mango
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
After the goldfish fiasco I posted about in the Getting Started forum, someone suggested a freshwater crab for my 5g hex tank. I've been looking on the net for info and there seems to be a baffling amount of differing opinions and contradictory information regarding how to care for them.
Are crabs relatively new to the hobby or something or is there just that much controversy about how to care for them?
Some sites say that crabs such as fiddlers and red claws are completely aquatic while others demand that there must be a way for the crabs to get out of the water and onto land or an exposed piece of driftwood or some such thing.
Then there's the issue of brackish versus fresh water. Most of the sites say that fiddlers require brackish conditions so I'm inclined to believe this piece of info at least is true, especially since they are generally found in tidal pools and such. One site said don't buy fiddlers if they are being kept in FW at the LFS, or to wait until a new shipment arrives to minimize the amount of time they have spent in a FW environment. But I don't seem to be able to find any info regarding water conditions for red claw crabs other than they can live in your freshwater tank.
One thing everyone seems to agree upon is approximately 12 square inches of space is required for each crab and they need to be fed a variety of foods both animal- and plant-based. According to this, one could live happily in my 5g hex, provided I remove the 2 snails so they don't get eaten by the crab. I could devise a way for it to get in/out of water if that ends up being needed. I would also be happy to provide a brackish environment. I've never kept a brackish tank before, so it might be fun and exciting. I just need to know what, precisely, is required in order to make proper arrangements.
Are crabs relatively new to the hobby or something or is there just that much controversy about how to care for them?
Some sites say that crabs such as fiddlers and red claws are completely aquatic while others demand that there must be a way for the crabs to get out of the water and onto land or an exposed piece of driftwood or some such thing.
Then there's the issue of brackish versus fresh water. Most of the sites say that fiddlers require brackish conditions so I'm inclined to believe this piece of info at least is true, especially since they are generally found in tidal pools and such. One site said don't buy fiddlers if they are being kept in FW at the LFS, or to wait until a new shipment arrives to minimize the amount of time they have spent in a FW environment. But I don't seem to be able to find any info regarding water conditions for red claw crabs other than they can live in your freshwater tank.
One thing everyone seems to agree upon is approximately 12 square inches of space is required for each crab and they need to be fed a variety of foods both animal- and plant-based. According to this, one could live happily in my 5g hex, provided I remove the 2 snails so they don't get eaten by the crab. I could devise a way for it to get in/out of water if that ends up being needed. I would also be happy to provide a brackish environment. I've never kept a brackish tank before, so it might be fun and exciting. I just need to know what, precisely, is required in order to make proper arrangements.
