Help! Sick fiddler crab!

[Chikadee]

Hey guys,

I have had a 10G with a fiddler crab in it since the beginning of May. The tank is mostly aquatic but the crab has access to air and everything, the water isn't brackish but we put salt in it for the fishies so he has a bit of salt. He seemed to be doing really well, he even molted about a month ago and has been very active ever since.

Today, I found him on his back and he had his legs kicking around as if he was struggling to get back on his feet. We gave him a little push and helped right himself back up but then he started trembling and moving kinda like he was having a seizure. My boyfriend put him in a net just in case he died (he could still climb out if if he was healthy) and he was still in the net when I came back (about 2 hours after we put him in there). I put him back in the water and he's still alive but isn't moving very much. I've also noticed he wasn't being very active for the past few days (usually he likes to lift his claws up like crazy at his reflection).

Does anyone know what could be the problem? Is there anything I can do to help him? I don't want him to die a painful death in there!

 

[William]

Geeze...I'm sorry to hear about that!

No new chemicals in the tank recently? Any new fish? Anything at all recently?


I know how you feel, I have Fiddlers of my own and its always humorous to watch the male brandish his claw at everything.

I just asked the questions, I really don't know whats going on..I hope someone else here can help, tho!

 

[Chikadee]

No new chemicals, the only new fish are my guppy's fry which I just let out of the breeder's trap and into the main tank. But they're really small so I don't think they've added any ammonia that my tank can't handle. Water parameters seem fine, all my other fish are fine. The only thing I can think of is that the baby guppies seemed to be bothering the crab by swimming too close to it, so he just lifted his claw a lot, but that's about it! I don't know if anything else has changed at all recently...

 

[Shana]

Hey guys,

I have had a 10G with a fiddler crab in it since the beginning of May. The tank is mostly aquatic but the crab has access to air and everything, the water isn't brackish but we put salt in it for the fishies so he has a bit of salt. He seemed to be doing really well, he even molted about a month ago and has been very active ever since.

Today, I found him on his back and he had his legs kicking around as if he was struggling to get back on his feet. We gave him a little push and helped right himself back up but then he started trembling and moving kinda like he was having a seizure. My boyfriend put him in a net just in case he died (he could still climb out if if he was healthy) and he was still in the net when I came back (about 2 hours after we put him in there). I put him back in the water and he's still alive but isn't moving very much. I've also noticed he wasn't being very active for the past few days (usually he likes to lift his claws up like crazy at his reflection).

Does anyone know what could be the problem? Is there anything I can do to help him? I don't want him to die a painful death in there!

Mine is doing the same thing. Our crabs seem exactly the same in character ....I didn't know I needed the salt though until I found him on his back when I came home from school. I didn't know what was wrong so I looked up how to care for fiddlers and it said I needed salt so I skipped dinner and raced to the nearest pet store to get salt and did exactly what the directions said and now I'm just watching him....he hasn't done much. I'm hoping I'm not too late and I'll see how he's doing in the morning.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Fiddlers dont absolutely have to have salt, but they do best in a brackish tank. Also, how often do they stay up out of the water? mine stay out for the biggest part of the time, only getting in the water to eat it seems... I have mine in a 10g of their own (they turned in to killing machines and killed 5 of my fish) and they have pfs substrate, no salt, just throw in some food every now and then and toss them some blood worms once in a while... Never seen any of mine on their backs, though they do try and climb the glass sometimes and fall down. how is your tank designed? Do you have a platform for them to get out of the water or just climb up something?

 

[Shana]

Fiddlers dont absolutely have to have salt, but they do best in a brackish tank. Also, how often do they stay up out of the water? mine stay out for the biggest part of the time, only getting in the water to eat it seems... I have mine in a 10g of their own (they turned in to killing machines and killed 5 of my fish) and they have pfs substrate, no salt, just throw in some food every now and then and toss them some blood worms once in a while... Never seen any of mine on their backs, though they do try and climb the glass sometimes and fall down. how is your tank designed? Do you have a platform for them to get out of the water or just climb up something?

Well I have the rocks shifted so that he can walk up those and get out of the water but I also have a rock in there so he can climb up that as well to get some air and get warm under the lamp.

 

[mfdrookie516]

hmmm, any possibility of amonia being high? what are your parameters? what temp are you keeping the tank? i have no idea... if those are all in check

 

[Kamadx2]

My fiddler crab is doing the same thing currently. Is it molting? I mean mine molted just a lil while ago as well maybe a month month and a half. I had added some salt water to the aquarium from the pet store the employee gave me. I also added aquarium salt. He just grew his small claw and one of his hind legs as well. It was so sad watching him try to eat with out a small claw. Usually he would bow his face to the ground but I realized he would hold a pellet in his big claw got a pick of him doing it.

 

[Kamadx2]

Sorry he had just grew his claw back in that pic!

 

[jpchin]

Keeping Fiddler Crabs as Pets

good article on fiddler crab care. hope this helps.