To Stock or Not to Stock: My 1 Crab!

[Mjmeyer2]

I have a 5.5 gal tank, filled only a third of the way, with rocks for my fiddler to climb and get air. The setup is perfect: I use R/O water and pure aquarium salt, white sand and lots of shells and rocks. A small filter too. He seems happy. But for one tiny 2 inch-long crab? That's a palace in my opinion. Fiddlers don't grow much bigger than that. Some people on this forum told me not to get a lady crab for him, as he may kill her. Snails can't handle that salt amount. I'm not leaning towards getting a fish, but it depends. Maybe like a guppy: something small. Its a shame I couldn't have another crab though. What, if anything, an I add? It seems empty in there!:(

[Miyavism]

If the tank was larger then I would suggest mollys or platys (brackish fish). But 5.5 gallons is just too small for even a group of 3 of them. D:

Plus, a palace doesn't sound so bad..

[vampie]

A 5.5g is actually considered quite small for a crab.

Given that the tank's filled only to a third, not a whole lot of fish would be happy in that small a space.

[Linariel]

What do you mean by pure aquarium salt? I don't know a whole lot about crabs, but I think they need marine salt, not aquarium salt.

I'd probably leave the crab by himself.

Some snails do fine in brackish water.

[Marinemom]

If your crab seems happy and content in his so called palace then I would leave it that way. Don't fix something that is not broken. All is well, then leave it that way or next thing you know you will have a problem.

Marinemom

[jm1212]

platies are not brakcish fish. they will appreciate it if you did not add salt to their water.

crabs need marine salt.

[Mjmeyer2]

Well that's what the girl at the pet store told me, and everything I've been seeing says that saltwater is good for mollies and the like....idk, thats what i thought and they're doing fine. I don't see what's wrong with aquarium salt compared to marine salt either. My college apartment is literally the size of a small bedroom, so i think getting a bigger tank for my 1 crab is out of the question. I guess he seems happy and so do my fish, so i suppose i'll leave him. I don't want him killing anything. Oh, and my fish and the crab are in different tanks duh!

[mellowvision]

aquarium salt is for curing diseases. it's not making the water brackish. marine salt makes the water brackish. you're throwing your money away, and not creating the conditions you think you are. you might as well not bother, if you're going to do it with aquarium salt.

[jpappy789]

Using regular aquarium salt is NOT the proper way to create a brackish environment. Use marine salt!

[Mjmeyer2]

Well first of all I've never even seen marine salt sold at my pet stores and didn't know it existed! Sorry, This is the N00b forum! And my first crab! Please forgive! I'm really trying my best, but it seems like I buy EVERYTHING possible and ITS NEVER GOOD ENOUGH. What is in marine salt besides salt that a crab needs? If it's vital, then I'll see if i can find some somewhere. I don't want to end up with a gallon size salt container for 1 crab. Just don't be mean guys....That's why I'm asking, I'm trying to help my crab, don't make me feel like an idiot because I'm not trying to be...

[Sploke]

Aquarium salt is not much different than table salt. Marine salt contains basic NaCl, but also a long list of other trace elements that are necessary to simulate true seawater. Also, don't use "sea salt" that you buy at the grocery store. True, it is salt from the ocean, but there are chemical reactions that occur during the drying process that alter the makeup, and are not reversed upon rehydration. I use Instant Ocean brand marine salt and it works fine.

[beefsteak]

Hey.

In the wild, fiddler crabs would live in colonies. Males do occasionally fight amongst each other, sometimes to the death, but often times it's just a brief arm wrestling contest. A female or two may be ok, and is something I would consider trying out. As far as I'm aware of, males and females rarely fight.

As mentioned 5.5 gallons is a little small so you are somewhat limited on what type of fish you can put in with him. Bare in mind that while not common, it's not unheard of for fiddler's to catch and eat fish.

The use of aquarium salt is a very common myth in the freshwater trade perpetuated by many pet stores. While many livebearers do naturally come from estuaries where the river meets the ocean, most are highly adapted to living in totally freshwater conditions. Platies do fine in fresh. Mollies are thought to fair better in brackish conditions. However, they reach about four inches in length and like being kept in small groups, thus you do not have enough room for them in your 5.5 gallon.

Also as mentioned, aquarium salt is very different from marine salt. While aquarium salt is simply NaCl, marine salt also contains elements such as magnesium, calcium, etc. In order to simulate brackish conditions you do need to purchase marine salt and a hydrometer to measure your specific gravity. It should be around 1.005-1.010 for your crab.

Good luck. :)