What critter would you get if ...

[fishb0ne]

Well I'll be damned.
Just when I thought things were going great, the one red claw crab I've had for 5 months now turns out to be b!tchy with a temper. All crabs are females, I thought things were going to be OK. Anyway, Fuu is her name, and over the course of 2 days she managed to tear up 2 crabs. I have a 2/2 ratio of fiddlers and red claws. She first attacked the other red claw crab, tearing one of her pinchers and 2 legs on the same side. The poor thing has just moulted too. She seems to be okay now other than the fact that she's crippled.
Then yesterday I found one of the smaller fiddler females hiding under a rock on the beach part, missing all but 1 leg on one side [she's got them all on the other] and a pincher.
I was so mad that if I had a puffer around I was going to feed Fuu to it. I removed her from the tank and she's now housed in my 5.5 gallon, which should be fine even for the long term.

Is there a chance that I can tame mean Fuu? My plan is to introduce about 8 or so fiddler crabs and keep the one red claw [I realized a bit too late I should go with a species only tank] so maybe if I keep Fuu by herself for a couple months and give the others a chance to get used to their new home they won't let Fuu bully them?
Advice?
I kinda like red claws better than fiddlers, I find them better looking but they seem to be more shy than fiddlers and now I see they're meaner too.

 

[Ben K]

I myself was thinking of making a crabitat. Question though, what did you use on the glass "ramp"? I was going to use a piece of glass at a 45 degree or less angle, but yours seems greater then 45. What did you use?

 

[fishb0ne]

I used silicone, aquarium-safe one, to prop it up and seal everything nicely. You want 100% pure silicone with no additives. I also covered the glass with plastic netting I had laying around. That way the crabs can very easily climb on the glass with ease and get on the other side.

 

[fishb0ne]

Yahoo Photos shut down, therefore all my pictures have moved here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/fishbon3/Crabitat

 

[src]

That "crabitat" is pretty cool, but I have another idea for someone the next time something like this comes up. It's (more than) a bit far afield from the fish scene, but pretty cool.

At one point I "inherited" a couple of Gerbils. I took a 29G Tall tank and filled it 2/3 with dirt - not topsoil or loam, but sandy/light clay dirt. Most people never realize that Gerbils are burrowers, and given a good habitat will constantly rearrange things. Much better than any ant-farm.

The only problem is that cleaning becomes a hassle. You need to replace a good bit of the dirt every couple of months as wastes build up. But given a small amount of wood shavings, the gerbils will do quite a bit of housekeeping, tossing the old shavings out of the burrow.

 

[fishb0ne]

For those of you that have kept fiddlers and crabs in general in the past, would there be a reason for them to stay in hiding for most of the time all of a sudden? Up to about 3 months ago I'd see my fiddlers a lot. They'd be out in the open, scavenging for food, the males waving, etc. Lately, I hardly see them. They just hide and seldom see them out and about. They are in good health, water parameters perfect, they eat, moult regularly, etc. It seems that they've gone more nocturnal lately I guess. I can see their tracks in sand too, so I know that they're active, just not so much during the day anymore.
Do these guys go through "seasons" at all? Are they more dormant sometimes and more active other times?

 

[fishb0ne]

Well, I wanted to provide an update, seeing that this crab colony is turning almost a year old. Everything is going great, I've had 3 of the 10 crabs die either due to stress or old age, as the water parameters are perfect and all the other crabs are doing great. I've lost 2 females and 1 male.

Here is what I have learned.
-If anyone is looking into doing something like this, don't bother about dividing your tank in a perfect half. Give up some land in favor of more water, because these crabs spend most of their time in water. The more water you have, the better.
-You may have a lot of room, but don't go crazy with numbers. My 75 gallon's water side is 18x24 inches. Even with a ton of hiding places [I mean, look at the photos], there were still some territoriality issues.
-Don't overfeed. I started feeding a half of a pea for each crab, 2 days later I would have very small ammonia readings. Feed the equivalent of a quarter of a pea, so half of a half. I feed them once every other day
-If you have crabs you better keep up with WEEKLY partial water changes. These guys are messy eaters
-These guys love peas, carrots, raw shrimp or fish and, if you want convenience, Hikari Tropical Crab Cuisine. They sink, crabs love them, are perfect size and won't break down and pollute your water
-Sand for substrate is the best way to go
-Forget about live plants. They will tear them to pieces

Their behavior is nothing short of fascinating. The way they interact, the way they go about their daily business, great stuff. I regret that I don't have more time to spend watching them. Two females know me now and when I reach in to drop food, while the others will run away, these two will actually reach up to grab their food. Also, I had one of the males do something nothing short of extraordinary. Months ago I had a female that was missing all of the legs on one side except for one. Well, this one male took it upon himself to watch over her at all times. As soon as another male or female would venture close, he'd chase them away. Once the female moulted a few weeks later and regained her legs, all went back to normal. What a nice guy

That's about it for now. I DEFINITELY have to wipe down my tank's sides, all those brackishwater splashes left some unsightly stains

You can see some new pictures, even with burrows and crabs breeding!
http://picasaweb.google.com/fishbon3/Crabitat

 

[mattrox]

Wow. I just caught up with this thread. How fascinating.

 

[fishb0ne]

My little crabitat's life may have come to an end. My wife and I moved into our new home and I am wondering if I can tear down the crabitat.

For you crab experts/keepers out there, do you think 5 fiddlers [2 males, 3 females] would do OK in a 20 gallon tank? The footprint is a typical 24x12 inches. I would create a slope where they can still get out and have a small beachlike area.