Friday, August 26, 2005
Taipei - Part 4
Ahem... Feeling slightly better... At least not so drowsy... :)
Part 4... Hmm... Remember I was talking about my hermit crab kicking its bucket before I fly to Taipei? Well, went to Huasi Street Night Market and saw PLENTY of hermit crabs on sale at one of the stalls!
The stall owner is a young couple and they are rather friendlyt and knowledgeable. They talked to me and showed me all the different types of land hermits they have and how to keep them properly. They taught me how to feed them, how to keep them, what they like and dislike etc... And then they listened to how I was keeping my hermit and diagnosed the possible cause of death of my hermit...
Their hermits very pretty, they have big ones, small ones, red ones, purple ones (several types), white ones (very rare) and the more commonly seen grey ones. The shells they have for the hermits are also very beautiful. Worth a trip there! Hey, I got me-self a free lesson. :) They even have a website... But, now, where did I place their address... Oh, well, will post it next time when I find it. :)
So, it turns out that the hermit crab is a land based animal that basically likes its environment to be humid but not wet. It will die if kept in a vivarium... A terrarium (land with plants) would be better but then again, the crabs will damage the plants!
I have 5 at home now, in a 2ft tank with some driftwood for them to climb. Mine mine, they DO like to climb... I then added some airplants and emersed java moss to beautify the tank. They seem to love the forage among the moss... My friend reported that his crabs ended up eating his moss! Realised that besides climbing, they also love to burrow... Hmm... Time to thicken my tank substrate... And have to plant all plants that I want in pots liao... They sure like to dig around... And they love apples... :)
So, these fellas are not aquatic at all... They dun even like to have their feet constantly wet! So, these are the near-aquatic critters I was talking about. :) Next installments, tanks at train stations and fake aquatic creatures. :)
Pictures:
Part 4... Hmm... Remember I was talking about my hermit crab kicking its bucket before I fly to Taipei? Well, went to Huasi Street Night Market and saw PLENTY of hermit crabs on sale at one of the stalls!
The stall owner is a young couple and they are rather friendlyt and knowledgeable. They talked to me and showed me all the different types of land hermits they have and how to keep them properly. They taught me how to feed them, how to keep them, what they like and dislike etc... And then they listened to how I was keeping my hermit and diagnosed the possible cause of death of my hermit...
Their hermits very pretty, they have big ones, small ones, red ones, purple ones (several types), white ones (very rare) and the more commonly seen grey ones. The shells they have for the hermits are also very beautiful. Worth a trip there! Hey, I got me-self a free lesson. :) They even have a website... But, now, where did I place their address... Oh, well, will post it next time when I find it. :)
So, it turns out that the hermit crab is a land based animal that basically likes its environment to be humid but not wet. It will die if kept in a vivarium... A terrarium (land with plants) would be better but then again, the crabs will damage the plants!
I have 5 at home now, in a 2ft tank with some driftwood for them to climb. Mine mine, they DO like to climb... I then added some airplants and emersed java moss to beautify the tank. They seem to love the forage among the moss... My friend reported that his crabs ended up eating his moss! Realised that besides climbing, they also love to burrow... Hmm... Time to thicken my tank substrate... And have to plant all plants that I want in pots liao... They sure like to dig around... And they love apples... :)
So, these fellas are not aquatic at all... They dun even like to have their feet constantly wet! So, these are the near-aquatic critters I was talking about. :) Next installments, tanks at train stations and fake aquatic creatures. :)
Pictures:
# posted by Justikanz @ 2:22 PM 
