Faithful SPS Blog readers may recall that a previous post alluded to one SPS team member’s pet crawfish. Well, with so many great client photos to share, we never got around to introducing the little mudbug. So I am proud to present Sinbad The Crawdad.
Well, recently Sinbad the Crawdad has had some big changes! For about a week he seemed to be really under the weather and was turning a terrible color. Then, suddenly one day he rolled onto his side and molted. His old shell split open and he crawled right out bigger, redder, and grumpier than ever.
The next few days Sinbad stayed holed up in his “cave” eating his old shell. The calcium helps his new shell harden and stay strong. This is a picture of Sinbad next to the remnants of his old shell.
Crawfish are actually omnivores. Sinbad’s favorite foods include honeydew and bananas, but usually he just eats shrimp pellets.
UPDATE: Sinbad has molted a second time! While it’s not common for crawish to molt in quick succession, it can happen when the crawfish have plentiful food because they grow so quickly. With this second molt Sinbad has taken on a bluish hue which can result from his diet or even from the clarity of his water and color of the ground around him.
