fw crabs

[Auratus]

I have a spare 18 gallon tall tank that I would like to make about 2/3 filled with water and stack rocks so they come out of the water for them to bask on. Do you need to treat them like fish, or like reptiles becuase I have stuff for both. The only thing is I wouldn't know what kind of filter to use for he tank since I couldn't have one of the ones that hang on the back like a waterfall.

The tank used to house my gecko so I have a night time heat lamp and a Super UV lamp that I could use if they need it for basking....

 

[Cian McLiam]

That really depends on the species. Hermit crabs and rainbow crabs are almost entirely land based, but need some water to retreat to. Red Claw Crabs spend about half the time out of water, but can stay under water almost indefinitely if forced to.

They dont really need to bask, and will get calcium and other substances from their food, so a scraping of cuttlefish bone onto the food every few days is a good idea.

An undertank heat mat is a good heating option, my RCC's like a temp of between 22-25C and all crabs will not tolerate high nitrate levels, ammonia and nitrite are fatal, as are many anti-algae and fish medications.

I will post some pics of my crabs tank in the pics forum so you can see what kind of setup they like

Ken

 

[Auratus]

Thanks! The tank already has an undertank heating pad from my gecko. I was hoping to use it since it's really stuck on there. So for lighting I would just use a regular aquarium bulbs? I was really hoping to use what I already had... I'll get some tree frogs. I just don't want the 50 bucks in reptile lighting I spent go to waste...

 

[elgecko]

I do not think you are going to want to use the under tank heater to heat your tank. There is no way to regulate it to turn on and off. I think it would heat your water to an undisirable temperature.
I have kept Red Claw Crabs. I made a page on them:

http/www.geocities.com/elgecko1989/crab.html

 

[drobbins27]

For filtering, use a simple submerged filter. For heating, submerged heater. Normal lights will do. thats tghe best advice I can give.

 

[Rudy2860]

I was very interested in setting up a FW crab tank, ken do you have your red claws in FW or BW?