Red crab disappeared

[rupp3322]

I got this little crab, it's red, about the size of a quarter. I just thought it looked fun at the lfs. So i put it in my tank and it burrowed into the sand and i haven't seen it for 3 days! Is this normal? Will it be okay? At the store the substrate was only a quarter inch so it couldnt disappear.

 

[nikki_kaiser]

I don't know about the particular crab your talking about but I live near the coast and crabs burrow into the sand all the time. Is it a red burrowing crab?? Does he look like this??

www.bluezooaquatics.com/productdetailcc.asp?did=11&cid=354&pid=6969

 

[rupp3322]

Thats exactly what it looks like! I have about a 4 inch sandbed so i may never see him again! Lol. Thanks for the link!

 

[nikki_kaiser]

Haha! You'll see him eventually I'm sure! Try feeding one night, turn your lights off for an hour and go in and look for him. I bet he has a nice hole somewhere near your live rock. He will come out soon enough!

 

[mikestanked]

I had the same issue with my red crab, it hid for like a week, I thought he was gone. But it ended up coming out eventually but wasn't very fun to watch it just hid in my LR. Then I found three of its legs around my tank and him just barely alive, I think my damsels got um.

 

[nikki_kaiser]

Damsels are wicked! I think the crab is cool but couldn't find much info on them. Do they need to be able to get to the surface occasionally? I know some crabs do but was curious as to what your LFS said.