Pitty82 Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Hi Raiders Went for a cheeky beach session on Sunday arvo, and scored few very fat and healthy aussie sambo's. The strange thing was that when I cleaned them, their guts were absolutely full of small crab/crustacean like lavae. There would have been literally over one hundred in 2/3 fish' stomachs, and the majority of the lavae would have only been 3-4 milllimeters long... tiny. I've caught plenty of salmon in the past and usually have a geeze inside to see what they've been chewing, but can't remember ever seeing these little fellas before. I was going to take a photo of them too but I forgot about the ones I had saved and threw them out accidentely Given my poor/limited desciption, has anyone seen similar tiny crab-like things before in fish' stomachs, and can anyone help me identify what they could have been? Cheers Ben. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharky Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 I saw the same thing on Monday afternoon. Im not sure what they we but they looked like baby balmain bugs with massive eyes. It looked like something from an alien movie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingsRule Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Just readin Ken A's article on salmon and came across this : I opened up a salmon to see what it was eating & it was full of crab larvae known as Megalops. Tiny little crabs that were blue in colour with 2 little black eyes & about half the size of your little fingernail. Anything like what you saw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackfish Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 I think they could be Juvenile Lobsters ..... something like they come to the surface and drift with the currents till they get bigger. Used up my download quota for the month ........ computer, soooooooo... slowwwwwww. Google it and I'm sure the answer is there. B.F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingpig Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 These are krill like whales eat. There are a few different forms and some of them are actually juvinile form of other creatures. Last week there was a post with a large school of salmon working on the surface in a tight school. This krill is what they are feeding on. If you come across a school feed like this it is very difficult to get them take anything. Most of the time a small trout fly that matches the krill works. Hope this answers the question. Tight lines Kingpig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jewel Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 I recall hearing that they were spanner crab larvae....... dont know how true that is though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitty82 Posted July 13, 2006 Author Share Posted July 13, 2006 Thanks for all of the comments fellas. No doubt there is truth in most of the points brought up but I can say with 99% certainty that Kingsrule has hit it on the head. I'd recognise those creepy little things anywhere. So crab larve or megalops it must be. There must be thousands of them around, cos the sambos were jammed pretty full of them. Thanks for your help, take it easy & tight lines. Pitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jewel Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 "As with other members of the phylum Arthropoda, crab species in the class Crustacea must undergo metamorphosis as they grow and mature because of the their hard exoskeletons. For most species, except for a few freshwater varieties, newly hatched crabs bear little resemblance to their parents. From the egg to mature adult life stage, the crab must undergo several transformations before displaying typical adult characteristics. In the early larval or zoea stage, the crab begins life as a transparent, microscopic member of the zooplankton community, cast to the whims and mercy of the prevailing currents and tides. As the zoea grows, it molts repeatedly while approaching the second larval or megalops life stage. The young crab or megalops abandons its rounder, legless body shape for one more closely resembling an adult crab equipped with little claws and other legs." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caine Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 i once got 2 salmon of the rocks and 1 had them inside and the other didnt thought that was strange why didnt the first guys share with his mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sniper Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 I think they may have been small fishdoctors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 (edited) megalops: A crab larvae. megalops: Scientific nomenclature for Tarpon. I used to think people went fly-fishing for baby crabs... It is the season for (baby crab) megalopa too. Edited July 16, 2006 by Richie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fishrunner Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 I believe these are what you are talking about, this fell out of my scoop for my live well this aftenoon after being out at north and south head chasing sambo's today an upside down Have found these in guts of sambo's and kings as prev mentioned, lil crabs, possibly lobsters as they have a smallish tail flap cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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