Care for Red Claw Crab (sesarma bidens)

[Sesarma Crab]

Hi everbody, I just would like to ask a couple care questions about the Red Claw Crabs and if they will be fine under these conditions

(1) Is a 7-10 gallon tank enough for one male crab?

(2) Is 77 F okay for the crab?

(3) Is pH 8.0 good for the crab?

(4) Is "7" inches of water above the gravel good for the crab with alot of rocks sticking out?

(5) What type of salt and how much will I need for the water to be brackish?

(6) What food will the crab need?

(7) Will the female crab fight a male?

 

[Guest]

1......yes, Ive had a red claw in a 5 g for well over a year

2......yes, 77 F is ideal

3......should be, a stable PH is more important than a "perfect PH"

4.....yes, my 5g is completely full, with only plants for the crab to get above the waters surface.

5.....I've never added salt to my 5g that houses my crab.Hopefully someone else will chim in on this one.

6.... Crabs are scavengers that mostly feed at night. Drop a sinking pellet in before lights out.

Also keep in mind crabs are escape artist. Make sure the top of your tank is completely covered

7..... doubtful, but I honestly can't speak from experience.

 

[Sesarma Crab]

Thanks, by the way do you think my crabs will do fine if I have 2 females and one male?

Plus what filter should I have?

 

[William]

The male will spend most of his time displaying to the females, and possibly breed. However you won't get any hatchlings..

 

[Sesarma Crab]

So guys, do you think 2 female crabs and one male crab would do fine in a 10-15 gallon tank with 3 different hide outs and one wood stick out of the water?

 

[William]

I would get more than one above water access point, Thats the thing they'll fight over.

Get atleast 4, so theres always a choice.

 

[wilson]

i have kept some before but they never lived past a month. i like the idea of a sepcail tank set up for them though. what type of filter do u use if you dont fill up the whle tank with water. also do u have to let it cycle. before i had always kept them in a full tnak.

 

[flipz]

As far as your brackish question... it depends on how brackish of a tank the animal needs. Generally 1 tablespoon per gallon will get you at 1.005 SG (salt content) which is kind of low, but average for brackish.

However I wouldn't recommend doing it without a hydrometer... a tool to test the SG of the water. Without that, you never know your salt level after evaporation, water changes, etc. Hope that helps, I know it's kind of confusing.

-brent

 

[MikeWinLDS]

http://wrongcrowd.com/aquaria/crab/
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/rarespecies/a/fiddlercrabs.htm

 

[cdawson]

As far as your brackish question... it depends on how brackish of a tank the animal needs. Generally 1 tablespoon per gallon will get you at 1.005 SG (salt content) which is kind of low, but average for brackish.

However I wouldn't recommend doing it without a hydrometer... a tool to test the SG of the water. Without that, you never know your salt level after evaporation, water changes, etc. Hope that helps, I know it's kind of confusing.

-brent

Just to add, make sure you're using marine salt. Aquarium salt will not do, it lacks the beneficial buffers and minerals the crab needs.

 

[Sesarma Crab]

Thanks guys, I think Im just going to have one male crab and then maybe a female later but Im focusing on one crab!

 

[cdawson]

They're community animals and won't do well by themselves. Get at least 3 or more of them.