Do Red Clawed Crabs Shed

[ali 4 fish]

hi i thought my crab was dead the shell was in perfect condition but then i found him in the tank a bit bigger but larger than life can they shed out of their shells help !

 

[three-fingers]

Yep, they do shed their skins. All invertebrates do .

Did the guy at the store not tell you that?
If not, what did he tell you?

 

[ali 4 fish]

Yep, they do shed their skins. All invertebrates do .

Did the guy at the store not tell you that?
If not, what did he tell you?

hi no they didnt tell me that didnt really tell me much at all but thanks for letting me know

 

[three-fingers]

Ah right, well since he didn't tell you much he probably didn't tell you (he probably didn't know) that it needs space to come out of the water and that it needs brackish water to live in the long run.
The crab will live a very short life if these needs are not met.
Apparently it's OK to keep them in very hard alkaline freshwater instead of brackish water though.

Any questions just ask .

 

[ali 4 fish]

Ah right, well since he didn't tell you much he probably didn't tell you (he probably didn't know) that it needs space to come out of the water and that it needs brackish water to live in the long run.
The crab will live a very short life if these needs are not met.
Apparently it's OK to keep them in very hard alkaline freshwater instead of brackish water though.

Any questions just ask .

ok thanks but what is brackish water is it slightly salted water now i heard that about they need to come out of the water mine did escape a while ago and i found him downstairs popped him back in he was fine but they did tell me a fish shop that dont need any land to come out they live permentley in water

 

[three-fingers]

Yeah, either the fish shop lied (very common) or they simply do not know what they are talking about.
When you say the water is 'slightly salted', what type of salt do you mean and how much have you added?
Is there other fish in the tank?

 

[ali 4 fish]

Yeah, either the fish shop lied (very common) or they simply do not know what they are talking about.
When you say the water is 'slightly salted', what type of salt do you mean and how much have you added?
Is there other fish in the tank?

no sorry i dont have salted water i mean is that what brackish is? i have tropical tank and the crab seems ok in their at the momment

 

[three-fingers]

Brackish water is basically in between sea water and fresh water.

Your crab does need some space to come out of the water, it is not a fully aquatic crab (though they like to spend a lot of time in the water), nor is it freshwater.

They will live in freshwater fine for a little while, but they cannot in the long term, and it will kill them.

I know that boboboy, a member of this forum, keeps a red claw crab in freshwater successfully, but he has a brackish pool for them (maybe he can explain better? ) floating at the top and his can get out of the water when they need to. In the wild only some of them live in freshwater, and only for a very short time, with most of them living in brackish water permanently. They go to marine water to breed.

If you have them in a community tank, you cannot add salt. You can either add so little that it will have no positive effects for the crabs, or you can add enough to benefit the crabs, but it will kill the fish.
The salt you use should be marine salt (like 'reef crystals')for marine aquariums, not 'tonic salt', or any 'aquarium salt' meant for treating freshwaer aquariums.

 

[Invader Xan]

You might want to head over to the brackish forum and have a read of their pinned topics. Their FAQ is very useful!

 

[ali 4 fish]

Brackish water is basically in between sea water and fresh water.

Your crab does need some space to come out of the water, it is not a fully aquatic crab (though they like to spend a lot of time in the water), nor is it freshwater.

They will live in freshwater fine for a little while, but they cannot in the long term, and it will kill them.

I know that boboboy, a member of this forum, keeps a red claw crab in freshwater successfully, but he has a brackish pool for them (maybe he can explain better? ) floating at the top and his can get out of the water when they need to. In the wild only some of them live in freshwater, and only for a very short time, with most of them living in brackish water permanently. They go to marine water to breed.

If you have them in a community tank, you cannot add salt. You can either add so little that it will have no positive effects for the crabs, or you can add enough to benefit the crabs, but it will kill the fish.
The salt you use should be marine salt (like 'reef crystals')for marine aquariums, not 'tonic salt', or any 'aquarium salt' meant for treating freshwaer aquariums.

ok thanks very much