My Crab Tank

[fishboy444]

These are photos of my 15 gallon crab tank.Had it for about 2 years now and a major gravel cleaning!When I did the gravel cleaning,My dad took out the crab and put him in a shallow bowl.He climbed out and sorta clambered/fell down the back!He then made his way all the way into a corner and my dad tried to scoop him up!!The crab scuffled across the floor and into another corner until my dad finally got him into a bucket !!!LOL!!!!!What kind of crab is that?

 

[th08tu]

That is called a red clawed crab I am pretty sure. Do you have dry land for him to get above water? Also did you put salt in the water? I am about 90% sure that these crabs are brackish water crabs, and I know they need dry land to dry out on for a little bit. Anyways congrats on catching it, I had a fiddler crab get out once however my cat found it before I did.

 

[fishboy444]

I have dry land for him and he has been in freshwater for a year/1.5 years now!At my lfs they said they were FW.And this morning I found him on the wire roof!!!Guess he knows there's an outside world now!!And my crab is about 3.5" across.

 

[th08tu]

Wow he is getting big! Anyways yeah they are escape artists, for mine I picked up one of the reptile cage/lid things, and sat the light on top of that. For the water technically they are brackish water, as that is where they are found in the wild, however if yours have been doing fine in freshwater then I wouldn't worry or change. I guess whatever they usually get out of the salt in brackish setup they are getting somehow from your setup. How many crabs do you have in that tank anyways? if it is just the one, maybe consider picking up 1 -3 more, they will be much more entertaining to watch and be much happier, fighting over territories, and showing off for the females. Nice looking tank btw.

 

[fishboy444]

Thanks I have only 1 and thats the total length of the crab legs and all.I had 2 but that one died...can't remember but I lifted up the rock and he didn't move so I picked him up threw him in the garden he was dead after all .Well do you think I can fit 3 in the 15 gallon?I would also have to make more caves for them.I almost never see that 1 come out of the driftwood!I'll try and go to my lfs sometime and see.

 

[th08tu]

Yeah I think you could have up to 4 comfortably in that size tank. You could go more, but then they would not be territorial, and then it would just be a whole bunch of crabs sitting around. I would put the caves at the 4 corners of the tank, that way they each could claim their own space and the middle would be kind of a no mans land. That is just my idea but it is your tank so you can do whatever looks good to you. Crabs are hilarious to watch, you could even try mixing in with another species of mini crab called a fiddler crab, they are pretty funny looking. The males have on giant claw, sometimes bigger than their body. Females look a lot like the one you have just not red. Anyways good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[fishboy444]

OK thanks I will do that so can I mix fiddler crabs in that tank and the list could look like this:

2 red clawed crabs
1 fiddler crab

?????? thanks

 

[th08tu]

I am pretty sure that would be ok. The only thing I would watch is the water. Ask the LFS what they use to keep their fiddler crabs in as they are technically brackish water also. But yeah in a tank that size I am sure that it would be fine.

 

[fishboy444]

Also I don't have a heater in there only a repticlear submersible filter...what kind heater should I get?

 

[th08tu]

I would try and find any kind of sumbmersible heater, and I think a 50W one would be more than enough, the crabs usually take a temperature around 75-85, and you probably one have about 8 gallons of water in there so it will be more than enough. You might not even need one, on my ten with 3 crabs I found that the lights kept it warm in the day, and it would only drop a few degrees at night so I didn't even need a heater. I put one in later on however to keep the temperature constant but I am not sure the crabs cared or noticed.

 

[fishboy444]

ahh ok cool cool.The filter only has filter sponge in it should I get a different one or just get a bigger filter?the dimensions are:LxWxH 9x3x3cm but a third is the battery soo.....ya.

 

[th08tu]

I wouldn't worry about the filter unless you notice it can't keep up with the bioload. They won't produce that much waste and as long as you don't overfeed, it should be fine. Just realize that they eat very very little amounts of food.

 

[bmg07]

makin me want a crab tank lol

 

[th08tu]

They are really fun to watch, and a great clean up crew. I once had a palaudrium that hosed fire belly toads, fiddler crabs, and guppies. I know it is a wierd mix but everybody was happy and it was really entertaining to watch.

 

[bmg07]

that would be a weird but cool combo

 

[th08tu]

yeah it was, the tank was big enough that everybody had enough space, and the crabs could have their own littles corners. It was hilarious to watch them chase away the toads when they got to close.

 

[fishboy444]

Thanks I only feed him/her about 4 pellets of HBH crab and lobster bites.

 

[fishboy444]

I did some research on fiddler crabs and they will have a shortened lifespan in FW.So should I mix salt in the water or not?

 

[th08tu]

I would... I would just double check to make sure that the crab you already have can take the salt, and then I would slowly add salt over time, until I got it to the levels I want for the fiddler crabs. Also be careful that you don't overdose on salt on your pwc since it doesn't evaporate, so add only according to how much you tank out.

 

[fishboy444]

Oh ok thanks are there any other mini aquarium crabs 'cause I don't want to go brackish yet....