2 year update: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sJ2EnM2L2Lqvqas.html *There are some questions that I'm getting a lot so I'll just answer them here.* Q: _How can you 'accidentally' catch those animals?_ A: As you've noticed I collected a lot of seaweed and algae. The animals were probably hidden somewhere in that algae. I did not see them. Q: _What does it mean if they 'disappeared'?_ A: In the aquarium hobby, when people say "X has disappeared" It normally means that it was weakened or dead and got consumed by the others in the tank before the aquarist knows. That's also what happened here. Q: _Why did you not return the crab back to the ocean?_ A: The only saltwater I had was the water in the jar. That water was already polluted, which was fine for in the ecosphere but it wouldn't have been good enough to transport the crab. It would have been a trip of a few hours, too long. If I had tried to take it back it would have died. Instead, it got to live another five months. Q: _If it were in the ocean the crab would have lived a happy long life._ A: If that crab was still in the ocean, the chance of it being eaten at it's small size or dying for other reasons would have been really high. Only a very small percentage of crab babies ever make it to adulthood. If it makes you feel any better, the crab nor the starfish have consciously suffered. Starfish don't have brains and crabs aren't capable of any complex emotions other than physical pain. For all questions that concern the working of the ecosystem, like: _Where do they get air?_ or _You should do water changes_ please consult this video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gZZ5oKh_0NOtcqM.html If you want to try this yourself but don't know how, I made a how to video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aNyda8mi1rDUioE.html

This crab has probably emotionally affected more people than any other crab in history.

"The crab was an accident I did not intend for it to be in here" It's okay little crab, I was an accident too.

"Unfortunately, it died" *upbeat music plays*.

In order to grow larger, crabs need to shed their "shell". They do this by heading to dry land to cast off their skin and emerge larger. I learned this after my first pet crab died, because I did not provide it a dry space to shed its skin. Afterwords, I adjusted my habitat to have a "beach" area, and the new crabs did very well. I hope this helps understand what happened. :(

Small crab you'll never be forgotten

Crab was like a father to me

KZfaq sent me on a whole night of ecosystems in jars. I am so interested in this entire genre, it’s so amazing.

" jiggly worm" If that isn't the proper scientific name I will be heartbroken

What I learned from this video: Don't drink sea water

When it’s 2 am and ur reading comments about a dead crab

Not gonna lie that crab passing away broke my heart

WARNING when doing this experiment be sure to have an air hole or the dead matter will begin to build up pressure against the glass and may explode if you have an air tight jar because dead matter will release loads of gas

"[The crab] somehow seemed more mature in it's behavior." _crab stars dancing_

man, i really was hit hard by the crabs death. i was emotionally invested in his survival.

ah, "its time to go to bed" section of youtube is getting recommended.

Now I want to go to the beach! This has got to be the most low maintenance "pet" ever. Love it!

2 year update: "and out of nowhere, a blue whale appeared".

The crab arc is my favorite season of the life in jars anime

That was the cutest little crab ever! I think he was happy- he was safe and fed and loved. ❤️❤️❤️ The issue of freedom and limited space may come up, but he was a tiny crab, not a blue whale. I don’t think they travel very far from their home base.

I suggest keeping these ecospheres in a temperature controlled environment. preferably at a lower temperate. might help quite a bit. i would also seek remove any crabs or crab nymphs to eliminate ammonia spike risks.

“somehow seemed more mature in its behavior” crab: *does a little dance*

"The crab was an accident. I did not intend it to be in here" The crab: oh.. :(

I love it when you say "this ecosphere" and it sounds like you are saying "seacosphere" which is an awesome word.

My dad kept salt water jars 10 years + It was so cool. I want to do this!

“A different jiggly worm” ah yes, finally, a man who knows what he’s talking about

“The crab hadn’t really changed in size but seemed more mature in it’s behaviour” relateable lol

“Out of the depths of the earth.. 🧐🤔(er).. of the jar..!!” You gotta love it. Your videos are wonderful! Thank you for inspiring so many of us, Life In Jars! 💜😘🌎 Also, lovely Jeff Goldblum quote.

Every time I see your videos I think about how cool it would be to make really large closed ecosystems. In the order of a few cubic meters. In this case maybe simulating waves through some mechanism. Maybe have a small beach with rocks and a deeper section. Things like that. I do find these things fascinating.

“It hadn’t changed in size but seemed more mature in behavior” me for the past 3 years

5:16 *Top 10 saddest anime deaths*

Its so special to see a crab in a jar. Dont know why but its so impressive!

The crab died because plankton found the secret formula.

I love that he knew the scientific name of the specific type of algae but called that one worm “some type of jiggly worm” 😂

That is an amazing video, very well done. I never knew somthing like this would work. Great job for the documentation process. That alone is a process to get lost in. Capturing a year long video is an achievement in it self. Thanks for sharing and doing this. It's fascinating!

I love how even in a jar filled with water, there can be a mass extinctions

This makes me question the amount of times I’ve accidentally swallowed sea water 🥴

This video makes me very uncomfortable to think of all the times I’ve accidently swallowed sea water and probably ingested many tiny sea creatures.

I absolutely love these experiments! They're like, adorable bite-sized pieces of nature, as it is in the wild.

What amazes me is that after a full year, you have life still thriving inside the jar WITHOUT your feeding it. I mean, you didn't add anything to the contents and life continues to go on it's merry way.

The poor crab died a virgin, sad story.

4:42 seems more mature in its behavior What? Did he started doing taxes?

I just randomly saw this video, quickly became invested, and then got sad when the little crab died. What a journey.

It makes me think of the accidental gulp of saltwater at the beach while swimming. Teaming with life! Great music and production/commentary. So enjoyable to watch life persevere.

“After two years, the jiggly worms have entered the Bronze Age.”

The crab carcass serves as a reminder of a Titan who lived in ancient times when the world was young.

I'm amazed to see life in there for so long but I'm even mind-blowner to see it survive the heatwave and ammonia spike from the dead crab..

I also have ecosphere in a jar. Somehow it needs very little water (extra). It is a kind of mini-rainforest, very nice to watch.

Pouring one out tonight for the crab 🍺will not be forgotten 🦀

who else just got this in their recommended randomly

I love the “on the glass community” 🥰

thank you, this was the insparation i needed, im heading down to the beach later and am gonna try this for myself

Narrator: The crab hasnt grown in size but seems to act more mature Crab: 👁👄👁

Waiting for the 400 year update where the water creatures evolve into sophisticated humanoid organisms and takes over planet 304

"Mind blowner" Lol! What a GREAT video! Thanks; I want to do this now. VERY cool.

I appreciated "Life - uh - finds a way." Ian Malcom quote from Jurassic Park!

Cant wait for the 3 billion year update when they escape

The crab is an accident, I never intend it to be here My parents: Same

Ok defiantly my new favorite channel to watch. Absolutely fascinating.

I've fallen into a rabbit hole of watching these jar ecosystem vids

“A different, jiggly worm.”

"The crab died" *Top 10 deaths in anime history*

These videos are fascinating and I might try to make my own. Thank you

ive found your channel and have watched a lot of your ecospheres... i have to say... i love hearing your voice in this episode.... much better than the text

"After 4 1/2 months" (picture of motionless crab) (heart races) "The crab was still doing really well" (sigh of relief)

This is so fascinating. Not sure how I got here but I’m not mad about it.

Very interesting! I may have to make a trip to the beach and give this a try. Now I want to see you other closed systems. New subscriber!

Fantastic what an amount of life u will find in a small portion of water and seaweed

I got so invested in the crab and I’m upset

KZfaq:hey you wanna see a jar of saltwater after one year? Me: Um...no? 5 minutes later Me:NOOOOOOO CRAB!!!!😭

I had something similar in my pill bug colony for awhile there was only isopods but somehow at some point multiple baby slugs got in or their eggs just took awhile to hatch but now I’ve moved them to their own enclosure so I can guarantee their survival and later release them back into my backyard (were they probably came from)

Its very cool to watch natural selection at its finest.

"The crab hadn't changed much in size but somehow seemed more mature in its behavior." The crab now drinks coffee and subscribes to the New Yorker

*Month 5* “The crab has died” noooooooooooooooooooooo😭

"out of the depths of the earth -- of the jar" gave me a good chuckle. :)

It's almost 2 am and I'm watching this! I couldn't have spent my time better

The crab had entered this world but not only did he survive he thrived! Upon his death he entered the halls of Valhalla as a hero leaving his mortal shell behind as a reminder of his greatness. Nobody saw his last moments but you and I both know it most likely was valiant.

RIP Jar Crab, you were the only hope of survival after Baby Star died 😩😢

3:03 Mr Krabs!!! Now all you need is to put a sponge in there XD

Appreciate your observation. Learnt much today.

Salt Water Jar, 1 year later: coral reef, 2 great white sharks and a gray whale have grown inside my jar

wait....what if the universe was actually in a jar at someone house ?

I'm amazed life forms can live on a closed jar. Cool video.

KZfaq algorithm doing its thing. Never searched for anything like this but it’s made me sub and I’m going to do this the next time I go to the seaside

I died at 1:30 the way he said “A different, jiggly worm.” while that 1 tiny worm was jiggling like crazy lmao

When the crab died it really hit different tho 😭😭

Great video, absolutely fascinating. Not sure why the algorythms sent me here but glad they did. Thanks for making the vid.

Love your channel, thank you!

This makes me think of all the times I accidentally drank sea water...

"... but the algae ball was doing well." You GO, algae ball! We're with you!

This gave me a rock hard mind-blowner.

10:50 - "...but I'm even mind blowner..." Congratulations! You've invented a new word. 🎶🎶🎶🎊🎊🎉🎉💐👍🎶🎶🎶

Me at 2:00 am: ok it's time to sleep KZfaq: hey dude you want to see a jar. Me: oh boy, here we go again.

my favourite kind of worm is the Different Jiggly-Worm (Differentiatus jigglaeus)

I just moved to Palm Bay, FL. I want to do this now. Thank you.

Life always finds a way! Indeed it does brother love that

i hereby would like to thank youtube algorithm for exposing me to this high quality content

Watches the micro organisms crawling around on the glass. Remembers how much water gets into the various parts of my body whenever i go surfing. *Screams Internally*

I watched the first 20 second like 5 times... thats one sweet tone on that guitar.

I did the same thing many years ago. I collected a couple of buckets of sea water and a couple of shells with sea lettuce growing on them. Tossed it all in an aquarium sitting out in the yard under a tree. In a week or so the tank turned a pea green and you couldn't see into it. Fast forward a couple of weeks and you could see hundreds of live barnacles on the glass straining the water. I'd add fresh water every week or two and it lasted for months until the cold weather arrived. The water stayed pea green and the barnacles were growing nicely feeding on the algae and plankton.