Name: Fluker's Gourmet-Style River Shrimp

Ingredients: River Shrimp

Location: Petco

Price: 4.99/1.2 oz can

I was walking through my local Petco when I saw a sign in the reptile section that read "20% off all reptile food". Yay! So after looking and rejecting much of what was there I came across this can of river shrimp. The ingredient list passed muster. No strange additived, not packed in salt, no preservatives. It peaked my interest so I brought it home with me.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I was really surprised when I opened the can to find these tiny shrimp, I guess I expected something much larger and not so vibrantly colored. I placed them in a bowl and placed the bowl into the crabitat. It was pretty much ignored for the first 12 hours or so. The next morning I got up to find the following shrimp party happening and those two are still eating it a day later. I picked them up (much to their chirpy dismay) and saw that between the two of them they had eaten most of it.

Personally I think this is a great addition to the food repetoire, especially those who have a hard time getting fresh meat/protein sources. The shrimp were small and moist even though they were a bit on the expensive side. By freezing the leftovers you could probably stretch this small can over 8 or 10 feedings. It would also be a great offering to pre or post molt crabs as it is high in protein and calcium.

If you're like me, you are constantly looking for something that will get your crabs to come out from their cave and get excited, well, as excited as a crab can get. A coconut is a treat that will get your crab's attention and is pretty fun to get ready to serve. I like coconuts because they can be used in three ways. You can serve the meat and the milk and you can make the husks into cocohuts.

Take the coconut and place it in a large, non-breakable bowl. Take the bowl to a hard surface (preferably concrete, like basement or sidewalk). Grab a hammer and tap lightly on the edges of the score line the manufacturer places in the sides of the coconut. It should crack open and the milk should leak out the crack into the bowl. Pry the coconut open and prepare to serve.

You have several options. You can shred some coconut meat and serve it in a dish. You can serve the coconut as is. You can soak it, you can bake it, you can steam it. I like to take a chunk of raw coconut with husk attached and pop it in the microwave. This warms up the coconut oil and releases delicious tropical fragrances. Remember, crabs love things that are smelly. I like to make a depression in the substrate and use the coconut piece as a bowl. I filled this one with shrimp, cuttlefish, and octopus. I place a small amount of coconut milk in a separate shell for them to enjoy. [By the way, that is NarNar's salsa mix in the background, a HUGE hit!]

After that is all set up I put the leftover milk in a ziploc and freeze it and wrap the coconut remains and freeze them as well. The coconut in the crabitat gets removed after a day or so because it will mold quickly.

To make a cocohut use a dremel or other small hand tool to shape the coconut half after the meat has been scraped out. You can sand off the "hair" or leave it the way it is.