freshwater crabs

[kathleen55]

what are some freshwater crabs that i can keep in my 10g aquarium? ive heard of the fiddler crab. will fiddler crab get along with fish and african dwarf frogs?

 

[Frosty452]

fiddler crabs are brakish and most if not all crabs need acess to dry land so a 10 gal would not be suitable for crabs and fish just not enough water I don't think

 

[siva]

The only crabs you can keep in a 10g freshwater aquarium are thai micro crabs. They can be very hard to find. Franksaquarium.com sells them from time to time.

You could turn your 10g into a paludarium to do vampire crabs, which is a freshwater crab, but like most crabs (including fiddlers) that often get thrown into aquariums, they must have a land area.

To my knowledge, the thai micro's are the only crab that are both freshwater and aquatic currently available in the hobby.

And no, crabs definitely aren't compatible with ADF's.

 

[jetajockey]

Heard some guys talking about panther crabs, some kind of sulawesi one that is supposedly fully aquatic, but i have done 0 research on it.

 

[siva]

Althought they are being kept as aquatic by many, I don't think it's best. When kept in a paludarium type set up they will be active on land. A truly aquatic critter will not.

 

[jetajockey]

That's kind of hard to say, though. Lots of invert species spend some time out of the water, including different snails. I have seen blue crabs out of water sometimes also, and they are definitely aquatic. I would base their 'aquatic' status on whether they breathe water only or can also breathe air, or if they are like fiddlers and actually nest and hide on land as easily as in water.

I don't know anything about the crabs though I just overheard someone discussing them.

 

[siva]

I did think about that after I posted that. I was too tired. What I should have said was that I haven't been able to find very much information on them but, based on the observations I have read of their behavior when kept in a palu type set up, I feel keeping them with an area of land is to their benefit. I really can't say if it's necessary for them to thrive though. One thing people seem to be more so in agreement about on them is their stealthy ability to hunt fish.

 

[kathleen55]

good to know thanks everyone

 

[alLexX]

Althought they are being kept as aquatic by many, I don't think it's best. When kept in a paludarium type set up they will be active on land. A truly aquatic critter will not.

after i saw these guys in myLFS,i did some(a lot) of research,most said they were fully aquatic,while others said tgey werent because they tried to escape to the air. i beleive the first because not only was it the vast majority that said this,but lots of fully aquatic inverts try to escape. these crabs have also lived at my LFS for several months,because they slaughtered each other and the fish so no one wants to buy the last. if my LFS can keeep them alive in a fully aquatic enviroment,there not only very hardy,but fully aquatic to

 

[siva]

Several months is in no way indicative of long term success keeping them w/o air. They are active and forage for food on land. My mind isn't completely made up since I don't have enough facts on them yet, but with what I know so far I wouldn't keep them without a land area. There's a big difference between aquatic critters that will escape and not live long if they don't get back into the water, and critters that are active and eat and breathe out of the water.

 

[alLexX]

Several months is in no way indicative of long term success keeping them w/o air. They are active and forage for food on land. My mind isn't completely made up since I don't have enough facts on them yet, but with what I know so far I wouldn't keep them without a land area. There's a big difference between aquatic critters that will escape and not live long if they don't get back into the water, and critters that are active and eat and breathe out of the water.

i read something that makes sense,its a way to distinguish fully aquatic crabs from semi aquatic and land crabs. semiaquatic and land crabs will have a boxy shape,to provide the room for there lungs,while aquatic crabs have a more flat shape so they dont get knocked over,and because gills dont take up as much room.im not sure if this is right,but it makes sense to me,please correct me if i am wrong

 

[siva]

It sounds good but because I've only ever had the one type of aquatic crabs, I can't say. I guess I would say the thai micros have a more flat shape, but they are just so tiny in general anyway.