New tenant!!

[Asthrou]

I recieved a new addition from my friend today. I do believe it a moon crab its its the best thing ever! Check him out!!

http://photo.strathlan.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=100

[NFLBlitze1]

crabs are so cool, what do u feed them?

[Asthrou]

well i just got home today but my friend was feeding him turtle food.

[KnaveTO]

actually quite a few lfs will sell crab food or crab bites.

[Asthrou]

ya actually i am most likely going to the pet store tmm (tuesday) to check that out. he has been feeding him turtle food ever since he got him which has been a while but my concern is that its not nutritionally balanced for him.

[Mgamer20o0]

keep that tank sealed up. i had one get out and down the hall 15-20 feet.

[*Bethie*]

Cool crab! Congrats on your new addition. :D

I have 2 red claw crabs and I feed them bloodworm and shrimp pellets. They really seem to like those. I have never found crab food though, except for hermit crabs.

Good luck and keep us posted!

*Bethie*

[Asthrou]

hahaha really? that is wacked! ya ok this thing is getting a layer of mesh on the top... lol thanks for the tip ;)

[mellowvision]

yeah, you dont' want that climbin into bed with you!!! moon crabs are MEAN!

my red claws love terrestrial mosses. they also used to go nuts for pineapple, but I haven't given it to them in a while. I've also seen them enjoy peas and small seeds... and they pick at tiny bugs and algae as well. they also seem to like to eat my anubius but leave the other plants alone for the most part.

[mellowvision]

one caught a small beetle once, and destroyed it! boy was that loud!

[Asthrou]

i want to try live food once and a while... suggestions?

[pixl8r]

feeder fish

[syddakyd]

i would give it a much larger water source one that it could fully submerge and have easy in/out access plus a small filter so you dont have to clean it often

[Asthrou]

currently it has a tub of water that it can fully submerge itself in and its easy for it to get in and out. as for cleaning the water often that is no worries for me, takes all but 2 seconds

[mudskippers]

great pics! hope you have read some of thease storys... be careful ;) :p

[Asthrou]

haha well he freaked me out last nihgt... i turn over and be is rigth there leaning against the side of the glass looking at me.... lol

[syddakyd]

i hope the water is warm and decholorinated at least. but they are much happier in an aqua-terrarium trust me i had one but gave it away due to boredom and like a moron i had it in a setup with a hermit crab in the same exact type of tank like yours because i was misled. anyways, they have fun walking around underwater and extend feather-like gils. trust me im not saying yours isn't happy or thriving but if you try out the setup i recomend you will see a huge difference

[Asthrou]

well i am looking around on kijiji.ca for some larger aquariums... what size do you suggest? i do want to give him the best environment, so i would like your helpw/ tha tif possible.

[mellowvision]

I would think for one crab, a 20 long would be an awesome habitat. gives you enough room to do a lot of things with it... beaches, branches, etc

[Asthrou]

well it seems that pinchie likes to make a mess!! he is pushing dirt around everywhere and digging a whole... i assume he is trying to dig a den for himself?

[leesst200]

apparantly they like to burrow.
Im looking into getting some but cannot find much info about them.
How big is he at the moment, do you know if that is full size?
In the picture, what size is the tank you have him in?

[Asthrou]

i do not actually know much about crabs but its a learning experiance. He is no larger than your hand. He is currently housed in a 10 gallon tank (still looking around for a larger one because its not big enough for him IMO)

[leesst200]

Gallon tank which I am setting up.
I have put rocks across the middle with gravel on one side, this will be filled with water. I have filled the other side with sand to provide a dry land area for them, although I need more sand to fill in the land area.

I have done google searches and get contradicting information about them.
Im not sure if im going to get the moon crab anymore. I think the LFS is keeping them incorrectly and I dont want to buy an ill crab to start with.
I know that they breath air but also need water to survive.
When I first saw them, one of the crabs was holding on to the filter pipe which was out of the water, it looked amusing but now I know why it was doing that.
They keep them in a tank full of water which is wrong. I will tell them when I go in.

What do you feed him on?
Has he nipped you yet?

[Asthrou]

he has never nipped at me actually. I have been able to actually touch his claw and nothing happened at all other than him raising it. Thats not something I like to do all the time, it puts stress on the little dude...


I just feed em turtle food (the guys who I got it from feed it turtle food) but I am looking for other foods to feed as well.

[leesst200]

[quote=leesst200;1055739]Gallon tank which I am setting up. [quote]

Supposed to read 40 Gallon Tank!

[Asthrou]

I came home today from work and it seems that I was unsuccessfull at bringing the little gaffer back to full health :( Maybe in time I will consider trying this again. It was a little unfair that my friend wasnt taking good care of it in the first place, but I tried to help. :(

[thebullit]

ahhhh sorry to hear it better luck next time

[leesst200]

Sorry to hear that mate.
Do you know how old he was, cos I have been told they will only live for a couple of years. He did look like a biggie.

lee.

[Asthrou]

well i am not too sure how old he was. I knew he wasnt young. And you were right he was a good size.

[jessicar613]

Wow... its... um... big! lol

[Asthrou]

haha funny...