Moulting?

[aidenb]

When a crab moults, how long until the shell hardens again? And is it soft enough to be damaged by fish?

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

Should be hard within 1 to 2 days.

and yes.

 

[black_sun]

^ What Otto said.

Fish and other aquatics will readily (and in some cases knowingly wait for this opportunity) attack freshly molted crabs, crays and shrimp.

 

[aidenb]

is there any way to tell when its going to moult?

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

The "seam" in the back will look like a popped car truck. Well, it will look like it's pulling up the back...

That's the best i can describe it.

 

[aidenb]

When it shows signs of moulting, how long till it actually does moult, and how often do they moult

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

Molting is exponential so they will molt more often when they are young, and as they age they will be farther apart. I haven't had crabs in awhile so I can't really answer the first question .

 

[black_sun]

Based on my Fiddlers, it's pretty much the same as shrimp and crayfish... "your guess is as good as mine". It can be a few minutes after you see signs, or it can be a day later. There really is no accurate guess since (at least with my crayfish, I've observed this) they seem to be able to temporarily stave off on molting, once signs show up of the beginning of a molt, if conditions aren't ideal at that moment.