crabs questions

[daniodude]

hello. I have a 5 gallon tank and want to have a go at freash water crabs. How many crabs can i fit in the tank. What are the best types to start with? Do i need a heater. Any other tips are welcome
:help:

[Juninho10]

Hello,

With a 5 gallon tank it would probably be best to use red claw crabs (sesarma Biderns i think) they stay small and are reasonably hardy (at least for inverts). the whole freshwater thing is a bit of a grey area a lot of people have kept them in freshwater and they have done ok but personally i find that they do much better in a brackish environment. You will definately need a heater and you will only need to half fill the tank with a bit of bog/Mopani wood sticking out of the water to create a land area (they need the wood to help them with there digestion). you could house 3 or 4 at a push in your tank but you must only keep one male or there will be fighting, They hate currents so its probably best to use a sponge filter and leave the tank bare bottom as these guys make a lot of mess.

[syddakyd]

i think a cooler set up would be a 10g with playsand (clean and washed) and sloped to one end. on the water side have a small heater and filter that wont get clogged by sand like the bubbler he mentioned and you can add wood for them to climb but they will also make burrows under the sand.

but you would have to get a heater small than what the tank size is because only a small fraction of the tank has water in it

[mellowvision]

red claws are fun and small. I have 2 in a 20 gallon tank that is 2/3 full, with 7 cherry barbs and 3 ottos. the crabs absolutely stalk the fish, but the fish are too fast for the crabs. the crabs even let the fish clean their caves, etc now, it seems like they've given up on catching them.

the two I have have very different habits. one spends most of his time out of the water, sitting at the very top of the log that acts as water fall/return. he seems to like eating moss and bits of wood as much as worms.

the other crab hides inside the log, 1 inch below the water surface. he comes out of the water often, but has chosen the log hole as a home. he guards it, to a degree, but not too strongly. I have seen this one head to the gravel floor to grab up worms when the other fish are fed, and never seen it eat moss. he seems to pick at the floor of the log hole often.

my tank has a tall 4 layer stone pile that creates several caves and crevises, as well as the big log and plants.. I like the set up a lot. knowing now how much they like to climb, I wouldn't suggest a beach set up as much as an estuary like environment with rocks and logs.

[Dwarf Puffers]

Fiddlers would be good if you added a few pieces of aquarium salt.

You could make it maybe kind of beach-like and have maybe 2 males 2 females, probably better 1 male 2 females

[mellowvision]

not to be a nay sayer, but after watching fiddlers, and owning red claws, I'd say the fiddlers are kind of boring by comparison. the big claw is more like a bat than a hand, it's too big for them to use it much.