Pea Crabs

[KittyKatFishGrl]

So I was in Culinary class today and we were shucking oysters and I found a crab in one of mine, after some research I have discovered it is a Pea Crab... I brought it home and I want to try and keep it as a pet... The information that I have gathered says they live in the oyster shell and feed off the oyster so if I bring home some live oysters I can house them together.. the bad news is that once inside of the shell I won't see it again... I also discovered that they eat plankton so I'm wondering if I put some shells and caves in a small tank with plankton and sand if I can pull it off... what do you think? Any and all advice welcome..
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[bribo12]

I'm assuming this is a brackish or marine crab and thus needs a brackish or marine setup. With that said I doubt it will last long in captivity. It seems like it has a parasitic relationship with oysters and thus needs them to survive. To keep oysters id think a stable tank with lots of micro life, e.g. Phytoplankton, zooplankton is necessary. Even if the crab lives, keeping the oysters alive long term would be a hassle.

Any idea the temp. Of the water or salinity these guys are found at?


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[KittyKatFishGrl]

I don't know the amount of salt just that there's some involved, the oysters were salty...i don't know the salt, temp, lighting or water conditions....i just didn't want to let her die & no one in class was gonna eat her as I read they're considered delacacies & quite delicious.. I've never seen anything like this but I read they're quite common to find....



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