Purple Vampire Crabs!!

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You know that's a good question lol. I'm using a 20 long for my paludarium so I'll be able to have enough water in to use a heater.
 
Since I asked I've been thinking and if the tank was the one with a little bowl, then a heat mat would work :) but I think I'm going to opt for the half land/water so that I can use my heater and also add some shrimp and maybe a few fish :) I can't wait to see what your paludarium looks like :) Are you sure you don't have any pics :p
 
Oh no, the hold up is there's a dang turtle in the tank! I have a raincheck for his new 55 gal at petco and they were supposed to stock them the past two wednesdays in a row and both times..they didn't stock them. So irritated!
 
Ahh that sucks! I would ask, couldn't the crabs and turtle live together but that would probably be a stupid question and I guess you would have done it by now, if it were possible haha
 
No sadly, he's a red eared slider so he's aquatic, lives in the water most the time just comes out to bask. He would eat anything that moves lol
 
Not a Happy Bunny!

I bought a new vampire crab yesterday; it turned out to be another female :) Anyway, I acclimatised her to the tank and let her revel in the oxygen :) all was well and dandy, until I woke this morning and found her dead :( If it weren't for my mother wanting a nose at my new obsession, I probably wouldn't have noticed but being as optimistic as I am, I searched the tank to see if what I was holding, was in fact a molt but unfortunately she was the real deal :(
I rung the store and they want a sample of my tank water and also the body, so I've left her in there at the moment, sitting on the driftwood; mainly for my own peace of mind but its really hot and humid in the tank and its really not going to be pretty, come Monday. What do I do with her?
 
Sad, but freezing is the only way I know of preserving that paraphernalia. Good luck getting your mother to consent to that!
 
Ah man, that sucks :( So you aren't taking her in today? Put her in a ziplock baggie with some water and throw her in the freezer. I have a few neon tetra pops in mine right now ;)
 
I put her in the freezer, before I read about adding water. I still haven't found time to take her in yet but i'm hoping it will be tomorrow and I think I'm going to buy another one so i'll have 3 :D How is your tank coming along? I'm thinking about adding some fish but I don't think there is any type of fish that can live in about 5 inches of water, so its probably not going to happen lol
 
Well I petco finally got in a 55 for my turtle! So away I go on the paludarium project. I need to figure out exactly what I need and go shopping. Exciting :)

Should be fine w/o water as long as it's frozen. I actually never thought of that I always just add water lol.

Remind me, what size is the tank? How much water is in there/how big is the space with water?
 
I'm lucky I didn't need to go shopping since I had everything here, although I did have to order a piece of acrylic; no idea how to cut it now though haha

The tank is around 10g. When I fit the acrylic there should be about 9inches (deep) of water, although I'm quite happy with the 4 inches I have now so I'll have to see lol
 
You might be able to do a small school of nano fish in there, like boraras brigittae aka mosquito rasbora. Depending on how many gallons end up in there. I'm thinking of doing that as well. I have a betta that needs a good spot, but I'm afraid she'll nip at them if I add her.
 
Well I got the tank all bleached out, had my acrylic cut, got the sealant, "great stuff" foam, and river rocks, going to the lfs' in a bit looking for my substrate, driftwood, and plants..I'm also trying to figure out my lid/light situation because as it is the tank doesn't have anything...starting the build tonight :) I've been getting advice from LemurLad..read here if you wanna check it out.. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/vampire-crabs-138469-11.html
 
siva said:
You might be able to do a small school of nano fish in there, like boraras brigittae aka mosquito rasbora. Depending on how many gallons end up in there. I'm thinking of doing that as well. I have a betta that needs a good spot, but I'm afraid she'll nip at them if I add her.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the mosquito rasbora's, I've always wanted them but could never find them, until I found my vampire crabs :) However, even though these crabs are not supposed to pinch or attack other fish, I did notice my betta's fins were slightly ripped when the crab was in with him.

siva said:
Well I got the tank all bleached out, had my acrylic cut, got the sealant, "great stuff" foam, and river rocks, going to the lfs' in a bit looking for my substrate, driftwood, and plants..I'm also trying to figure out my lid/light situation because as it is the tank doesn't have anything...starting the build tonight :) I've been getting advice from LemurLad..read here if you wanna check it out.. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/vampire-crabs-138469-11.html
Click to expand...

How is it all going? I can't wait to see your progress :)
 
My memory is just awful. I remember now that when I bought them, my lfs said they had just removed them from a tank with fish because they were eating them. Now I did wonder if A. They were starving, or B. the fish were already dead but, I'd probably test them out with some cheapies first. I wouldn't put any of my precious mosquito rasbora in there until I knew for sure :) I do see lots of pics of paludariums (in the massive research I've been doing) that show fish being kept with them. Even some nice expensive fish so those folks must trust their crabs! I just had to catch mine and transfer them out of where they were and dang they are fast little buggers! They seem smart though..ultimately they give up and climb into the net as if they know they can't win lol.

Well I guess I'm going to silicone the divider in tonight. I stalled on it because I started second guessing if I should get a larger tank for them. I'm really into this whole paludarium/vivarium thing now and it would be cool to have a larger one..but I think I'm just going to go ahead and use this 20 long I have. Having a hard time finding the bark I need for their substrate so it looks like I'm going to have to order it..I really wanted to get everything locally so I could get this done asap but since I don't even have the divider in yet and it's going to have to cure and be tested I guess I probably have the time to order anyway. Sigh. ;)
 
They are fast, I gave up trying to catch them with a net and found it easier with my bare hands lol although when they pick up speed and run up my arm, that's not fun haha I also saw crabs in with fish; when I was doing the rounds with research and that's what gave me the idea of adding fish in with them. However, my crabs spend all the time on the driftwood, in amongst the fake exo terra plant so I think I could get away with some fish lol

I keep forgetting to pick up silicone and also need some more play sand, but the tank is setup and cycled so I think i'm just stalling cause I don't want to start all over again haha What bark are you using? At the moment I'm planning on sand and maybe substrate but I wanted to try the bark lol What other substrate are you using, or is is just the bark?
 
Welsh said:
They are fast, I gave up trying to catch them with a net and found it easier with my bare hands lol although when they pick up speed and run up my arm, that's not fun haha I also saw crabs in with fish; when I was doing the rounds with research and that's what gave me the idea of adding fish in with them. However, my crabs spend all the time on the driftwood, in amongst the fake exo terra plant so I think I could get away with some fish lol

I keep forgetting to pick up silicone and also need some more play sand, but the tank is setup and cycled so I think i'm just stalling cause I don't want to start all over again haha What bark are you using? At the moment I'm planning on sand and maybe substrate but I wanted to try the bark lol What other substrate are you using, or is is just the bark?
Click to expand...

Your hands?! Dear lord, you're braver than I! They are little too spider-like for that! lol

One of mine molted and died shortly after :(

For the land part, the substrate will be orchid bark (having to order online, can only find fir bark locally which is toxic to them), Calci-sand (I'm using as a substitute for aragonite), coco fiber, and sphagnum moss. For the water I'm not sure yet on the substrate...maybe something river rock-ish or maybe sand.
 
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