Crabs in my tank?

[blkstar]

Hello, I have a new tank and I wanted to put some Red crabs or Red-claw shrilanka crabs in it. Will the crabs eat the fish? What kind of fish can I get or should I just rule the crabs out? Fresh water tropical 28gal, real plants. Thank you for your input.

 

[michealprater]

Maybe loganj or corvuscorvax could help on this one. They are the freshwater experts.

 

[morecraf]

What kind of fish do you want to have in there? If you want fast, active fish (like Danios / Tetras) you should be fine to put the crabs in- but if you want any bottom dwellers (like Loaches / Catfish) or if you want any fish with large flowing fins (slow), then the crabs will think they are nice shiny targets for pinching!
I would stay away from crabs just for the potiential fin nipping- if you want something other than fish in there, I would look into the African Dwarf Frog (you can find out info on them at: http://www.petfish.net/afrogs.htm). These frogs can even live with Bettas- and they are very interesting to watch- just be sure you have live worms for them to eat!
Good luck with your tank setup!