how do ghost shrimp and fiddler crabs affect water?

[lomeli562]

Just wondering how fiddler crabs and ghost shrimps affect water quality i know they help clean up excess food but how do they change ammonia or stocking levels?

 

[Mebbid]

It's not really enough to bother counting the bio load of those inverts unless you have a ton of them. The ghost shrimp are much easier to take care of than the fiddlers though.

 

[lomeli562]

Well i currently have 3 fiddler crabs and i want to say at least 10 ghost shrimp in my tropical community tank will those numbers be enough to make a difference?

 

[Mebbid]

It depends on the gallons but probably not. I'm curious, what are you using to give your fiddlers access to dry land? I've been wanting some but haven't really seen any ideas I like for my tanks.

 

[lomeli562]

Well i dont provide them with a designated spot i have a diy tank divider they climb onto and some artificial plants the use also but i was thinking a floating dock like for aquatic turtles would work perfectly

 

[Mebbid]

The best I've found were underwater crabitats. You use an air pump to push air into a little bubble house for them. Gives them a little refuge underwater. The turtle dock could work too as lo.g as you give them something to climb up there on.

The fiddlers also need salt in their water, it might be a good idea to look into.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

I have crabs, what I do is I have this very tall decoration that reaches the top of the tank, when they feel like it, that climb up, stay there a bit, and then go back down a bit

 

[lomeli562]

Yea i use aquarium salt it seems to be doing them good all my crabs have molted multiple times already and the male is always signing to the females and iveeen the crabitat but its a bit pricey i use to have a jar slanted and filled with air. Same concept but cheaper and more room for the crabs

 

[Autumnsky]

I used a "lily pad" and the crab loved it. It is from the turtle section. It is a kinda resin with a aquarium tube which was clear and a stone like part to anchor it down. I traded the clear tube out for black airline tubing to blend better with my black background. I also tried the blueish color and didn't care for that, "Conceptual Creations Landing Pad Floating Basking Island" is what it is.

Also, he would climb up to the top of the return tub from my FX-5 filter and just rest there under the plastic wrap I duct taped to the back and top, as to prevent escape.

I always thought of making a habitat hangout on top with connector tubes from a hamster habitrail (to connect the water in the tank with the unit on top) and connect them to the top with a sand "beach" place like a hermit crab would like, with a warming light and food.

 

[Fishfur]

If you intend to use salt, I would find another tank for the shrimp. They are fresh water only, and salt is not going to make them happy.

 

[lomeli562]

They seem to be doing fine and i mostly have them there as a clean up crew

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[siva]

I absolutely love my fiddler crabs, greatest little clean up crew around and, like most inverts their size, the bio-load isn't bad. Still when considering bio-load they should be recognized as part of the stock, same for the ghost shrimp which get quite large. I've been keeping fiddlers for years and I still never tire of watching them. I originally set up my first brackish tank just for them and they are totally worth it IMO!

They are not fully aquatic crabs, as you know, and must have an adequate land area to dry out their shell on a regular basis or they will not survive for long.

Please realize that these little guys are wild caught from mangrove swamps and are absolutely brackish. They will not live long in freshwater. Also adding aquarium salt to a freshwater tank does not make it brackish, and is almost never a good idea for your freshwater aquatics except in extreme cases to treat illness, and should never be considered for long term use. Your brackish creatures should be in a brackish tank and your freshwater creatures should not have any added salt.

I understand you think they are doing fine but I can assure you they are merely surviving for now - and there is a big difference between surviving and thriving. In your conditions they most likely won't last more than a few months where as if you keep them properly you could potentially keep them for years.

 

[lomeli562]

What type of salt would i need to make the tank brackish? And if im using the aquarium salt in small amounts will it still be unhealthy?

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[siva]

Marine salt. The same used for SW tanks just in much smaller quantities. But you can't do that in this paticular tank if it's also housing freshwater fish.

Absolutely it is unhealthy for the fish. An unnatural level of salt will eventually cause most freshwater fish to have internal damage. Another thing you may not realize is that if you are not measuring your salinity level with a device like a hydrometer you are really playing with fire. Every time a little water evaporates the salt that was in that water does not..so as you continue to add little bits of salt during your water changes the evaporation that occurs in between each water change is causing your salinity to go up and up and before you know it it could be way too high and your fish could get sick and die without you ever knowing it was the salt that had done it.

 

[lomeli562]

Ill have to get a new tank then thank your for the info i thought they were perfectly fine

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[siva]

That could be a really fun project, and it really isn't difficult. The only equipment you need that you wouldn't for your typical freshwater aquarium is the marine salt and hydrometer. If you'd like you can create a habitat for the fiddlers and bumblebee gobies. I've been keeping the two together for some time now and they seem to be ideal tankmates that thrive in the same water.

 

[lomeli562]

I was thinking fiddlers and puffers and some form of eel. What do you think?

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[siva]

Oh heavens no, crab is a special treat for puffers

 

[siva]

Also, I don't have firsthand experience with GSP's, but what I've always heard from other experienced hobbyists is they require full salt once they reach maturity and only work in brackish short term.

 

[lomeli562]

**** it lol then ill probably do the fiddlers and gobies

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