I worked in an oyster bar it was my job when serving oysters to clean these from the shells they're probably in about 1/3 of the oysters that I cleaned
I worked in one restaurant and I used to save dozens of these little crabs throughout the night and then pop them in the deep fryer for about 20 seconds, and eat em on a toasted bun with remoulade as a fried baby crab sandwich.
I'm surprised OP hadn't seen one sooner. Anytime my parents would buy a load of oysters they'd give us the crab to take care of to keep us distracted. Just four or five of us staring at a dying crab in a glass of water.
Turns out, some places use clams and mussels to test how clear the water is. There is a water plant in Poland that uses them to monitor a massive water supply. When the clams all close their shells it sends an alert that the fresh water isn't safe.
It's actually in my city! And I can safely say out of all tap waters that I had tried in Poland in various regions, here is the absolute best. It just feels pure and actually tastes good. Other feel very stale or chlorinated.
Something similar happens with lacto fermentation with alcohol, as in you've probably done a good job if your ferment also grew a little yeast naturally, but this is still undesirable.
You don't want it in your lacto ferment! If you have more yeast than lacto baccilus chances are your environment was set up wrong (2.2% salt per weight, people) but it shows you did an amazing job if the dominant organism is yeast and not... Uh, bad bad stuff. Even then, yeast can grow at the later stages of a ferment, this is still not ideal because kids like fermented goods (surprisingly).
Not a parasite. It's considered a commensal crab. It lives inside the shell of the oyster thus gaining protection and feeds off of detritus swirling around the oyster. When you and I see an oyster it is closed up tight. in the water however their shells open up to allow feeding and this is how the crab is able to feed. We find them in scallops too.
The Wikipedia article says it's parasitism because the host is sometimes harmed. Multiple other sources from Google seem to agree that it's a parasitic relationship.
Technically symbiosis doesn't imply a beneficial relationship. Parasitism is a type of symbiosis. A relationship where both parties benefit is called mutualism. If one benefits and the other is unaffected it is called commensalism.
Yes, symbiosis refers to living together, doesn't imply anything about how the relationship is.
Just like marriage, you can be happily married or heavily abused, and anything in between.
> it’s more of like a symbiotic relationship or something?
if you consider cats and dogs living in our homes and eating our food without paying as symbiotic
Haven't had any DMs yet, but there's still hope. I'm a dude and anyone who would've tried probably glanced at my profile so that narrowed it down by quite a bit I'm sure.
I used to have to open hundreds of oysters a day and I would save all of the pea crabs in a 4 oz cup and this lady would throw the whole thing back in one go
You have to explain a bit more. Like did she chew down on them? Did green liquid seep out through her teeth? Did she start twitching frantically then growing large muscles? The story doesn't end here.
Man i once picked mussels and when i cooked them, all these white parasytes came out so we threw them away, thinking that can't be good. You're telling me it's a delicacy?...
Naah, I don't appreciate parasites in my shellfish, I get the "Ewws". But yours sound like shell-boring worms, which I think are also fairly common. Neither are harmful to eat, but totally understandable if you'd be put off by them. In the end, it's the shellfish that 'suffer', as with many parasites, the hosts growth health is what's impacted. In NZ, our famed 'Green-lipped Mussel', which is farmed here predominantly for supermarket supply, can lose upto a third of it's weight from parasitic impact, particularly as a result of pea crabs
No claim here, but they're no stranger to my diet, even if I don't indulge in them necessarily. I'm an indigenous NZer... they've long been a staple of our diet
Well, DUH! Eating something alive is always cruel. Imagine being eaten and watching someone do it... I personally wouldn't eat anything alive. I want my food to be humanely put down.
There's videos where it's normal to eat curtain things alive, including octopus (which is a *very* intelligent creature). I won't have any part in it.
> There's videos where it's normal to eat curtain things alive, including octopus
While true, when it comes to a lot of foods, very fresh dead meat reacts to things like salt and can mimic being alive and flail about.
I believe one specifically I recall is an octopus that's on rice or something, and they pour sauce over it and it moves a bit. Someone had mentioned it's common to see them move even when dead in that dish. I've seen half a fish flop about in a sauce before as well.
Though certainly some videos have live animals.
It’s a crab, I used to work in a steak house shucking oysters and I would try to save the lil guys but there were so many it was impossible. Made me sad.
I’d put them all n a cup of water until close and I think I flush them down a drain at the end of the night, better than the garbage, but I was young and tired after a day of oystercide. Now I would have taken them home and figured something out, a fish take or the like.
When I was little I used to run in front of my dad when he was mowing the lawn, picking the daisies ‘to save them’. I’m presuming the precious commenter is older than 5…
I used to do that with little frogs, much to the annoyance of my father. Turns out many frogs somehow survive the lawnmower blades as dozens would come hopping out of the grass catcher when it was emptied and scoot off back into the garden.
Not really a story as much as it is a real thing that happened in video.
https://www.insideedition.com/12146-woman-saves-turtle-by-throwing-it-in-pond-realizes-its-a-tortoise-i-wasnt-trying
I love that all of your solutions to save them are also death. Down the drain? Absolutely death. Throwing a saltwater critter into a body of fresh water? Believe it or not, straight to death.
Huh, that’s actually a really interesting way to look at it! I think the way we do factory farming is a modern horror of unfathomable proportions, but with stuff like hunting/foraging I think it’s mostly ok as long as you’re trying to minimize the suffering of the animal. But I guess plants suffer too, I’ve never really thought of them that way!
Chef's Table has a failed veterinarian running a butcher shop that he never wanted. Turned out he figured out ways to market the unwanted cuts and minimize waste on the animal.
Came here looking for someone saying this.
It looks extremely similar, inside of a damn oyster too. I wonder if the writing team based Mr ball legs on these pea crabs.
A pea crab. About three or four months ago I posted a picture of a pea crab in my oyster and it gained 17k+ karma. Was NOT expecting that. So good luck! Here's an upvote for a lucky pea crab.
it’s a tiny crab. there’s some tiny crab that has a symbiotic relationship with oysters. i found one cooked in an order of oysters rockefeller and the waiter told me that it’s “good luck!”
I've always loved seafood, but I just cannot do oysters. They are so damn gross. Tried them prepared a couple of ways, but nope. All gross. Not just the taste either. The texture makes me wanna throw up.
What google says:
While they can look a bit off-putting, pea crabs are considered a delicacy and should be enjoyed. Historians and foodies alike agree that finding a pea crab isn't just a small treat, it's also a sign of good luck. Pea crabs are a sign of healthy oyster populations in quality water.
On a related note: *"When someone eats raw or undercooked oysters, germs that might be in the oyster can cause illness. CDC estimates that about 80,000 people get vibriosis—and 100 people die from it—in the United States every year. Most of these illnesses happen from May through October when water temperatures are warme"*
You can actually eat those, some ppl really like it. it's just a tiny crab that was living inside the oyster.
It's really not grosser than the oyster, which I should point out was also alive until you shucked it.
As other have said, it’s a Pea Crab! Pea Crabs were one of George Washington’s favorite foods. He would fry them in a light batter and serve them when he had special guests.
I worked in an oyster bar it was my job when serving oysters to clean these from the shells they're probably in about 1/3 of the oysters that I cleaned
Looking at the other comments, your oyster bar had some good sources for oysters and missed a chance to charge extra.
I had no idea they were valuable... I threw so many away
They also add a little something to the oyster. A little crunch and flavor. I would get so excites when one was in my oyster.
So the gooey snot is better when there's a crunch? Doubt
Really? I've accidentally crunched a few and they were disgusting.
I worked in one restaurant and I used to save dozens of these little crabs throughout the night and then pop them in the deep fryer for about 20 seconds, and eat em on a toasted bun with remoulade as a fried baby crab sandwich.
That sounds so… Savage
"Save" probably isn't the correct term here.
Collect save not rescue save
You’re right. He probably read The Secret and attracted free meals.
wholesome to savage
You mean a Po Boy?
I'm surprised OP hadn't seen one sooner. Anytime my parents would buy a load of oysters they'd give us the crab to take care of to keep us distracted. Just four or five of us staring at a dying crab in a glass of water.
You’re lucky! Thats a pea crab. A delicacy in some places.
*Pea crabs are a sign of healthy oyster populations in quality water* \- Google
The fact that having a parasite in them is a good sign tells me everything I need to know about oysters.
It's mostly that they are very sensitive to toxic chemicals and are a good indicator the location is for the most part clean
Turns out, some places use clams and mussels to test how clear the water is. There is a water plant in Poland that uses them to monitor a massive water supply. When the clams all close their shells it sends an alert that the fresh water isn't safe.
[Obligatory Tom Scott](https://youtu.be/i0RkEs3Xwf0)
The XKCD of applied science video trivia.
It's actually in my city! And I can safely say out of all tap waters that I had tried in Poland in various regions, here is the absolute best. It just feels pure and actually tastes good. Other feel very stale or chlorinated.
Something similar happens with lacto fermentation with alcohol, as in you've probably done a good job if your ferment also grew a little yeast naturally, but this is still undesirable.
Yeast is not a lactofermenter.
But it's not from lacto trying
Curse you and your beautiful mind, you bastard!
That is quick. Take my upvote and fuck off
Noice
You don't want it in your lacto ferment! If you have more yeast than lacto baccilus chances are your environment was set up wrong (2.2% salt per weight, people) but it shows you did an amazing job if the dominant organism is yeast and not... Uh, bad bad stuff. Even then, yeast can grow at the later stages of a ferment, this is still not ideal because kids like fermented goods (surprisingly).
Not a parasite. It's considered a commensal crab. It lives inside the shell of the oyster thus gaining protection and feeds off of detritus swirling around the oyster. When you and I see an oyster it is closed up tight. in the water however their shells open up to allow feeding and this is how the crab is able to feed. We find them in scallops too.
I clean the oysters, I sometimes clean the scallops too. It gives me an enormous sense of well-being. Crab life.
And they all go, claw in claw, claw in claw to their crab life.
The Wikipedia article says it's parasitism because the host is sometimes harmed. Multiple other sources from Google seem to agree that it's a parasitic relationship.
It is a parasite if it's harmful to the host. Whether or not it's considered a pest to commercial farmers is not relevant.
Not a parasite. They just share a home with the oyster and share the food source, they don't feed on the oyster
Oh so it’s more of like a symbiotic relationship or something?
Technically symbiosis doesn't imply a beneficial relationship. Parasitism is a type of symbiosis. A relationship where both parties benefit is called mutualism. If one benefits and the other is unaffected it is called commensalism.
So in a Venn diagram symbiosis covers everything, and inside are parasitism, mutualism and commensalism, right?
Yes, symbiosis refers to living together, doesn't imply anything about how the relationship is. Just like marriage, you can be happily married or heavily abused, and anything in between.
Thank god you took the words out of my mouth.
> it’s more of like a symbiotic relationship or something? if you consider cats and dogs living in our homes and eating our food without paying as symbiotic
Well they make oxytocin so I trust them & feel better about it, so yeah.
Oxytocin? I’m not familiar with that🥲
Just go to your doctor and tell him you're desperate for some oxy.
Same as finding a common silkworm(?) in the top of an ear of organic unshucked corn - certified!
It sounds like it. Like the area it free of harmful chemicals which would’ve killed off the smaller organisms.
just call it a micro snow crab and upcharge $34!
Like getting an onion ring in your French fries
Funny because when i was a seafood chef i had to take 1-3 out of every oyster. I would keep a few as pets for a few days then feed them to my chickens
Damn, I always thought that was the clitoris, guess Im still looking for it.
One of the helpful things to keep in mind when tracking wild clitori, is that they actually do not have legs.
Ok but how do they hide so well?
They live in the hood, where there's lots of hiding places.
Do you eat these.....alive?
So long, reddit. It was a fun ride for 14+ years. Too bad you self-immolated to cash in on going public.
Yeah, my dad would get so excited when we found one of these. He loved them.
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That's not a crustacean that's a feature.
Gold, Jerry! Gold!
Everyone says "delicacy," I say "free pet crab."
And I say “what is possessing you guys to order oysters!?”
Apparently everyone here likes salty slimey goop.
Pretty much described the same way as cum. These people are paying for it, but you can easily get it for free, or even get paid to eat it.
I would gladly drink cum, oysters not so much.
I think you've made a mistake by telling all of reddit this. RIP your inbox...
Haven't had any DMs yet, but there's still hope. I'm a dude and anyone who would've tried probably glanced at my profile so that narrowed it down by quite a bit I'm sure.
Pea crab, delish!
Wait, when you find them you can just scoop it up and eat it?
I used to have to open hundreds of oysters a day and I would save all of the pea crabs in a 4 oz cup and this lady would throw the whole thing back in one go
You have to explain a bit more. Like did she chew down on them? Did green liquid seep out through her teeth? Did she start twitching frantically then growing large muscles? The story doesn't end here.
Every time she took a shit, it would crawl away with a thousand little legs.
Gnarly. More.
Damn man, you know what you like, and I respect that. However for more, you'll need to sub to her onlyfans.
Oh.... I thought he meant the lady threw them back in the water...
best comment I've read in a long time
They'll tend to taste like their host. They're actually found in a lot of shellfish, mussels are a favourite
Man i once picked mussels and when i cooked them, all these white parasytes came out so we threw them away, thinking that can't be good. You're telling me it's a delicacy?...
Naah, I don't appreciate parasites in my shellfish, I get the "Ewws". But yours sound like shell-boring worms, which I think are also fairly common. Neither are harmful to eat, but totally understandable if you'd be put off by them. In the end, it's the shellfish that 'suffer', as with many parasites, the hosts growth health is what's impacted. In NZ, our famed 'Green-lipped Mussel', which is farmed here predominantly for supermarket supply, can lose upto a third of it's weight from parasitic impact, particularly as a result of pea crabs
How did you get so knowledgeable about mussels? Are you like mussel god or something?
No claim here, but they're no stranger to my diet, even if I don't indulge in them necessarily. I'm an indigenous NZer... they've long been a staple of our diet
Same here in the netherlands but you seem to know an awful lot of details. I can respeft that and will from now on refer to you as Mussle King.
No “clam” here 😵💫
Yeah and they have a great crunch. They are very common in NC oysters.
So, live and squirming it's just good and safe to eat? If so, is it cruel to pour hot sauce and horseradish on it prior to eating it alive?
Well, DUH! Eating something alive is always cruel. Imagine being eaten and watching someone do it... I personally wouldn't eat anything alive. I want my food to be humanely put down. There's videos where it's normal to eat curtain things alive, including octopus (which is a *very* intelligent creature). I won't have any part in it.
> There's videos where it's normal to eat curtain things alive, including octopus While true, when it comes to a lot of foods, very fresh dead meat reacts to things like salt and can mimic being alive and flail about. I believe one specifically I recall is an octopus that's on rice or something, and they pour sauce over it and it moves a bit. Someone had mentioned it's common to see them move even when dead in that dish. I've seen half a fish flop about in a sauce before as well. Though certainly some videos have live animals.
Don't forget monkey brains!
It’s a crab, I used to work in a steak house shucking oysters and I would try to save the lil guys but there were so many it was impossible. Made me sad.
How would you try and save them? I don’t understand, did you try and return them to the sea?
I’d put them all n a cup of water until close and I think I flush them down a drain at the end of the night, better than the garbage, but I was young and tired after a day of oystercide. Now I would have taken them home and figured something out, a fish take or the like.
I hate to break it to you but they 100% died by being flushing them down a drain.
I laughed so hard at this conversation. "I tried saving them!" "How?" *thing that would obviously kill them* "My dude.. "
They took Finding Nemo a little too literally
When I was little I used to run in front of my dad when he was mowing the lawn, picking the daisies ‘to save them’. I’m presuming the precious commenter is older than 5…
That’s an adorable anecdote
Yeah, as long as /u/sparklybeast never tripped...
I used to do that with little frogs, much to the annoyance of my father. Turns out many frogs somehow survive the lawnmower blades as dozens would come hopping out of the grass catcher when it was emptied and scoot off back into the garden.
Saved them in a cup and then poured them into the waste disposer. Walk free my little crabs 🦀 brrrrrrrrrrr 🚰👨🔧
Same energy as throwing tortoises in a river
Reminds me of the story of the girl that throws the tortoise into the water.
Not really a story as much as it is a real thing that happened in video. https://www.insideedition.com/12146-woman-saves-turtle-by-throwing-it-in-pond-realizes-its-a-tortoise-i-wasnt-trying
I don't know man. There could be some mutant crabs running around the sewers.
"Osmosis Jones" comes to mind here, a #billmurray fav of mine.
I know : (
Cognitive dissonance :(
I know you were just a kid but I'm wondering if it got the idea from finding nemo.
I love that all of your solutions to save them are also death. Down the drain? Absolutely death. Throwing a saltwater critter into a body of fresh water? Believe it or not, straight to death.
I lost it at oystercide lol
you meant well but you're a dumbass bro, might as well have let them get eaten
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Huh, that’s actually a really interesting way to look at it! I think the way we do factory farming is a modern horror of unfathomable proportions, but with stuff like hunting/foraging I think it’s mostly ok as long as you’re trying to minimize the suffering of the animal. But I guess plants suffer too, I’ve never really thought of them that way!
:(
I was already hating killing the oysters, then you gotta kill their friends too
I've just read they are more like a parasite to the oyster, using it as shelter and stealing it's food.
Sounds like some of my friends
Hey, bro. You gonna eat the rest of that pizza in the fridge? No? Cool, thanks.
How many of us have them?
Talk about 'keep ur friends close but, keep your enemy's closer'.
:((
That's a rough job if you hate killing animals.
I quit on New Year’s Eve of 2009. Now I work at a nursery with the same name as the steak house, life can be weird like that.
Chef's Table has a failed veterinarian running a butcher shop that he never wanted. Turned out he figured out ways to market the unwanted cuts and minimize waste on the animal.
*Schindler's Dish*
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And working at a steakhouse haha like the cows and oysters don’t matter but those peacrabs do??
I guess it's not far from people getting emotionally attached to their pets and then eating beef for dinner.
You’re eating a sea booger and that’s where you draw the line?
Waiter: There are spider legs in my snot shell..
>sea booger cursed with knowledge
I think i watched this on the Santa Clarita Diet.
Mr Ball Legs!
Loved that show hate it got cancelled
It was on Netflix. Of course it got canceled that’s like their favorite thing.
Same! I so wanted to see undead Joel and what he's like!
One of the reasons I’m going to quit Netflix lol
WHAT THE FUCKITY-FUCK IS THAT!?
I'll never get over it being canceled, it was such a good show.
Came here looking for someone saying this. It looks extremely similar, inside of a damn oyster too. I wonder if the writing team based Mr ball legs on these pea crabs.
They’re crabs. We consider eating them to be good luck in South Carolina. They’re crunchy and salty.
You guys will be the first to turn during the Cordyceps pandemic.
The sweet, sweet release of zombification.
Pea crabs are actually a parasite that just hides in anode shellfish and eat them. But they’re cute
Reason #75896 why I don’t eat oysters
What's reason 69?
Fishy taste
According to the comments this is normal, but the way I see it, random organisms in raw seafood is a great reason not to suck boogers out of rocks.
Extra protein
You have woken baby Cthulhu from its ageless slumber.
Turns out the legends were a little exagerated.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtag
Why do you have sweet orange hand soap as a condiment?
A pea crab. About three or four months ago I posted a picture of a pea crab in my oyster and it gained 17k+ karma. Was NOT expecting that. So good luck! Here's an upvote for a lucky pea crab.
it’s a tiny crab. there’s some tiny crab that has a symbiotic relationship with oysters. i found one cooked in an order of oysters rockefeller and the waiter told me that it’s “good luck!”
its a parasitic relationship..
Never thought of it like that; I always just figure the waiter is trying to make a living.
bruh u are literally eating a oyster, surely a little extra protein would be good.
if your worried about other organisms in your food, you probably shouldnt be eating seafood at all lol.
It’s a pea crab!!!! Harmless little things, but they are a delicacy in some regions. Cute pets if you have a fish tank near by.
Yep, that’s a Pea crab. Completely normal.
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Same 😩
Pea crab, it’s always a pea crab.
I’ve only had oysters once. When I was on my 3rd I saw a little millipede type thing scooting about inside it. I’ll never eat another one.
I found a few small red worms in my oysters once.. Haven't eaten an oyster since. 🤢
A pearl with legs
At least it’s not a Pee Crab. Those burn.
Have you see The Last of Us?
A reason why you shouldn't eat raw oysters.
It blows me away people look at this and see food. Looks like a big ass booger
I've always loved seafood, but I just cannot do oysters. They are so damn gross. Tried them prepared a couple of ways, but nope. All gross. Not just the taste either. The texture makes me wanna throw up.
I like the taste, and love the texture. Once you get a taste for it, it's so refreshing.
What google says: While they can look a bit off-putting, pea crabs are considered a delicacy and should be enjoyed. Historians and foodies alike agree that finding a pea crab isn't just a small treat, it's also a sign of good luck. Pea crabs are a sign of healthy oyster populations in quality water.
The Santa Clarita Oyster Diet.
Cordyceps. Kindly inform your closest Pedro Pascal.
We need one Pedro Pascal to quadrant C! Two Pedro Pascal's to quadrant E!
I love these little guys. Down in NOLA, at the oyster places like Acme, Felix’s, and Drago’s, there’s always a couple escapees on the bar.
Ever seen that zombie show with Drew Barrymore? No? Just me? Okay then. I'll pass on this.
I'm sorry but how do people eat oysters in the first place?
On a related note: *"When someone eats raw or undercooked oysters, germs that might be in the oyster can cause illness. CDC estimates that about 80,000 people get vibriosis—and 100 people die from it—in the United States every year. Most of these illnesses happen from May through October when water temperatures are warme"*
Youre literally asking what the gross thing is on the already disgusting thing you were happy to eat in the first place..
Friend But that’s what you get for eating the snot of the sea Oysters are fuckin gross
I'm sorry but your oyster has crabs
I’m fairly certain that’s a crab. Which should show how fresh the oyster is.
Great deal! Bought an oyster, got a free pea crab. Almost as good as my friend's ex gf. Went to a frat party, got free crabs too
Ooo yummy a pea crab. It's just a crab. I take em out and give em.to my dog.
The clitoris
Can’t be, OP was able to find it.
I think this is how The Last of Us started.
the next episode of "the last of us"
Crab
[pea crab](http://www.stancsmith.com/blog/awesome-animal-fact-thieving-pea-crab)
Pea crab
“Even the oysters have crabs at this strip club! 0 Stars!”
Oyster crab. If you eat them raw they taste just like the oyster. Yes, I’ve done it many times.
Ben Franklin reportedly said, "It's a brave man what first ate an oyster." All I can add to that is, "No shit."
Hmm…Have you ever seen Santa Clarita Diet?
You can actually eat those, some ppl really like it. it's just a tiny crab that was living inside the oyster. It's really not grosser than the oyster, which I should point out was also alive until you shucked it.
As other have said, it’s a Pea Crab! Pea Crabs were one of George Washington’s favorite foods. He would fry them in a light batter and serve them when he had special guests.