crab dead but !?!?!

[michaeltx]

when my lights came on this morning a saw a little crab that has illuded capture for about a month now. what was odd he wasnt moveing so I reached in the tank to get him and I couldnt get close to him there was a jelly like substance that had totally engulfed his body. when I finnaly got him out in my hand the jelatanous stuff filled my hand and was solid.. what could have done this?? its really weird and sorta nasty.. LOL
any ideas..
Michael

 

[mr . salty]

Are you sure that this is actually the crab,,,or just his molted skin???? Thier molt looks exactly like a dead crab,but opon closer inspection it is just his exoskeliton...

 

[whipitboy]

i had an anamone eat a lion fish and few hours later "spit" him out. he was covered in slime

 

[michaeltx]

it wasnt a molt his exoskelton was still in take but the anemone thing might be it becasue it was at the base of a condy where I found him,,
interesting..
thanks
Michael

 

[kyarnkid]

I think it was just decomposition takings its coarse. I have seen a huge blob of jelly like substance when I saw a clown dead at my lfs. he said he has not got him out because he was using it for the cycle(how inhumane can you be). I thought it was a bubble anenome, but I was wrong.
HTH

 

[michaeltx]

I dont think its from natural decay I have had other things die before and the glob that surrounds them this was more like a jelly bag that was around the crab kinda like a plastic bag around it.. when I took it out I was inspecting it when it was in my palm and the was actually like a clear bag of clear fluid and the crab was inside of it..
Michael

 

[fshhub]

we had shrimp do that too, when they died, it looks like a mold in appearance and is jelly like to the touch, decaying will do that to soemthings in sw, it is natural decomposition(as kyarn said), i don't know if it is that they stay in the tank longer thatn other creatures, or what, but they just seem to, and not everything i have seen has or has nto done this, wierd but does happen

 

[michaeltx]

thats kewl I have never seen this so its was all new to me. all that I have seen is a fuzzy type of algae going off the animal. whatever happened to it I was actually glad to get the little bugger out sad that he had to die to do this. was going to move him to another tank but for about a month I was trying to get him out.. (I think he knew it too never ventured outside the rock just stuck his claw out LOL)
Michael