Keep your crab on ice and out of water
If you’re taking live crab home with you, transport them in a cooler. Place ice on the bottom of the cooler, cover the ice with a damp cloth, and put your crab on top of the towel. The towel will keep the crab from sitting directly on the ice.
Replace the ice as needed, and be sure to pour off the water from melting ice. You can also keep the lid of the cooler cracked to allow oxygen in.
Crab will go dormant in the cold cooler and live up to 48 hours on ice.
Watch the video below with great instructions on how to clean live crab