Fiddler Crabs & Crayfish

[blcknwitecuban]

at my LFS they have crayfish and fiddler crabs and i was wondering would they eat my fishies?

i have blackline rasporas, 3 blue rams, some platies, and some kuhli loaches. there are also some whiteclouds but i get them as feeder fish so im not to worried about them

i was also thinking about getting some fiddlers for my 20g with my puffer since i hear fiddlers are BW. would they have problems?

& any other info on them would be much appreciated. thanks.

 

[Earthling84]

you should be fine. Fiddler crabs will pick on some small fish though. I have some fiddlers in my tank which includes:

1. Elephant nose
2. Peacock Eeel
3. Discus
4. Gourami
5. Moray Eel
6. African Butterfly
7. Clown Knife
8. Upside Down Cat
9. Green Spotted Puffer
10. Mono Fish
11. Needle Nose
12. Three Bichirs (ornate, albino, senegal)
13. Tiger Salamanders
14. Newts
15. Frogs
16. Crabs
17. Crawfish

My crabs don't bother anyone. And they love eating crickets

As for the crawfish. I wouldn't suggest. I have a crawfish in my tank(but I found a type with very very small pinchers). I had a blue crawfish about a year ago that had large claws and it would attack / eat anything up to a little bigger than a goldfish.

Stick with the crabs, add in a few of them so you have more then just one to see; they do hide/sit idle often so with just one you might barley seem him if you have vegitation/hiding spots.

 

[kj23502]

Crayfish WILL catch and eat your fish. Trust me, I used to have one. I don't have any experience with fiddler crabs, but my guess is that if the opportunity arises they will have themselves a meal

 

[TylerFerretLord]

Yes, they will get to the fish eventually. Especially the benthic fish like your kuhlis.

Crabs need a specialised brackish tank, with access to land and water. Great little fellows, for sure, but they require a bit of extra work.



Earthling, what the heck is up with your stocking? You have strong brackish fish and softwater fish in the same set-up, as well as predatory fish with smaller fish. Not to mention crabs.

Honestly, DISCUS in a brackish tank?

 

[jlOisAhoTti]

It's true, crayfish are horrible fish companions. I had a couple blue rams in with my trio of blue crays and one day they got my male ram. They also have a thing for nipping at tails.

 

[Davo86]

i was also thinking about getting some fiddlers for my 20g with my puffer since i hear fiddlers are BW. would they have problems?

In the wild most puffers will feed off small crabs, so I'd say it would be risky.

 

[blcknwitecuban]

ok then. i heard of fiddlers living with F8 puffers but i guess i will have to try it out for my self. i will be able to get the fiddlers access to land and BW wont be a problem.

but do i need a hydrometer or can i just add a little bit of salt and not let the water get low?

 

[kj23502]

ok then. i heard of fiddlers living with F8 puffers but i guess i will have to try it out for my self. i will be able to get the fiddlers access to land and BW wont be a problem.

but do i need a hydrometer or can i just add a little bit of salt and not let the water get low?

You know that it's marine salt(as in saltwater) you'd need? It's not just the same ole aquarium salt. It's best to mix it in a separate container and don't just add unmixed salt to the tank as it's not good for them AT ALL to do it that way. Yea, you'll need a hydrometer. You should read brackish pinned topics and research about brackish tanks so you know exactly what you need to do for sure. These fish have to rely on you for care so knowledge is power and life for your fish

 

[blcknwitecuban]

yea i have marine salt.. used it to get rid of some ich. but i guess i'll look for a hydrometer then.