How many crabs can I get??

[Doan]

My wife and I are through the cycle and all after getting Very lucky.. Our cycle took about 5 days.. and after about 8 and nothing having changed and our walls and tank being littered with white bugs while the rock was going from the brown diatom algae to the green the wife went to the fish store and bought a small cleaning crew. ( The LFS guy talked her into it against my wishes, I was not there) I came home yesterday to 2 orange moon snails 4 turbo snails and a emerald crab.. Well needless to say we have a ton of algae (green and still some brown) and the crab is making a mockery of it.. Well I was thinking as far as a cleanup crew goes how many can I reasonably put in a 55 gallon. I would like to keep the snails at 6 as I am not really a snail guy but was hoping that 1 more green crab and 2 red (emerald) yes thats what they have them marked as at the lfs Red emerald crabs LOL would work.. I like the crabs alot better than the snails.. I am also planning on gettng a yellow tank Wayyyyy down the road and he will also help algae wise... will 4 crabs be ok or will I have to supplement the feedings or what do you guys think?? No fish till christmas

 

[jamal-188]

Crabs can present a problem in your tank as they are oportunistic feeders. You will find most people on this site prefer snails for this reason. Even small hermits can kill snails and whatever else they can get there little pinchers on if they are hungry enough.Even emerald crabs that mainly feed on bubble algae can harm corals, that being said I have 3 emerald crabs in my tank that have never harmed anything I'm aware of and most do not have problems with them.

There isn't really a limit to how many you can have as inverts do not really add to your bio load, although you will most likely need more snails and/or crabs if you plan on keeping your tank decenlty clean. The red moon snails you got will probably not last very long as I belive they are a cool water snails that require temps in the low 70's.

 

[steve-s]

My wife and I are through the cycle and all after getting Very lucky.. Our cycle took about 5 days.. and after about 8 and nothing having changed and our walls and tank being littered with white bugs while the rock was going from the brown diatom algae to the green the wife went to the fish store and bought a small cleaning crew. ( The LFS guy talked her into it against my wishes, I was not there)

I would actually hold off on any more additions at this point. Even if the ammonia and nitrites spiked and are now zero, it would be a better idea to wait a week or so longer to be sure things are a bit more stable. How are the nitrates?

I came home yesterday to 2 orange moon snails 4 turbo snails and a emerald crab..

The emerald will not do much for film or other smaller nuisance algaes. It will moreso consume larger macro algaes and not help with the diatoms especially. With the moon snails, bi-vavales will definately be out. They are a predatory snail and not that great as an algae eater. The turbo's on the otherhand are you best bet at this point.

Well needless to say we have a ton of algae (green and still some brown) and the crab is making a mockery of it.. Well I was thinking as far as a cleanup crew goes how many can I reasonably put in a 55 gallon. I would like to keep the snails at 6 as I am not really a snail guy but was hoping that 1 more green crab and 2 red (emerald) yes thats what they have them marked as at the lfs Red emerald crabs LOL would work.. I like the crabs alot better than the snails.. I am also planning on gettng a yellow tank Wayyyyy down the road and he will also help algae wise... will 4 crabs be ok or will I have to supplement the feedings or what do you guys think?? No fish till christmas

In a 55 gal, I would not suggest more than two of these types of crabs. They may start looking for alternate food sources if the tank does not keep up and are not above preying on other inhabitants. The snails really are your best defence of the film type algaes. In a 55 gal, you would be best starting off with about 15-20 different types of snails and then adding to that as the waste producing bio load grows. As I said though, after another week or so to be sure the parameters stay inline...

Cheers
Steve

 

[Doan]

Thanks steve.. Sounds good 2 crabs max I will put the other one in next week if everyone in there now survives.. I have to find a small one though. The green one my wife put in is HUGE.. It is like the size of a 50cent piece.. I had never personally seen one that big..Also you mentioned that we are gonna need to get more turbo snails...Ok I will, again next week Finally the Nitrates are at .25 not good but not bad either that is why we are waiting on fish..


Ohhhh and is there anything I can do for the moon snails to help them live?? I really like them they seem to be ok they are all over the tank..

Doan

 

[steve-s]

Thanks steve.. Sounds good 2 crabs max I will put the other one in next week if everyone in there now survives.. I have to find a small one though. The green one my wife put in is HUGE.. It is like the size of a 50cent piece.. I had never personally seen one that big..Also you mentioned that we are gonna need to get more turbo snails...Ok I will, again next week Finally the Nitrates are at .25 not good but not bad either that is why we are waiting on fish..

The green one will get larger in time. They can get between 2-3" across. The nitrates are not bad at all. Providing the levels stay where they are, you should do fine. Might be time to get the QT set up so the first fish can be introduced...

Ohhhh and is there anything I can do for the moon snails to help them live?? I really like them they seem to be ok they are all over the tank..

They will live but the other snails won't. The moon snail is a predator as I said, they feed on mollusks. Snails, clams, mussels, oysters and such. You might try seeing if it will accept meaty foods but I have my doubts...

Cheers
Steve