Fiddler Crabs are awesome!

[cdawson]

I just bought two fiddler crabs and in a matter of hours they picked the substrate and all my decorations clean of any algae or detritus. If you can house them, they are the best cleaner for any brackish tank.

[RENEGADE]

i have a red claw crab and i love him!!!!!(oh wait i just found out its a girl!)

[cdawson]

I can't tell whether my other crab is a girl or a red claw crab. Oh yeah and I can't find it either, I've got so many hiding spots for them. I caught one of the males getting out so I put a barrier around the area so they can come out of the water when they want too.

[RENEGADE]

they like to hide and get out! i'll post some pics of what i did to prevent her from getting out. its easy to tell if it a fiddler, one claw is bigger then the other, a whole lot bigger. heres a pic of my crab

[RENEGADE]

if you flip the crab over and look at the abdomen, males have a long thin abdomen, females have a much wider abdomen.
heres some pics: Male (http://www.serc.si.edu/education/resources/bluecrab/images/crabimages/pages/A_male_jpg.htm) Female (http://www.serc.si.edu/education/resources/bluecrab/images/crabimages/pages/A_immaturef_jpg.htm)

[cdawson]

I know both the males are in the tank but I can't find the female at all. She was hiding in one of my mangrove roots for a few hours after I got them and now she's gone. I checked around the area the smaller male climbed out and I can't find her.

[cdawson]

also when crabs regenerate (molt), do their eyes grow back as well?

[elgecko]

I have RCC. I think they are really interesting and fun to watch. As long as the do not scurry away when they see you. Here's some pic's and info I wrote about the RCC.
http://www.geocities.com/elgecko1989/crab.html

[RENEGADE]

you better find her! if shes out too long she'll die! move your tank around and find her

[RENEGADE]

check this tread out Runaway Red Claw (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5944&highlight=crab)

[cdawson]

Originally posted by RENEGADE
you better find her! if shes out too long she'll die! move your tank around and find her

found her, she reappeared around 10:00 pm last night... hadn't seen her since that time sunday. I've got the spot where they can get out closed off anyways.

[RENEGADE]

yaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!! good job!

[ChilDawg]

Originally posted by cdawson
also when crabs regenerate (molt), do their eyes grow back as well?

I don't think that that would be the case, unless they lost their eyes as part of the molting process.

[cdawson]

and in one big foul swoop my gsp , fig-8, and monos sensed an injury and tore the largest fiddler crab to pieces. The other two have been pretty smart since getting them and staying out of everyone else way. The other two rest on the middle brace of the tank under the lid of my hood.

[ChilDawg]

I think that it's fell swoop, but still that sucks. Fish are pretty good at exploiting weaknesses in other things which they wouldn't mind eating.

[bizzy928]

How much aquarium salt do I put in a totally freshwater 5 gallon with about 2-3 gallons of water in it to make it brackish for RRC and Fiddler Crabs?

[cdawson]

Originally posted by bizzy928
How much aquarium salt do I put in a totally freshwater 5 gallon with about 2-3 gallons of water in it to make it brackish for RRC and Fiddler Crabs?

hmm... I forget the equation but I would think about half a cup of ocean salt NOT aquarium salt. Aquarium salt is completely different and doesn't work that way.