crabs wanted

[LeslieH1]

Hi everyone --

Want to get rid of your pesky crabs? Why not donate them to science instead of freezing or flushing them? There are some people here at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County that are doing a genetic research project on crabs. They need freshly preserved specimens in 95% alcohol so you can send them either live or in alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is best, rubbing alcohol from the drugstore is okay, so is white rum or vodka as long as it's 150 proof or higher (and you get to drink the rest, win-win!). Along with the crab we absolutely need to know where it came from: Bali rock, Fiji rock, Florida rock, etc. If we don't have locality we can't identify them; if we can't identify them we can't use them.

To preserve a crab just throw it into a container filled with alcohol. Leave it in overnight to make sure the body tissues are saturated with alcohol. Take it out & wrap it in a paper towel soaked with alcohol. Triple bag it in ziplocks or baggies so the towel doesn't dry out & there's no leakage during shipping (if you can heat seal the plastic that's even better). Place the bag into a crush-proof container. It can be shipped 1st class or overnight. Sorry, we can't pay postage - we might go bankrupt if we got a lot & had to pay for them all! - but it's tax deductible.

Send them to me here at the museum:
Leslie Harris
Collection Manager, Polychaetes
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Many thanks, Leslie

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Well I COULD get you the following species

Callinectes sapidus- Blue crab
Porcelain crabs- though not true crabs
Menippe mercenaria- Florida stone crab
and various other mixed crabs.

I am in FLorida. However shipping bottles would cost a pretty penny. I would do it for a little money hint hint :lol: Besides according to Florida statues I could only get you game sized blue crabs and stone crabs. Unless I sent you small stone crabs that would be considered aquacultured. I have tons of stone crabs in my tank.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Besides I dont think Flordia Fish and Wildlife would take too kindly to me exporting indiginous species as a tax write-off.

 

[LeslieH1]

Thanks for the offer. Probably not necessary as US crabs are easy for the team to get. In fact, I think some of the members are along the Gulf. I was thinking more of those pesky hitchhiking xanthids, etc., that keep popping up in people's tanks.

The tax write-off would be the cost of shipping the crabs, not the cost of the frags they rode in on! :lol:

 

[blackcloudmedia]

lol well it would probably be easier for you to go to a local store and ask for their hitchhikers. Most exotic crabs are worth keeping i.e. sally lightfoots and emerald crabs.