sand sifting horseshoe crab, yay or nay?

[bawla47]

read a bit, and i think its suggested not to purchase any sand sifting animals. That they will shift the sand arround, and your sand wont be live anymore? I could have it totally wrong, but just wanted to see what you guys thoght. Would it be ok to purchase one? If not, thats cool too, Just tryin to get your guys advice.

THanks in advance.

Jay D

 

[i have crabs]

they will eat off alot of critters living in your sand you will probably only see it once a week and they need a lot of sand room and they get big so have a big tank for it

but other than that they are cool to have and if you want one just take some steps to make its life long and happy

 

[RLG2182]

You definitely WANT something that will sift the sand around. They'll eat up a lot of the leftover food, clean up deterius, and promote oxygen exchange. Not to mention the fact that it's cool as heck to watch.

What makes sand "live" are the worms and animals that live in the sand, and the bacteria that forms as the tank matures. In an ocean, are there things that stir the sand around? Yes. I have a brittle star and a nassarius snail and they're cool to watch. Just make sure that your tank is mature (old/established) enough so that they have natural food to eat. They may starve a little if the tank is fresh & has no established bacteria for them to feed on.

HTH

 

[JG]

They get huge ( 20 inches ) !!

I've read that they lead rather short in tank lives due to starvation as they deplete the tank of goodies.

 

[seaham358]

Not a good idea....... like the others have said get big. I had someone give me one and you ahve to feed them on a regular basis because they are scavengers and eating pods is going to cut it for these things. It died even with me feeding it all the time. You would need a very large tank if you wanted to try and keep it long term

 

[lando]

This is not an animal sutible for the home aquarium. They get very large and will devistate the fauna in a LS bed. Besides that, they can be very destructive in an aquarium by toppling rockwork. I would not get one.

 

[bawla47]

thanks guys, had a feeling it was a no go. I decided not to get one b4 yall replys. but good thing it backed it up!

for my 55 gallon i bought instead-

3 emerald crabs
2 pepermint shrimps
10 blue leg hermits
15- astreas snails


thanks for all the replys!

 

[RLG2182]

Now that I read the topic... I thought you meant sand sifting creatures in general. No... the horseshoe crab in particular is just a bad idea. Good choice on the clean up crew you got though!

 

[austinsdad]

Check out the nassarius vibex snail. They stay in the sand.

 

[lando]

Looks like a great start to a cleanup crew.