Thai Micro Crabs

[Envee]

A few years back I bought my kids a pair of fiddler crabs that I was told were fully aquatic. They died after a few months and I later found out that they need land, and prefferably brackish and freshwater. Now my boys are asking me for crabs again, but I don't want more fiddler crabs.

I did some looking around and I found 2 types of fully aquatic freshwater crabs available. One is called a panther crab, and the other is a Thai Micro Crab. The Panther crabs get too big, but the Thai Micro crab is supposed to stay quite small, with a body length of just half an inch at full grown.

Does anyone have any of these in your tanks? I am curious about them as pets, but I'd like to hear from someone with experience keeping them. How much space do they need? Would they eat any snails? Would they pick on a cory cat? What about keeping one in with Guppy fry?

Thanks guys, and Happy Fish(and crab)keeping!

 

[misterpenguin4]

I have kept these before, and they are very very tiny. They are known for disappearing for weeks and showing up for a night and then disappearing again. I dont think they would be a good choice if your children want to watch them. I would be more worried about the corries eating them.

 

[Envee]

Wow. Interesting. Would they be okay in with guppy fry? Come to think of it, do they need a certain type of substrate? Probably sand, right? They must be very delicate. Do you think they would show up more in a tank alone? How large of a tank would a lone crab need? At this point I am just curious.

 

[captaincritical]

Perhaps a little bit too different, and NOT an aquatic choice, but hermit crabs make fantastic pets and are really easy to keep. I kept them when I was at university and was amazed at how each little crab had its own personality! They'd be great for kids if you're willing to do a separate setup for them.