Rainbow_fish
Fish Fanatic
at my local brckish creek there are plenty of crabs, i was wondering if they could be kept in freshwater.
john
john
Brackish Crabs
- Thread starter Rainbow_fish
- Start date
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
Hello John,
This is tricky to answer. Most of the crabs sold in aquarium stores as pets are in fact brackish water species. The ubiquitous red-claw crab, Sesarma bidens being a classic example; in the wild this animal inhabits brackish and intertidal waters, and can tolerate immersion in fresh, brackish, and marine water. It is, of course, semi-terrestrial, and naturally spends most of its time on land.
So, there may well be crabs in the stream you've visited that will tolerate fresh water. However, most of them will likely be marine to brackish species. Think of it this way: crabs are orders of magnitude more common in the sea than brackish water, and similarly in freshwater. So for every 100 species of marine crabs, ten of them will be tolerant of brackish water. Likewise, for every ten brackish water species, maybe one will be tolerant of freshwater.
In short, there may well be species in there that can tolerate fresh water, but unless you are good at identifying them, you cannot guarantee it.
Incidentally, in standard community tanks, crabs are a very bad addition. They pull up plants, cannot survive without some dry land, need a safe place to moult, and can potentially catch and eat sleeping fish. Crabs need their own aquarium, something like a vivarium, half-filled with water and with a mound of sand or some bogwood above the water line for them to climb out onto. They can make interesting pets, to be sure, but don't fall into the trap of believing that they mix with fish, they don't. See the Brackish FAQ for more info on species and links to useful web sites:
Brackish FAQ, tropical inverts section
Cheers,
Neale
This is tricky to answer. Most of the crabs sold in aquarium stores as pets are in fact brackish water species. The ubiquitous red-claw crab, Sesarma bidens being a classic example; in the wild this animal inhabits brackish and intertidal waters, and can tolerate immersion in fresh, brackish, and marine water. It is, of course, semi-terrestrial, and naturally spends most of its time on land.
So, there may well be crabs in the stream you've visited that will tolerate fresh water. However, most of them will likely be marine to brackish species. Think of it this way: crabs are orders of magnitude more common in the sea than brackish water, and similarly in freshwater. So for every 100 species of marine crabs, ten of them will be tolerant of brackish water. Likewise, for every ten brackish water species, maybe one will be tolerant of freshwater.
In short, there may well be species in there that can tolerate fresh water, but unless you are good at identifying them, you cannot guarantee it.
Incidentally, in standard community tanks, crabs are a very bad addition. They pull up plants, cannot survive without some dry land, need a safe place to moult, and can potentially catch and eat sleeping fish. Crabs need their own aquarium, something like a vivarium, half-filled with water and with a mound of sand or some bogwood above the water line for them to climb out onto. They can make interesting pets, to be sure, but don't fall into the trap of believing that they mix with fish, they don't. See the Brackish FAQ for more info on species and links to useful web sites:
Brackish FAQ, tropical inverts section
Cheers,
Neale
Rainbow_fish
Fish Fanatic
thanks for that, after heavy rain this creek gets pretty fresh i would believe but i will have to do some tsts to make sure.
John
John
penguinpimp1990
Fish Addict
thats awesome having a brackish creek near you in australia, Im assuming you may catch some killis in there
. Doubt the crabs will last long in freshwater, but if they dont theyll make some pretty goods snacks for some predatory fish or tutrles.Rainbow_fish
Fish Fanatic
unfortunatly, aus is the only continent where killi's are not found so i dont get them in my brackish creek, there is a prt further down where i think i would get archer fish tho.
John
John
Dave Legacy
Fish Crazy
I'd be really interested to know what species of crabs and other types of creatures live out there in your local brackish swamps and creeks. I have a North Australian Mangrove Swamp Biotope Tank with a shoal of archers and I'm dying to put more life in the tank that is actually found in those areas for accuracy purposes. If you have any advice I'd really appreciate it... I live in California, USA so our brackish water conditions are quite a bit different... very cold water.
Dave Legacy
Fish Crazy
Might the crabs be Ghost Crabs?
Rainbow_fish
Fish Fanatic
no, they are not ghost crabs, they are like the little red claw crabs that are somtimes available. I'll try and get photos.
John
John
Dave Legacy
Fish Crazy
Can you pick the crab out of this line up: Australian Biological Resources Species List
They list a ton of crabs here, some of which have to be local to you.
They list a ton of crabs here, some of which have to be local to you.
Catfish enthusiast
New Member
i wudnt try it man, 2 be honest.
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