fiddler crabs

[cogburn]

hey all... just got my tank sat. put a few hardy tetras in sunday and im in the cycle process right now... after the cycle is done im gonna add some angelfish, a betta, maybe some mollies... was wondering if you guys had much experience with fiddler crabs... i like them and think theyre pretty cool... but i hear problems about them getting out of the tank... is there any way to prevent this... i have a good hood on the tank but around the heater and filter cut outs there is some space... can you guys either tell me im okay or recommend a way to secure these holes... thanks in advance...

-Larry

 

[An t-iasg]

Welcome to AA!

I hate to throw a damper on your new tank plans but you shouldn't be putting some of these fish together. What kind of tetras do you have? Angelfish will eat neon and smaller cardinal tetras. Neon tetras are their natural food in the wild. I have seen a group of tetras gang up on and nip a betta. Bettas might not make good community fish - it's 50-50 if they will get along with the other tankmates or if the tankmates will nip their long fins. Bettas will attack other fish that are colorful and have long fins, thinking it's a rival male. I think fiddler crabs are best left to their own tanks without other fish. They can catch fish at night in their claws as the fish sleep, or they could catch slower-moving fish like the betta anytime.

 

[cogburn]

hmmm... well... i guess its a good thing i asked... i have 2 neon tetras... 2 zebra tetras and 2 sepultra tetras... theyre just the cycle fish... i was planning on taking them back to the pet shop once the cycle is done... then i was gonna get 2 angel fish, 2 bala sharks, 1 male betta, 2 molly's and a catfish to clean the tank... i was also hoping for 2 fiddler crabs... but if you guys dont think thats a good idea i might go with ghost shrimp i appreciate the input

 

[mom2reds]

I am sorry to hear that you have decided to cycle with fish . I hope you are prepared to do a lot of water changes sometimes two a day. I would also get a freshwater master test kit so that you can check on your water often.
Neon tetras can be very sensitive fish and are best kept in groups of 6 along with the other tetras that you have.
I would sugest taking the fish back to the store if you can and do a fishless cycle much easier on you and the fish.
Whatever you choose to do you have come to the right place for help and advice.

Welcome to AA and good luck

 

[cogburn]

man... the fish store guy didnt say all that... he told me to get a half dozen fish and just leave em for a month... then bring in a water sample and he'd test it... then if it was good i could get whatever fish i want... is this b.s. or can i do that?

 

[mom2reds]

Some fish stores will let you take fish back, Most LFS are in it for the money but not all. I made the same mistake when I started only I had a 1.5 gallon take and I put 2 male guppies and 6 neons in there then they all died quickly that is when I found this site. There is an article under the article subtitle at the top of your forum site click on it the go to freshwater article and on the second page I beleive there is and article on the nitrogen cycle that I think will be helpfull to you. You might want to place a question under the getting started forum on cycling a new tank, people on this AA site are very helpfull with any questions or problems that you may incounter. I still consider my self a newbie and I started in 2005.

Good luck

 

[cogburn]

oh man... now i gotta completely change all my plans... this sucks

 

[An t-iasg]

man... the fish store guy didnt say all that... he told me to get a half dozen fish and just leave em for a month... then bring in a water sample and he'd test it... then if it was good i could get whatever fish i want... is this b.s. or can i do that?

mom2reds is right. Fishless cycling is a much better alternative. I'd see if you can return the fish also. If you did what the LFS guy suggested - leaving the fish in that tank for a month (the way he said "leaving" makes me think he didn't even suggest water changes or testing) you would have no fish - they'd all be dead from the high ammonia. Then your cycle would pretty much stop - you would have a tank full of ammonia that may or may not complete the normal cycle because there would be no more byproducts of fish waste to keep the cycle going. Then you'd be really discouraged (and we are here to prevent that!) You can search on "fishless cycling" on this site or the Internet, and then post your questions on that.

 

[cogburn]

he told me to change 25% of the water once a month and i bought a siphon to clean up the gravel... he said if i put hardy tetras in there, made sure i didnt over feed and changed the 25% of the water that in a month i would be able to put whatever fish i wanted to in...

 

[mom2reds]

Don't listen to him he does not know about what he speaks. I would suggest a python for water changes they are a back saver. I have a 100 gallon tank and I change 50% of the water every week along with a gravel vac.
Somethings that might be usefull to forum members to help
1. What size is your tank?
2. Do you have a heater ?
3. What are planning on stocking your tank with?
4. What kind of filtration are you using?

 

[cogburn]

29 gal, yes i have a heater, i was hoping to put a betta, 2 mollies, 2 angelfish, 2 barrabel sharks, maybe a cat fish to keep it clean and hopefully 2 fiddler crabs i bought the tank as a whole setup, tank, hood, light, heater, filter at petco... i dont know what brand the filter is...

 

[cogburn]

i can totally accept that i cant add all these fish at once thats fine... itll keep up the excitement if i have to get them over a few months... and if the betta wont work thats fine i can get something else i dont mind....

 

[mom2reds]

IMO the sharks will get to big for the tank, a betta in with anyother fish is always risky especially in with anyfish that has long pretty fins such as an angel fish. I would not keep fiddler crabs in with any fish they eat fish. A good rule of thumb to go by is 1 inch of fish per gallon, not to say that it always applies to all fish some fish need more room to swim. I am sure others can comment on this with more info.
I also would suggest trying to find out what kind of filter you have to make sure it has enough filtration power for the kinds of fish you want and the size of tank you have. Tank sets don't always have the right size filter.

 

[mom2reds]

I really hope that you are not getting discouraged by all of this info at once. We have all been through this stuff and it can be over whelming at times but it is trully a wonderful hobby. Take your time and do things the right way and you will get a whole lot of enjoyment out of your tank.

 

[cogburn]

okay... that was just my first thought... i will scratch the betta and the crabs... thats fine... any kind of invertebrate i can get possibly shrimp?... and if i cant have the betta maybe ill either get another angelfish or a different color molly or something... that was just my first plan on fish i knew once i posted it i would get corrected haha...

 

[cogburn]

im not getting discouraged... altho i didnt think it would be this complicated to have some fish in a tank... i never shy away from a challenge or some good old fashioned hard work... i just wanna do everything right so i dont end up killing fish and wasting my money that i work very hard for

 

[cogburn]

i guess i should get a test kit too to check my ammonia and nitrate/nitrite levels so i know when the cycle is done... anybody recommend a good easy to use/read kit?

 

[mom2reds]

If youhave a petsmart close to you, you can go online to there site and print off the price for a FW master test kit, and then take it to the store they price match their online prices, they just bank on people not knowing this. There are lost of places on line to buy products at one of the most popular is Dr. Fosters .

 

[Purrbox]

I would recommend getting either an API or a Hagen kit. Both are reasonably good quality, just make sure to pick up the liquid kits and not test strips.

 

[cogburn]

okay... im gonna go to petco this weekend i have to take our kitten for a shot or something... so im gonna pick up the api freshwater master kit... im still on the fence and not really knowing what i want in the tank when the cycle is done... so can anybody give me some recommendations on a good freshwater habitat... i would like a couple of crustaceans... and i really do like angel fish... would a few angelfish and some colorful tetras work with some kind of shrimp? i really do appreciate all the input you guys have given me im already a much more informed aquarium owner...