Crabitat help

[oneponygirl]

I need to rehome my crab (I believe he's a fiddler crab) because I believe he is responsible for an UFD (unexplained fish death) in my tank last night. The bugger!
So I want to move him to a new tank where he can't hurt anybody but is happy. So what do I need to make a place just for him? And what should I feed him since he won't be scavenging off my fishes food anymore?

 

[Robbo851]

if its unexplained then how do you know it was your crab. and if you expect him to live off scraps of fish food then that is probably why it is attacking your fish .the little bugger is just hungry. the easiest thing to feed them is peas. just peel off the shell and split in two (no need to cut) other green veg works well too but you might need to weight it down. sinking waffers that you give to catfish works well too. but my fav is the pea

 

[oneponygirl]

I actually was feeding him other stuff besides but I did see him eating a lot of the fish food when I was feeding them so I was just looking for more ideas of what he might like. And he shouldn't have been hungry yesterday because in addition to the fish food I saw him eating I also gave him a crumbled up sinking tablet (for catfish) for him and I saw him eat that too. I suspect (I didn't say that I "knew") that he is responsible for the death because I only found the fishes head and spine this morning and he was very much alive and healthy when I went to be at 1AM.

I had been planning on moving the crab anyway but this does make me want to expedite things a little. I want them all to be happy and healthy and not in danger from each other. What I would like is some helpful suggestions on what he might like in his new home and other things he might like to eat. Thanks for the pea idea, I do ocassional give peas to them since the fish like them too.

 

[Robbo851]

in a all crab habbitat ,have as many diffrent textures as possible, gravel,sand,wood,plants,rocks. sick a bit of wood or a big rock out of the water. no need to fill much water ,how big is the tank?

 

[Panther]

Personally, I think it's a good idea to give your crab its own home. Fish and crabs seldom get along well, as it is in the crab's instinct to try and snag your fish if it can.

For a crabitat, use a 10 gallon tank with a good cover so they can't escape. Sand makes the best substrate, as it allows the fiddlers to burrow. Fiddlers do best with half land/half water tank, so pile the sand 6 to 8 inches high at one end to create land for them with a slope down that they can climb. Slowly fill the tank with water until the sand "beach" rises only about an inch out of the water. Use plenty of aquarium salt (2 tbsp or so) to create a more brackish setting for your crab. Change 1/3 of the water once or twice a month.

Crabs do best in pairs, so it is suggested that you get another crab of the opposite sex (males have the 1 large claw, females just have 2 small ones).

When your crabs molt, leave the shell in the water. The crabs will consume the old shell in a few days, as it helps provide them with the calcium they need to develop a hard new shell.

Hope that helps!

 

[oneponygirl]

It does help actually. I'm not sure the size of the tank because I haven't bought it yet. I spent the morning doing searches on fiddler crabs and read a lot of what you told me. I was seriously misinformed by the LPS (big surprise) about caring for this little guy. Luckily I haven't had him that long so I hope he hasn't been unahppy for too long. I will get him set up in a new home just his own in the next couple days.

I have sand still from setting up the ten gallon tank he is in currently. It does not, however, provide him with an area out of the water and has not a lick of salt because it also contains tetras which don't tolerate salt well. I can also pull an algae laden rock from one tank and some plants from another. So it sounds like all I need is the actual tank and the appropriate salt to make it brackish. Thanks.

 

[Robbo851]

yep sounds like your nearly sorted ,post some pics when your done if you can

 

[oneponygirl]

Alrighty, Lazarus is settling in his new home. I got a ten gallon tank this morning at Walmart. He has his own private beach (sand up one short side of the tank) and island (sand piled in off center in the middle with an algae covered rock). He also has live plants which I will probably replace with plastic since they will get too big for the amount of water in there and some smooth stones in a pile to hang out on.

If we ever find the cable to our digital camera I will post pics. Thanks again.

 

[oneponygirl]

Is hiding a good sign or a bad sign? There was no place for Lazarus to hide in the fish tank, in his new tank there is and that is all he has done pretty much since I put him in there. I put half a pea and some crumbled up catfish wafer in there last night and as far as I can tell it is all still there. Unlike him.

 

[utahfish]

hiding is a good sign, as they hide most of the time, especially after they have molted.

if you would like to see your crab more i suggest getting a pure actinic blue light which is very soft and wont bother the crab, it is also said to be very healthy light for inverts.

when i switched to this light my crabs were alwyas out and about. plus being in their own tank they werent bothered by any fish.

 

[oneponygirl]

Well, thank you! He is actually out a bit more now and now that I know his usually hiding spots I can find him when I want to check on him. I've started mixing a bit of brackish water in to make a gradual change from fresh. I've also bought a friend for Lazarus (and named her Mary) and they are both doing well.

So far I'm mostly feeding them bits of catfish wafers. The other day when I thawed some brine shrimp for my other tanks I put a coulple in there. I've also put in a couple of pieces of pea but had to fish them out since they didn't get eaten (I will try pea again though since that was the first day he was in the tank and may not have been up for dinner at that point). What else might I try?