my 5.5 gallon crab tank

[PufferFan]

Hi, my name is jered and im starting a 5.5 gallon crab tank half land half water... i am new to brackish and well im sure i will have lots of questions .

first off im looking to keep two crab what spiecies of crab should i get my lfs has red claw and fidler.

what spiecies ,if i can keep either, is the most enjoyable?

i love things with personality

anyways this is my set up...

are there any changes i should make? i will post more pics once the water clears.

Now.

what should i use for filtration my lfs orderd me somthing that he didnt know the name of he just orderd it and told me it suctions to the inside of the tank and and is about the size of a soda can

 

[PufferFan]

i cant leave it alone i have been messing with it all day and i had to force my self to walk away i did so much and then it didt work out so i put it back to how it was ... kinda

 

[vampie]

I feel the front rock is view-obstructing. I'd also have more land than that.

 

[Sir Pufferfish]

Personally I would ditch the nearly all the sand and make land with rocks or bogwood especially if you plan to keep more than two crabs.
All crabs are pretty territorial and need places to retreat/ hide.
The sand wont keep in the position showed for long either and it will need a stir every so often to release potential gas build ups.
Will be a pain to clean side of glass too !
I converted a standard 120l fish set up for 6 red crabs, dropped water by a 3rd and filled the tank with ornaments and bog wood built up above water level.
at least that way i have good water volume to keep stable and good filtration to handle the mess they cause.
land mass is none essential, as long as they have a bit of room to chill out on and easy to get too they will be more than happy.
but must admit, they are so funny, makes my puffers look boring !!!
erv:

 

[vampie]

Don't ditch the sand, the crabs need it to dig burrows. And land mass is essential, as they're land dwellers and will spend a lot of time out of the water.

 

[PufferFan]

... lol should i remove some sand make the land area bigger and drop the water level?

 

[Sir Pufferfish]

never uploaded pics before so i hope this works,
close up of my red claw, tank on left is the crab one.

 

[PufferFan]

wow sweet crab! i like the tank... im thinking this tank is too small for crab idk guys im thinking of droping the project :\

 

[FtwayneFish]

I wouldnt drop the project. i have a 10 gal with 3 hermit crabs and 3 fiddlers. there great. k my tank setup. if ur looking at the 10 g front on the left half is aquarium rocks and the right half is the dirt like substrate and theres a tupperware dish of freshwater inbetween the two. now i built a plexi glass 2nd story and covered it with cocnut mat. and built little ramps for em. the top level has there food dish and saltwater dish. both species roam all over the place and mingle. the fiddlers dig awesome tunnels in the dirt and i think they like being outta the water than in it. the fiddlers have molted a couple times each. so i know there healty. they pick up the hermit turds and left over food bit and keep the dirt areated too. but they wouldnt build tunnels in the sand u have it would collapse.

pet stores really show there crappy colors sometimes when there just in a tank of water and no land or access to saltwater. or brackish freshwater. mine dip in both lol.

 

[Sarra]

I think it depends on the size. I can get away with two Red Clawed's in a 10 gallon because they're so small. I hardly ever find mine on land, so I just run a flat bottom with some root wood poking up out of the water, and a piece of cork bark floating attached to the root wood for dry stomping ground.