crabs warning
- Thread starter savo318
- Start date
I had one when I was a kid. I didn't know that they really aren't completely aquatic. It escaped out of my tank and my cat ate it.
Beither Fiddker nor red-claw crab are submerse aquatics - both will spend substantial time out of the water if given the opportunity. Both are really brackish water creatures, not FW.
Well that sucks.. I would be mad at whoever told me it would be ok for it to be in there.. Sorry he ate your tetras and your frogs!!
Heh, I had a RCC in college in a community tank. He never ate any of my fish, but he did have feeding time memorized. He would run out, grab an algae wafer, and run back to his hiding spot.
I kept him completely freshwater, without anywhere to get out of the water. One morning the little bugger was crawling across my floor. Imagine waking up groggy eyed in college to a dust bunny skittering around.
Crayfish also go wandering (and ime are much more adept at escaping), so I didn't think much of it needing land to crawl.
I had a second RCC a few years later that lasted until I gave him away b/c I was moving. He spent a year completely submerged, molted several times, and even regrew a front claw. (I bought him at a discount with only one claw) In that tank I varied terrain considerably - large rocks on one side, with different depths of gravel on the other (55g). The crab hid out in the rocks, and would do the same thing the last one did. Run out, grab an algae wafer, run back. Never touched the fish, and he lived with 4 dwarf puffers, ghost shrimp, and few (2-3) other small things that never went near the bottom.
I kept him completely freshwater, without anywhere to get out of the water. One morning the little bugger was crawling across my floor. Imagine waking up groggy eyed in college to a dust bunny skittering around.
Crayfish also go wandering (and ime are much more adept at escaping), so I didn't think much of it needing land to crawl.
I had a second RCC a few years later that lasted until I gave him away b/c I was moving. He spent a year completely submerged, molted several times, and even regrew a front claw. (I bought him at a discount with only one claw) In that tank I varied terrain considerably - large rocks on one side, with different depths of gravel on the other (55g). The crab hid out in the rocks, and would do the same thing the last one did. Run out, grab an algae wafer, run back. Never touched the fish, and he lived with 4 dwarf puffers, ghost shrimp, and few (2-3) other small things that never went near the bottom.
I keep a mini crab in my tank and he doesnt bother the fish in there, i guess i got one with a good temper. I do find it amazing that they can really crawl anywhere they want no matter how impossible it may seem.