Fiddler crab fix. I'm a...crazy? and need better idea.

[William]

I have a most..interesting fix to the fiddler crabs in my tank in their need for air above water.


I took a toy fireladder from an old firetruck toy I had as a kid, and put that in the tank.


Its quite comical to watch the fiddlers climb up the ladder, moving forward..rather than the sidewards " Crabshuffle " up the ladder, grabbing the sides with their claws.

Strange. eh?


er..but..yeah..

I have a 30gal tank thats about..2 feet tall, and was just wondering on some non-toy based methods for my crabs to get above water so they can breath?

Something that looks like it belongs in an aquarium is a plus

 

[fd1906]

snorkling gear....hehe

 

[Madame_X]

Beautiful, William! That has to be quite a sight.

Perhaps a large piece of driftwood sitting on an angle against the glass would work? Just don't get it so high they can climb out... I've heard they're excellent escape artists! 8O

 

[Allivymar]

Ok. You HAVE to get pics of the fire engine ladder in use!! I wanna see LOL

I think Madame_X's driftwood idea is a great one. You might also want to look into getting some slate and building "stairs" with them (glue them together with Silicone Aquarium glue so they don't shift; Petsmart usually carries some, or you can get it cheaper online at BigAls).

 

[William]

I don't have a digi-cam.

Altho..I could borrow one tuesday, altho thats like... *counts on fingers and toes* 4 days away.


but I will definately try to get some pics of it, even if its with an old 35mm "antique" film based camera

And I've never had my crabs escape, Even when I gave them the perfect opertunity [ *cough* leaving the hood open *cough* ].

They do get into strange places tho, I just pulled one out of my filter a week ago when they were in another tank! 8O

and thanks for the ideas

 

[tkos]

I would just pile some nice rocks up on the side so that the top of the pile is out of the water and the crabs can sit up there til there hearts are content.

 

[William]

That would take a 3rd of my tank up if I had to pile rocks. Since I cant' really pile them straight up, in fear that they might fall..

and I really don't want just a massive stone quarry on one edge of my tank :/


and they do sit on top of the ladder for however long they want, altho if the females up there the male will grab her and throw her [ literally 8O ] back into the tank so he can have his turn

 

[jratuszn]

You might be able to get some very tall plastic/real plants, tall enough to break the surface of the water. If you get enough of the plant floating on the top, the crabs can climb up the plant and sit on the floating parts at the surface. Works well in my tank.

-Jeff

 

[Madame_X]

and they do sit on top of the ladder for however long they want, altho if the females up there the male will grab her and throw her [ literally ] back into the tank so he can have his turn

Again, there is something I would love to see.

I love to watch the crabs in a nearby LFS. They have a big island in the middle and dozens of crabs in the tank. The're downright entertaining.