Need help with purple vampire crab

[Butterflychild]

Hi im new and have a few questions

Hello im new i have a Purple Vampire Crab. Im needing to know what kind of home do i need for my crab and what other stuff do i need. Aswell do they need to live in a desert home, rainforest home or Invertebrate home. Im thinking of getting one of the Exo Terra kit homes but not sure what one or what even to do. I dont know what other stuff i need for the crab to make it a proper home and a happy crab. I have the crab in a 5 gal (17" x 9') with pink gravel (all i had) on bottom and some substract on the top but not real deep. And a few plastic plants in it with a Beta log and a bowl thats about 3-4 inches round. But i feel the crab needs a better home then that. PLEASE HELP.. Thank you. I would be beyond greatfull to anyone for the help.<3

[siva]

Originally Posted by Butterflychild

Hi im new and have a few questions

Hello im new i have a Purple Vampire Crab. Im needing to know what kind of home do i need for my crab and what other stuff do i need. Aswell do they need to live in a desert home, rainforest home or Invertebrate home. Im thinking of getting one of the Exo Terra kit homes but not sure what one or what even to do. I dont know what other stuff i need for the crab to make it a proper home and a happy crab. I have the crab in a 5 gal (17" x 9') with pink gravel (all i had) on bottom and some substract on the top but not real deep. And a few plastic plants in it with a Beta log and a bowl thats about 3-4 inches round. But i feel the crab needs a better home then that. PLEASE HELP.. Thank you. I would be beyond greatfull to anyone for the help.<3

Hi and welcome!

First of all, realize these are terrestrial crabs and they don't belong in an aquarium. A land area is far more critical for them than a water area. You are correct in thinking they need a different set-up.

I want to tell you up front that you should be prepared for your crab to live only a short time. I hope you get lucky, but unfortunately, unless it is a tank bred crab from a breeder, it's likely to have issues, possibly with molting, that lead to it's death. The crabs we see in fish shops are imported and have been mishandled.

The best advice I can really give you is to read through this thread. It details the step-by-step of how I created this tank as well as some of the problems I've run into. Within this thread are a couple links to other vampire crab threads for you to check out as well. You can also visit brianstropicals.com and view his dart frog care page. These crabs require virtually the same care. Then let me know if you have any questions and I would be happy to help if I can.

[Butterflychild]

Ok i was thinking of getting a 30-40 gal tank and putting 2 pieces of plexiglass and puting down the middle to make like a flowing river. I dont know how to tell what i have male or female and im scared to pick the crab up i dont want to hurt the tiny thing. And i want to get more but not sure how many i can get.

[adeebm]

You can have a decent amount of adults in a 40g. Start up a thread and we can help you out .

--Adeeb

[Butterflychild]

Oh ok ty

[Butterflychild]

Hello all i was wondering if i put a list of the items i am going to buy for my Purple Vampire Crab's tank would someone be able to tell me what items i need or not need. And how many PVC i can put into a 40 gal tank. Thank you.

[siva]

Yes! I've really never seen any fighting between these vamps. It depends on the dimensions of that 40 gal, but I would imagine you could keep 12 w/o any problems.

[Butterflychild]

From what i was told the measurements are 37ish" X 15" X 18". What kind of lid do i need to use.? Glass, screen or other.

[siva]

Ok I think that's pretty much a 40 breeder. That'll give you plenty of space. Hopefully they will reproduce for you and won't have to actually pay for your entire stock.

Not a screen because you want it humid. A glass lid will work, or a plastic top w/o the holes punched out.

[Butterflychild]

Ok the stuff i am getting are. 40 gal tank. some kind of lid, tank stand, grapevine branches, feeding tongs, repti flo terraruim pump, repti clear terraruim filter f250, heat wave forest(under tank heater), digital thermometer, digital hygrometer, exo terra light cycle unit t8/t10 2x40w, fogger ultrasonic fog generator, waterfall, coco husk, turtle pebbles, exo terra plantation soil, styrofoam aquarium background, tree fern tropical background, monsoon Rs400 high- pressure rainfall system, real plants ( not sure what kind i can get). Moss (Java,Peat, Terraruim and Stagnum). Silicone, plexiglass, White Sand, screen for divider between rocks and sand, Repti calcuim and hubba hut (for hiding in). Not sure what else i need or dont need. Thank you.