Hello,
I've got a midskipper and fiddler crab setup that I've been running since February. It's a 65 gallon tank with partial land and brackish water. I've got 3 Indian mudskippers that are happy and healthy but all the fiddler crabs I have keep dying.
Since inception of the tank I've had 3 crabs die. When I first set up the tank, I bought a male and a female from a LFS. They both went through a molt and seemed fine. After a few weeks the female was found dead on the sand. The male was just as active as ever though. Since the male seemed healthy, I figured it could be some unknown issue that the crab had when I bought her. So I picked out another female from another store (the male seemed to liven up even more when she arrived too
). Then a few weeks later, the male started acting lethargic. This lasted for a week or two until one day he was dead in the water. I did a quick check of ammonia and nitrates and they were fine. Again, the remaining crab (female) was just fine. So I figured I'd try one more male to see if maybe I just got unlucky. I picked up a new male from the same place as the original two were purchased from. Flash forward another month or so, and the remaining female seemed lethargic for some time and eventually was found dead. So now I have one very active and seemingly healthy male but I have had 3 other crabs die within about 5 months. What could be killing them? I would like to have at least one of each sex, but I don't want to keep killing crabs.
Setup:
Brackish water - hydrometer doesn't seem to work but I put about a tablespoon of instant ocean per gallon of RO
PWC - I change about 1.5 - 2.5 of the roughly 8 gallons in the tank (most of the remaining is really just sitting in the sand) each week
Substrate - a mixture of pool filter sand and arogonite. Land/water combo with easy access to both and a few hiding places
Temp - 82 this currently, 79 earlier this winter. Temps stay constant.
Filter - Tetra rock/waterfall with two filters. Changed alternately about once a month.
Food - Mostly grazing. I do try and drop bloodworms/brine shrimp into the water near them when they're out at skipper feeding time and occasionally where I know they will venture. I also sometimes give them algae pellets.
Again, the odd part is that each time it's only one crab that goes and the other is fine. All 3 mudskippers seem healthy and don't really tend to mess with the crabs. I'm also pretty sure they were dead and not just caught in the middle of a molt. What could be killing these crabs off?
I've got a midskipper and fiddler crab setup that I've been running since February. It's a 65 gallon tank with partial land and brackish water. I've got 3 Indian mudskippers that are happy and healthy but all the fiddler crabs I have keep dying.
Since inception of the tank I've had 3 crabs die. When I first set up the tank, I bought a male and a female from a LFS. They both went through a molt and seemed fine. After a few weeks the female was found dead on the sand. The male was just as active as ever though. Since the male seemed healthy, I figured it could be some unknown issue that the crab had when I bought her. So I picked out another female from another store (the male seemed to liven up even more when she arrived too
). Then a few weeks later, the male started acting lethargic. This lasted for a week or two until one day he was dead in the water. I did a quick check of ammonia and nitrates and they were fine. Again, the remaining crab (female) was just fine. So I figured I'd try one more male to see if maybe I just got unlucky. I picked up a new male from the same place as the original two were purchased from. Flash forward another month or so, and the remaining female seemed lethargic for some time and eventually was found dead. So now I have one very active and seemingly healthy male but I have had 3 other crabs die within about 5 months. What could be killing them? I would like to have at least one of each sex, but I don't want to keep killing crabs.Setup:
Brackish water - hydrometer doesn't seem to work but I put about a tablespoon of instant ocean per gallon of RO
PWC - I change about 1.5 - 2.5 of the roughly 8 gallons in the tank (most of the remaining is really just sitting in the sand) each week
Substrate - a mixture of pool filter sand and arogonite. Land/water combo with easy access to both and a few hiding places
Temp - 82 this currently, 79 earlier this winter. Temps stay constant.
Filter - Tetra rock/waterfall with two filters. Changed alternately about once a month.
Food - Mostly grazing. I do try and drop bloodworms/brine shrimp into the water near them when they're out at skipper feeding time and occasionally where I know they will venture. I also sometimes give them algae pellets.
Again, the odd part is that each time it's only one crab that goes and the other is fine. All 3 mudskippers seem healthy and don't really tend to mess with the crabs. I'm also pretty sure they were dead and not just caught in the middle of a molt. What could be killing these crabs off?
