Planning On Fiddlers

[The_Dude]

Has anyone here kept fiddler crabs before? I was wondering if anyone had any pointers or answers.
Can they tolerate full marine conditions? or is it just brackish?

 

[crabberdude]

Has anyone here kept fiddler crabs before? I was wondering if anyone had any pointers or answers.
Can they tolerate full marine conditions? or is it just brackish?

Yeah I have several fiddler crabs and they are just the happiest crabs ever. They are pretty easy to take care of and the only difficult part(which may not be that difficult at all) is to set up the aquarium. here are some main pointers in keeping them.

1)Water Salinity- I'm not sure if they can tolerate full marine conditions but my best guess is most likely not. I know they live best in brackish water conditions and most resources will say to keep the water with a specific gravity at 1.005-1.010. Other sites will tell you 1.010-1.020 which seems reasonable too. Alot of petstores will tell you they can live in freshwater which is a NO NO. They can tolerate freshwater for an extended amount of time but will eventually grow weak and die. If you get your crabs at the pet store that keeps them in freshwater it would be best to gradually add salt to their water over time so that they can slowly acclimate to the salt levels. It would probably be too stressful for them to go from fresh to 1.010 brackish in one day. Use marine salt also.
2)Aquarium Setup -They absolutely must have land and water space in the aquarium. No matter what people say they are not exclusively underwater animals (alot of pet stores told me they were). They probably can stay underwater for a day or two and some people even say weeks, but they will eventually need to surface and go on land and if they can't....well you'll have your self a crabby patty. Also the temperature in the tank should be around 75-85 F.
3)Substrate -Sand is probably your best bet. It is the substrate found in their natural habitats and they like to burrow and go through the sand and pick food particles off of it. I used play sand from a local hardware store and mine are just fine. Just rinse it really well and make sure the water runs clear when your done. I had mine on gravel for a while and they seemed to do ok but were a bit shy. After I switched to sand they seemed alot more active and happier.
4)How many? Also the general rule of thumb is 1 crab for every square foot in your aquarium and also 2-3 females for every male you have. Males are kinda territorial and will chase eachother and ward eachother off of their space. In a 10 gallon, 1-2 males and 3-4 females will be ok!
5)Food - They can eat hermit crab food pellets as well is frozen bloodworms, brineshrimp, and fruits and vegetables. Generally a dish with pellets will work well. As they tend to grab the food then run off and eat it. But do try to add all of the above to their diet because it gives them variety and many sources say they are perfectly content living off these foods. Mine love lettuce and watermelon. and they go crazy for some brineshrimp. Oh and sinking the food works well as they tend to scavenge underwater in the substrate looking for food.

Hope you get some! They are fascinating and make great pets!
Adam