhdigital.com/tfh/201106#pg41, but for anyone without a subscription, you can also check out the TFH Blog which has some coverage as well.

Atrazine is the most commonly used herbicide in the United States. Recent research shows that atrazine is an endocrine disruptor that chemically castrates and feminizes male frogs at concentrations 30 times lower than levels allowed by the EPA.

Click the link and sign the petition! It only takes a minute. http://action.biologicaldiversity.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6526

The Nepenthes Ampullaria is an odd little pitcher plant that has been reported to be used as a home to multiple species of crab, including the Geosesarma Malayanum and Geosesarma Perracae crabs. Check out this great PDF from the Nature in Singapore website, for a detailed report: http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/nis/bulletin2008/2008nis201-205.pdf

I think this plant might be more suitable to the paludarium environment than most carnivorous plants. I seems to be from the same swampy areas the crabs like, and from information found on wikipedia, the plants have developed the ability to digest fallen leaf litter and use slowly acquired nutrients.

Nepenthes ampullaria generally grows in damp, shady forest from sea-level to 2100 m altitude.[2] In Borneo, it occurs usually on relatively flat terrain in kerangas forest, peat swamp forest, and degraded swamp forest, at elevations of 0 to 1000 m.[3]
In Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, it grows from sea-level to 1100 m altitude on flat terrain in heath forest, padang (meaning “field” in Malay), belukar, peat swamp forest, degraded swamp forest, and in padi fields.[4]
In New Guinea, it is predominantly present in Araucaria forests. The species has also been recorded from secondary forests, open microphyllous vegetation, and swamp grassland.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepenthes_ampullaria

And lucky for me, it looks like PredatoryPlants.com has them in stock! I’m going to have to try one out.