Fiddler Crabs

[goldfish12]

How might you acclimate them to freshwater? Just asking im curious. Thinking of getting some, but Im going with brackish.

[Sploke]

you could acclimate them, but they won't live long since they are brackish animals. You can't just switch them back and forth.

[goldfish12]

I was just asking. Im thinking of getting some but Im gonna go with brackish instead of freshwater.

[Sploke]

Kept in a proper enclosure, they're interesting animals and a lot of fun to watch. I had about half a dozen of them in my brackish tank until my mudskipper decided she didn't like them....or more accurately, decided she DID like them...in her belly.

[goldfish12]

Im currently setting up my 10g for some right now. I plan on getting some in a few weeks. They look very interesting. All I have to buy for the tank is a new heater, sand, hydrometer, sea salt, and another test kit. Im also planning on getting a couple of pieces of driftwood (small pieces and a couple large ones). The tank should be ready by January.

[FtwayneFish]

you can go brackish to house em oooooorrrrrrrr.

if you would like freshwater fish. i would and have.

make your freshwater tank however you want and then leave the water a bit down and use a adjustable turtle dock. then use a small hermit crab or feeding dish that will only take a few inches of dock space. and use a sponge with saltwater. i use the premixed bottled stuff and i just refill every so often as it gets drank or evaps.

thats all it takes. just a lil spot for saltwater and there happy and molt often. man there gettin big.

[goldfish12]

They need marine salt in there water.

[goldfish12]

Supplies I have
10g tank
filter
dechlorinator
food
decorations
lighting
thermometer

Needed Items
test kit
heater
marine salt
hydrometer
sand
water dishes

[goldfish12]

It looks like Im gonna be spending almost 50 dollars on the supplies I dont have.

[mellowvision]

most fish stores keep their crabs in freshwater, so you need to find out the water conditions of the crabs when you get them, and then make your tank that way before introducing them. then, you can slowly acclimate the tank to where you want to be, over a few weeks.... unless of course, they are already being kept in the same conditions you plan to create.

[goldfish12]

The petsmart where I'll be gettingthem has them in a tank with half water and half gravel. They look fine. They have a waterfall in the back of the tank. They also have a food dish in the tank. Everytime I visit they have fiddler crabs. Are they ok at a temp of 79-80F? Are they ok with under the tank heaters?

[goldfish12]

http://guitarfish.org/images/posts/eriocaulon_decangulare/eriocaulon_decangulare_ditch-10-28-2006.jpg I have rocks like the ones in the picture. Are they ok to use in the setup? I washed them already. Ive had them for a couple of months now.

[goldfish12]

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t182/deshaunwhite/toot-1.jpg

[goldfish12]

If I set my tank up as shown above, I'll save money and I can have my fiddler crabs by this weekend. All Im gonna have to buy is a hydrometer, sea salt, and a test kit. Im gonna add my heater to the bottom of the tank in the back. It's at 80F is that ok? I also have some small river stones for the tank. I have it setup in my room. Its just to give me a look at how it will be. I thought of a great way to make burrows in gravel for the fiddlers, but I dont know about it. You can get a regular plastic water bottle and cut of half of it. Then you can arrange it in the gravel for the fiddlers.

*When I get the hydrometer, should I get the one that looks like a thermometer or the one you fill with water?

[vampie]

They wouldn't be able to burrow in gravel.

[goldfish12]

What about the cup idea?

[goldfish12]

They can go into the cups.

[goldfish12]

Sands to expensive.

[vampie]

I don't really get the half-cut bottle idea.

You can get playsand, which is pretty cheap.

[goldfish12]

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t182/deshaunwhite/JUY.jpg

[goldfish12]

You can also place the bottle in upright.

[vampie]

And what exactly is the point of that?

[goldfish12]

Burrows

[vampie]

Maybe I'm just too darn dyslexic to understand. There's a bar of water inside the bottle?

Either way, fiddlers will not dig burrows in gravel, nor underwater.

[goldfish12]

Just forget it, I'll invest in sand

[Sarra]

Just forget it, I'll invest in sand

You will thank yourself later. :)

You can also use mostly gravel for the land part, as sand will move over time. Be careful of anaerobic pockets in it though.

[vampie]

If you get playsand, it's cheaper than gravel anyways.

[goldfish12]

where can i get playsand? How much does it cost?

[tranceFusion]

it costs like 4 bucks for a 50 lb bag. you can get it at home depot or lowes.. you will have to wash it very well.

[tranceFusion]

a fiddler burrows in the substrate just enough to fit inside, and the substrate closes in around him.. you cant just put a 3" diameter hole in the gravel with water in it.. that makes no sense..

[FtwayneFish]

they wont burrow in gravel. it will cave in. and they wont burrow in sand that wet. it will cave in.

id do a more land setup. ive had healty crabs for years with only a tupperware dish of water separating my gravel and coconut stlye substrate. and they burrow in the dirt style. they also burrow in quite far and have connecting tunnels its really neat. they spend more time on land anyhow.

and if you read a bit online you can see they do this as stated above.

look at some hermit crab tank setups. more land than water and then you have a small saltwater dish.

mine are extremely happy, large, eating, molting.

[goldfish12]

Im gonna wait until after christmas and set the tank up. That way I can buy all the supplies. And I can get the fiddlers.

[tranceFusion]

they wont burrow in gravel. it will cave in. and they wont burrow in sand that wet. it will cave in.

id do a more land setup. ive had healty crabs for years with only a tupperware dish of water separating my gravel and coconut stlye substrate. and they burrow in the dirt style. they also burrow in quite far and have connecting tunnels its really neat. they spend more time on land anyhow.



can you explain exactly what you are using as a substrate? also, do you clean it?

[goldfish12]

Im planning on getting my fiddler crabs tomorrow. I have decided to go ahead and get the sand and use the gravel for one of my other fish tanks. When I was at Petco last week I picked up a two small bags of small river rocks and im gonna use those to go on the bottom of the tank where the water is. I also tested the rock I kept asking everyone about and its ok to use. While I was at Petco I also decided I'd pick up a small piece of driftwood. Its already cleaned and it sinks. I was wondering if I would be able to use it in the setup if not its ok. All I need to know is how to prepare the salt water and acclimate them and thats it. I just got my list together of the things Im gonna need and the things I have.

Materials Needed
sea salt
hydrometer
new test kit
thermometer (old one broke while the tank was being cleaned)
sand

Materials I Have
heater
filter
food
decorations
secure aquarium top
food bowl

I still don't know how many to get. Im gonna try and get all females that way there will be less fighting than with males. And is there a way to tell if your getting healthy fiddler crabs or not? Sorry about the long post but I have to be ready for tomorrow. And I will be getting pics as soon as possible.
:grinyes:

[goldfish12]

I picked up a new thermometer, a hydrometer, and a bag of marine salt. I mixed some of the salt with the water I had in the tank already. How long should I wait before testing the water with the hydrometer? I ended up getting the one that you fill with water. The directions they gave are a bit complicated so I'll need some help with that. The water is abit cloudy from the salt and I have the filter running in the tank to agitate the water. And someone told me that they dont need a heater and they are fine at room temp. Is that a true statement? In about 3-4 days I'll be getting a couple of fiddlers.

[flyte]

I have a 5 gallon tank with a fiddler in it.
I didn't have a heater in it when I first got him (the one I had broke) I added one in about a month or so later when the weather here started to get colder. He is much more active now, spends a lot of time digging around in the sand. My ghost shrimp are much more active as well.
I don't know about yours but my room temperature changes frequently. We are keeping the house slightly cooler than usual this winter because of oil prices. I'd get a heater for your crabs.
Good luck, they are really fun to watch..

[goldfish12]

Everytime I test the salinity with my hydrometer it always goes to the top and stops. I tested it in freshwater and it did the same. What is going on?

[tranceFusion]

you are using one that floats in the water or one you fill with water that has a needle in the middle?

the needle one will probably have a bunch of air bubbles all over the needle that makes it float up. i usually stick a pen or something down in there and knock them off.

not that you shouldn't test the salinity, but its worth mentioning that fiddlers, like most brackish species, are quite tolerable of salinity changes and varying salinities so you don't need to be exact.. in nature their salinity is constantly changing due to tides, evaporation, rain, etc..

[goldfish12]

I think I added to much salt. I did mixed another 2 gallons and tested the salitiny. And its between 1.008-1.010. Is that ok?

[tranceFusion]

that should be fine.. 1.005 is probably ideal, but you can just lower it with water changes over time.. when you change some of the water, just mix the new water to 1.003 or so that it is slowly dropping the salinity..

[goldfish12]

I will do that. Planning on getting them tomorrow or saturday.