help.how do i catch these crabs?

[reneeanneb]

i have spotted 2 of them they are hiding in holes in my lr.one is red and the other is brown kinda hairy looking.they have claws.i tried to lure them out with a piece of shrimp in my dip net,the red one kept sticking its claw out trying to grab it but he wouldnt budge,he did get a hold of the net but he let go before i could snatch him out.the only thing that came out after it was a starfish,he was hauling butt to try and get it too,lol.i turned off all the lights to see if they come out but how in the world am i gonna get em?

 

[JPloman]

Have you tried moving the rock out of the tank and then trying to get him out?

 

[fishfirst]

are they mantis shrimp or just hitch hiking crabs... mantis shrimp should be taken out of a fish tank... the others might be okay... Its best to ID these before you take them out

 

[reneeanneb]

ok well i got the rock out ,got one crab off he is red and white striped.and off fell a shrimp,hes tiny kinda redish looking in the water but almost transparent out of the water,i know there is another crab he is brownish grey but i cant get him he keeps crawling in the cracks and there is also another brownish grey a bit bigger who wont come out of his hole either.now what?i took pics but i got hacked and cant get them on my computer,will hop on another computer and get the pics off,but should i keep hunting for the crabs or put my rock back in the water?

 

[RMPD109]

Use a turkey baster to flush him out with tank water. You can also use carbonated water that is salted to the correct salinity to flush em out.

 

[reneeanneb]

oki got a smaller crab so that makes 2 and the shrimp.here are pics,i'm not on my computer so i cant fix the pics.

 

[reneeanneb]

ummm lol now what do i do with em? how long will they survive.i was thinkin if they're ok to put in a fish only tank i would throw them in there after i get it going.

 

[JPloman]

If you have a sump, you can put them in that... I usually just run mine down to the beach and drop them off in the ocean, but you dont look like you have that choice in KY.

 

[reneeanneb]

lol nope no ocean here.i dont have a sump either.my husband is working on building me one though.but no telling how long that will take.i couldnt id the baby shrimp,they look like the mantis shrimp but they are not red,they are almost transparent.so i threw them in the 1 gallon tank with the crabs.i thought the crabs would eat them but they are still swimming around in there this morning.i still cant get the bigger crab out of the rock,tried the turkey baster,no luck.going to try carbonated water in a day or so.i'm scared i'm going to end up killing everything thats growing on it .tearing down my fw tank today can i just throw the crabs in there until i figure what to do with em?i dont have a skimmer for it yet,dont plan on putting in fish for a few weeks,i'm using live sand.
thanx for the help!

 

[Brad]

Crabs can be easily trapped. I got one out using a shot glass and a piece of shrimp. Just lean the shot glass up against the rock he hangs in, drop in the shrimp and wait.

I would recommend doing this just before lights out. The crab can't swim and can't climb out of the shot glass once he jumps in. I caught mine in about 2 minutes using this method.

 

[reneeanneb]

cool thanx i want to get the bigger one out terribly bad.i pulled one of the rocks out yesterday and flushed one tiny out but he was dead,i prolly poked him to death trying to get him out a few days ago lol.oki wish me luck gonna try to trap him tonite.