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Home / How Many Blue Crabs Fit in a Gallon Freezer Bags

How Many Blue Crabs Fit in a Gallon Freezer Bags

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If blue crabs are dead when you cook them, their meat will be mushy, and you risk ingesting harmful bacteria that grow inside dead crabs' shells.[1] By keeping blue crabs in a cool, moist, and stress-free environment, you will be able to help blue crabs stay alive. Place the crabs in a cooler or a bushel basket that is layered with ice packs and covered with a moist burlap sack. If you live near the water where the crabs were caught, you can also store them in a live box placed in the water. Remember to never store the crabs in the refrigerator or in a storage space with standing water.

  1. 1

    Buy a cooler. Buy a regular sized cooler from your local depot or sporting goods store. If you are planning to store more than five crabs, it is recommended that you buy a larger cooler. This way you will not need to stack the crabs on top of each other.[2]

    • Alternatively, you can use a wooden bushel basket to store the crabs. This method is ideal for commercial Watermen.

  2. 2

    Layer the bottom of the cooler with icepacks. This will keep the temperature around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. A temperature cooler than 50 degrees Fahrenheit will kill the crabs. You can place a moist towel over the icepacks to keep the cooler moist and to prevent the crabs from becoming too cold.[3]

    • Alternatively, you can place ice, covered with a moist cloth, at the bottom of the cooler. However, you will need to drain the water from the melted ice periodically. Any standing water can cause the crabs to suffocate.[4]
    • Do not put ice or ice packs on top of the crabs.

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  3. 3

    Cover the cooler with a moist burlap bag. This is to ensure that the crabs stay moist. If blue crabs are not kept moist, their gills will dry out, and they will die. It is recommended that you use a burlap bag because it allows oxygen to pass through. The crabs need to be well oxygenated in order to stay alive.

    • Place the cooler in a dark, shaded area away from the sun. This will also prevent the crab's gills from drying out.[5]
    • Blue crabs can live out of the water for up to 24 hours as long as they are kept cool and moist.[6]

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  1. 1

    Buy a standard five-gallon bucket. Drill holes into the sides and bottom of the bucket. The holes need to be big enough to allow water to flow through, but small enough to ensure that the crabs cannot escape.[7]

    • Alternatively, you can buy a specially designed wooden box to store the crabs in.
    • This method is ideal if you live near the water where the crabs were caught. If not, use the cooler method to store the crabs.

  2. 2

    Place a mesh lid on top. Go to your local hardware store and buy wire mesh. Take your mesh and bend it over the top of the five-gallon bucket. Staple the sides of the mesh, that overlap the top of the bucket, to the sides of the bucket.[8]

    • When you buy the mesh, the dimensions should be at least one inch larger than the size of your bucket.
    • Use a heavy duty staple gun to fasten the mesh to the sides of the bucket.

  3. 3

    Feed them once or twice per day. If you are storing live blue crabs in the water, you will need to feed them. Adult blue crabs will eat oysters, hard clams, dead or live fish, crabs (including blue crabs), shrimp, organic debris, aquatic plants, and the leaves and shoots of sea lettuce, eelgrass, salt marsh grass, and ditch grass.[9]

  4. 4

    Keep them cool. Keep the crabs cool and moist in a cooler or bushel basket. The optimal temperature is about 50 degrees fahrenheit. Any temperatures colder than that can kill the crabs.[10]

    • Do not refrigerate them. Because the temperatures in a refrigerator are too cold, refrigeration will kill blue crabs.

  5. 5

    Allow crabs to warm to room temperature before cooking. Chilled crabs will be in a dormant state and can appear to be dead. Before cooking, let the crabs warm to room temperature. The crabs will become animated once they are room temperature. This way you can tell which crabs are alive and which crabs are dead.[11]

    • Never cook dead crabs.

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  1. 1

    Limit shaking. Stress can also cause blue crabs to die. Once dead, blue crab meat is mushy and unsuitable for cooking and eating. Too much shaking can stress blue crabs. Therefore, avoid shaking your cooler or bushel basket while storing and transporting the crabs.

  2. 2

    Keep them in one spot. Dumping or moving the crabs from one storage space to another can cause stress, as well. Try to store the crabs in one spot. If you need to move the crabs from one cooler to another, do not dump them into the other cooler all at once. Place them one by one into the other cooler.

  3. 3

    Don't pile them up. Piling blue crabs on top of each other will also cause undue stress. To avoid this, have an extra cooler or bushel basket handy in case you run out of room in your first cooler or bushel basket.[12]

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References

Add New Question

  • Question

    What should I feed blue crabs to keep them alive?

    Community Answer

    If it is an adult, you should feed them fish, worms, plants. Their favorite foods are thin-shelled bivalves.

  • Question

    Can I keep blue crabs as pets?

    Community Answer

    Yes, with proper care you can keep blue crabs as pets. Just make sure that you take good care of them.

  • Question

    I catch blue crabs for a living. My problem is that in the time between catching them and transporting them (I ice them, sort the different sizes and types, and then crate them), I lose a lot of crabs. I live in south Mississippi, so it's hot. What can I do to stop them from dying?

    Community Answer

    There are a couple of things you can try. It is recommended that commercial fisherman use wooden bushel baskets to store the crabs. Place a moist burlap bag at the bottom of the basket (over the ice) and over the top of the basket, to prevent the gills from drying out. If you are using ice (instead of icepacks) to chill them, it could possibly be the standing water that is causing them to suffocate and die. Make sure to drain any water that comes from melted ice. Also, try to avoid stacking the crabs on top of each other. This can cause them undue stress, and even death.

  • Question

    I found a blue crab in the parking lot of the apartment complex I live in and it's the middle of the night. What should I do with him to ensure his safety?

    Avery Lemming

    Avery Lemming

    Community Answer

    Buy a standard five-gallon bucket. Drill holes into the sides and bottom of the bucket. Place a mesh lid on top. Feed him once or twice per day. Keep him cool.

  • Question

    Should I keep crabs that I catch in water while we're catching more?

    Community Answer

    Yes, blue crabs breathe through gills and need to be in water. They will die if you leave them out in the air.

  • Question

    Can I use fresh water from the river for shedding tanks? I need to keep them for no more than a week.

    Community Answer

    As long as it's fresh water and you're keeping them for no more than a week, then that should be fine!

  • Question

    If I am using a bushel basket, how do I keep from stacking them?

    Community Answer

    Well, they will have to be somewhat stacked as there won't be a cooler large enough to lay them all flat across the bottom. Buy the biggest cooler you can and spread the crabs out as far as you can instead of just piling them on top of each other, and that should help.

  • Question

    I have a 250 gallon tank and I want to keep 3 dozen blue crabs alive for 5 days. How many gallons of water (their natural water) do I need? And will any kind of areator work?

    Community Answer

    You don't need a specific amount of water to keep blue crab shrimp alive for five days, you'll just have to make sure the water is high enough to let them feel comfortable and in their natural environment, so an estimate would be about 175 gallons. Any aerator will work for five days. If you were keeping them for any longer, you'd need a specific aerator.

  • Question

    Does the water have to be salt water?

    Community Answer

    Yes. You at least need brackish water -- a mix of saltwater and fresh water -- to keep them alive.

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About This Article

Article Summary X

To keep blue crabs alive, start by layering the bottom of a cooler with ice packs, and placing a moist towel over the packs to prevent the crabs from getting too cold. You can also use ice instead of ice packs, but make sure to drain the melted ice periodically to keep the crabs from suffocating in the water. Then, place the crabs in the cooler and cover it with a damp burlap bag to keep it moist, since the crabs will die if their gills dry out. Finally, place the cooler in a dark, shaded area to prevent it from drying out in the sun. To learn how to create a stress-free environment for your blue crabs, read on!

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Source: https://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Blue-Crabs-Alive