| Living Materials
Information
Fiddler crab
(Uca
pugnax or Uca pugilator)
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Materials |
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3
plastic holding pails with lids |
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Two
270-mL (9-oz) cups of sand |
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1 bottle of tap water conditioner |
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1 aquarium net |
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Food
(dried plankton) |
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Instant Ocean™ |
Procedure
Before the crabs arrive, you will need some dechlorinated saltwater for
the holding pails. Here is how you make it. Fill one holding pail halfway with tap water. Add a drop of tap water conditioner. Then add one teaspoon of Instant Ocean™, stirring to dissolve the powder.
Allow the dechlorinated saltwater to reach room temperature before use.
Put one cup of sand in an empty pail so that the sand forms a gradual slope up to a small mound on one side of the pail (see "Student Instructions for Building a Fiddler Crab Habitat" on pgs. 73
and 74 in the
Animal Studies Student Activity Book). Add one cup of the dechlorinated saltwater to the side of the pail with no sand. Wait a few minutes. The sand will absorb some of the water. Add more
saltwater until it is about 1.5 cm (5/8 in) deep.
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| Fiddler crab |
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Repeat these steps for a second holding pail. In a few hours, check the water level in both pails.
Add saltwater if necessary.
When the crabs arrive, open the box immediately. The crabs will be in one or
2 plastic bags inside the box. Open the bags slightly to pour out the shipping water. Then, carefully pour half the crabs into each pail.
Feed the crabs by putting one pinch of dried plankton in the water and one pinch of dried plankton on the sand. Punch air holes in the pail lids and cover the pails.
Until you are ready to use the crabs, store the holding pails in a safe place
at room temperature, in indirect light, and out of the children's view. Check the water level and food in each pail daily. When necessary, remove any old uneaten food and add fresh food.
Do not keep the crabs in the holding pails for more than a day or 2. If necessary, skip ahead in the unit to Lesson 5 and create the crab habitats.
After you transfer the crabs, empty the wet sand from the holding pails
and discard it.
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