Fiddler Crab Build

[TheMurrays]

Buying more sand today, and hopefully a heater. Happy to be working on a tank again.

 

[skiweeangel]

Wow! I am so happy to see this taking off! What kind of filter did you get? My spare 30g broke, so I will just dream about this one for a longer period of time. I can't wait to see the whole thing!

 

[TheMurrays]

I bought a Tetra Whisper. It's behind the rock, making a waterfall.

My husband added more sand and a bg today. I put in the land decor. He added plants and changed the rocks for the waterfall. The plan is to get some long plants to put over the top of the filter to hide most of the plastic. We are hoping that makes it look more real.

 

[TheMurrays]

Sorry! Forgot the pic!

 

[siva]

Lookin' awesome! Better than mine. You asked way back in the thread about algae eaters for the tank.. Fiddlers do eat algae, but not effeciently. I keep various snails with them including MTS, nerites, and ramshorns.

 

[skiweeangel]

Wow! That is an incredible tank! And this is a 29gal right? So neat. I'll have to look into that filter when my turn comes.

 

[TheMurrays]

Lookin' awesome! Better than mine. You asked way back in the thread about algae eaters for the tank.. Fiddlers do eat algae, but not effeciently. I keep various snails with them including MTS, nerites, and ramshorns.

I was worried about snails, since the water is brackish. I know there are saltwater snails, but I didn't know whether they would need a higher salt consentration. I'll keep a look out for the ones you suggested. What does MTS stand for?

 

[TheMurrays]

Wow! That is an incredible tank! And this is a 29gal right? So neat. I'll have to look into that filter when my turn comes.

Yes, I believe it is a 29 gal. Thanks for the compliment. We are hoping to add more stuff. We have some driftwood soaking right now, and we want some taller plants to stick up above the water line.

 

[siva]

Nerites actually only breed in brackish water, so it's ideal to keep them in there. You can maybe even turn a profit off of them if they reproduce. MTS are malaysian trumpet snails, which are also a great brackish option. The burrow in the sand and help keep it clean. I wasn't sure ramshorns would thrive, but mine do awesome at 1.008 SG.

 

[TheMurrays]

Great! Thank you for your help.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Do you have some type of retaining wall to hold that sand in place? If I remember correctly from my own experiences with fiddlers, they like to burrow don't they? Seems like I remember them stirring up all kinds of things in the water. If you don't have one (can't quite tell from the picture) you might want to consider some type of barrier to help hold that larger sand area in place. Something like this might work, or even just a wall of larger rocks dry stacked would be better than nothing.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f60/great-stuff-pond-foam-176025.html

 

[siva]

I thought they would, but I've never seen one burrow. Maybe some species do and some do not.

 

[TheMurrays]

Do you have some type of retaining wall to hold that sand in place? If I remember correctly from my own experiences with fiddlers, they like to burrow don't they? Seems like I remember them stirring up all kinds of things in the water. If you don't have one (can't quite tell from the picture) you might want to consider some type of barrier to help hold that larger sand area in place. Something like this might work, or even just a wall of larger rocks dry stacked would be better than nothing.

Ok, you can't really tell from the pic, but here's what's going on. We have a large river rock slanted in the tank. Behind that are two other large rocks. I filled the cracks in with large gravel. Then covered the top with sand. There is only about three inches of sand, which from what I have read is not enough for borrowing. The slanted rock is holding everything in place, along with some smaller rocks that are lined up on top of it.

 

[Wy Renegade]

I thought they would, but I've never seen one burrow. Maybe some species do and some do not.

Its been quite awhile since I tried them, but I'm pretty sure it was fiddlers that I had that were burrowing.

Ok, you can't really tell from the pic, but here's what's going on. We have a large river rock slanted in the tank. Behind that are two other large rocks. I filled the cracks in with large gravel. Then covered the top with sand. There is only about three inches of sand, which from what I have read is not enough for borrowing. The slanted rock is holding everything in place, along with some smaller rocks that are lined up on top of it.

Good to hear, sounds like you've got it covered. You'll have to keep us updated on whether they try burrowing or not - like I said, its been awhile. Nice looking set-up regardless.

 

[siva]

I believe Adeeb had said a while back none of his fiddler species were burrowing either...ah I can't remember for sure. Mine are Uca Pugnax. Do you know what species yours are?

 

[TheMurrays]

Good to hear, sounds like you've got it covered. You'll have to keep us updated on whether they try burrowing or not - like I said, its been awhile. Nice looking set-up regardless.

Thank you! I read somewhere that they won't borrow unless they have like ten inches of sand. We will see if that is accurate!

 

[TheMurrays]

Added marine salt yesterday... Too much! I'm going to wait until tonight to retest it. Then I'm going to work on getting the correct salinity. I know I went about the whole salt thing all wrong. I should have let the salt dissolve in water and then put it in the tank. Oh well, you live and learn! I also purchased a bubble stone and plant to cover the filter. I am debating on whether or not to cover the filter with mesh or cheese cloth or something. I know the crabs will be able to get in it if I don't. They would probably enjoy munching on the grossness that is the filter media. I found out that ONE LFS in my area has fiddlers. They keep them in freshwater. But I would rather not have to pay shipping. My husband and I watched the little guys for a while, and they are so much fun! We can't wait to bring some home.

 

[skiweeangel]

I hope everything goes well. You are braver than I, venturing into the world of salt and all.

 

[TheMurrays]

I hope everything goes well. You are braver than I, venturing into the world of salt and all.

I'm just glad it's not more difficult! I just had to purchase marine salt and a hydrometer. If it was harder than that I don't think I could do it! Haha!

 

[khartig]

I'm glad your tackling this. I just got a used 20 gal. tank from a buddy of mine and plan on doing a crabitat and this thread has been helpful. I hope you don't mind if I learn from your mistakes.