Aquatic Crabs (Questions & Advice)

Re: Got Crabs?

I would think if it was a fish decoration that was sold as one at say a pet store...that it wouldn't have anything that could cause rust? Most of the weighted plastic plants that I had in the past were either a plastic open base that curved upwards allowing gravel to settle on top of the base OR have been the ones that are weighted down by a bunch of siliconed aquarium gravel...neither having the ability to produce rust?

HOWEVER, if it did have something metal that rusted and this rust got into the water it would obviously pollute your crabby's aquatic home and may have killed them (more than likely killed them).

I'm thinking you are talking about ones such as the red claw crab or fiddlers...either way both need access to land and aren't what I would consider as truly fully aquatic and depending which ones you have...certain ones are brackish and certain ones are freshwater.

If you aren't aware the best setup would be:
one that is filled partially with water, but also has easy access to an area of(land) where they can get out of the water and walk around.

The easy way to do this is to make a tank divider splitting the tank is a lil' less than half. using something like a small strip of plexiglass that's cut to whatever height that you need (usually no more than 3-4")

To create your land/water sections easily you can always do what I did when I had them....

WATER SECTION was made by using a glass baking pan that I found in Wal-marts houseware dept. in the baking bowls/pan section. I used a small submersible heater inside it that kept the water at 78F and added freshwater aquarium salt per directions to the water in addition to placing an airstone that ran off airline tubing and went to a tiny airpump to oxygenate the water...the airstone was held in place by using an airline suction cup just above it.... Why the bowl? because it was easy to remove and allowed me to easily keep their water clean (mine were messy messy eaters since they would always drag their food over from the land) since a siphon won't work well in a few inches of water!

NEXT, to section it off from the "land" I placed a plexiglass strip that came to about the height of the bowl (I think it was about 3-4"). Why did I do this? To prevent the "land" section from avalanching below the bowl when I pulled it out to clean their water.

FINALLY, the land section was filled barely below the plexi-glass with pool sand <petsmart has some nice black sand for aquariums that would contrast nicely if you like> (they love to dig and need to have some access to land). OR you can even use potting soil which would be VERY good for growing plants in there by the way. The key is something DRY and Whatever works best for you

DECOR: optional, but live plants spruce it up, pieces of driftwood, and even coconut shells that have been hollowed/halved/and notched here and there since they like digging beneath stuff and climbing on things. ...which reminds me...you'll want a lid if they can get anywhere near the top to escape. Just make sure it's more open land than decor.

IDEA: If you want to swap out sections of your sand you can always get yourself a small sandbox shovel with a pail for about a $1.00 (you can use the pail if you want for the crabs while "cleaning" the tank if your worried they'll get in the way.

FEEDING: Mine ate hermit crab food, algae based (flakes, tabs, frozen cubes that were thawed), tiny feeder fish etc. I know I've recently seen a microcrab/crab food that was especially formulated for them and sinks...for the life of me I can't remember the exact name though. It was in Petsmart if that helps?

FEEDING BOWL: I wedged a tiny hamster bowl into their "land" section that could be filled with food for them...okay, I'm an admitted neat freak and like my pets to have super clean environments!

ALSO, I can't remember the product my lfs sold me..but it was something that provided calcium and iodine for them to properly shed...maybe someone else on here will know what the exact product is..or one that is similar and will serve the same purpose.

Mine ending up dueling to death despite having a 10g all to themselves.

 

Re: Got Crabs?

I guess it really doesnt matter now, I wont be getting any crabs soon, Ive just set up my tank for Cichlids, and I have seen them tear those little dudes up alive, not pretty!, But the plant that I had was one with the aggregate base that looked like gravel like you are talking about, but there was a metal wire sticking out of it when I pulled it out to clean that was totally crusted with an Iron colored scale! I know it was rust because the base fell apart when I pulled it out of the tank. I guess it doesnt really matter now, because all my crabs are long gone, and I have a fish that eat them apparently, so I was just curious!

Thanks for the input dawn!

 

Re: Got Crabs?

got it, your welcome. I'd put my money on the rust that killed them.
And Africans are definately aggressive...make sure you put TONS of hiding places in there for them (Texas holey rock works great, put light diffuser under the substrate though cuz those rocks are heavy!).
I did africans for a while and when they were small they were great...as they started to get bigger everybody was on a kill fest. I have picts of them under the following links ===> 90 Gallon African Cichlids - Pool Sand and 90 Gallon African Cichlid Tahitian Moon Sand
I ended up getting tired of the constant battling no matter what I did and converted back to a peaceful community tank and am dabbling into plants.

 

Re: Got Crabs?

Well once in high school I... Just kidding. I've never kept those guys for fear that they would eat my fish.

I do know with my saltwater hermit crabs and shrimp I would feed them some sinking food until the tank started producing enough for them to feed on.

 

Re: Got Crabs?

great advice dawn, if I am thinking about the same red crabs (one very large claw and one smaller claw), the fact that they could not get to land was probably what killed them.

 

Re: Got Crabs?

Well I feel like a total idiot. I bout two of the fiddler crabs from a pet store after I explained that I had 2 tanks, 29 gallon and 12. 12 with an African clawed frog and 29 with various community fish. He sold them to me and I put one in each tank and shortly thereafter they disappeared. I later found one on the ground over the air vent. Somehow he crawled out of the top of the tank and died. I felt awful, and now I fell even worse, I never knew they needed land. The poor guys. I still haven't found the second one. I have a feeling he may have become a snack for my dog

 

Re: Got Crabs?

I have heard that you can take a glass bowl and put it inthe bottom of the tank, pump air into it, to create land under water. I dont know, but it seems reasonable. As long as you can create enough air flow through it! Food for thought if you dont have a terrerium setup.

 

Crabs... Totally freaked out right now.

Crabs... Totally freaked out right now.
My boyfriend thought it would be a great idea to purchase a male and female crab for our brackish tank (We have a figure 8 puffer and a knight goby that currently inhabit our 10gal brackish tank). And apparently these little critters can climb... I just realized there is a rectangle area where the filter sits that is not covered by the hood, and i see the male right underneath where the filter hangs but cannot locate the female.

Biting nails nervously now, these things creep me out. If she has escaped what are the chances she could survive out of water and be crawling around the bedroom?

Oh, and the puffer couldnt have eaten her, much too big for the little guy.

 

Re: Crabs... Totally freaked out right now.

Most crabs available at pet stores require land to survive, they're not totally aquatic.